Hey frizz fighters! Here is the stage of our frizz battle-plan where we might remember Shakespeare’s famous writing, “To blow dry or not to blow dry? That is the question”…

Okay so I’m not so great with history, or ancient literature, but it’s still a valid point! On one hand, blow drying our hair helps seal the cuticles with heat which helps prevent frizz but on the other hand, it’s damaging and time consuming too.

Hot tools such as blow dryers are damaging for your hair so I would suggest embracing your curls and waves by using fluids, lotions or leave-in conditioners to keep the damage and frizz at bay. While it would be ideal (and a big time-saver) for all of us to embrace our hair and air-dry, it’s not always an option so I will go over both methods.

To blow dry:

Our top priority here is damage control. Damaged hair is frizzy so if we want to fight frizz we have to fight damage too. Remember those cuticles? If they are pointing every which way, we’re going to have dry, damaged hair. Make sure to protect your hair with products such as oils, relaxing balms, leave-in conditioners, curl creams and thermal spray protectants before your start blow drying your hair. Some of these products are great for leaving your hair curly by using a diffuser attachment on your blow dryer as well as for smoothing it out straight with a brush. Some of these products help prevent damage by providing you with extra moisture while others help seal the hair with a barrier. So let’s talk about some of your product options.

Be wary with oils. While they are wonderful for delivering moisture to your hair, some of them do not absorb into the hair as well as others and can leave a greasy residue. For example, argan oil products tend to absorb into the hair well and are much less likely to leave oily residue on your hair.

You should also be careful when it comes to relaxers. We suggest creamy relaxers that you apply as a styling product to smooth out your hair, rather than the abrasive chemical ones meant for straightening. One of our favorites is the Phytodefrisant because it is a natural, alcohol-free and non-greasy balm that works great with blow-drying to give you that smooth locked style.

Leave-in conditioners are a great way to deliver moisture and blow dry straight. They work great for wavy hair or people with fine, curly hair. They do not have any hold in them so if your hair has those pretty tight ringlets, you may want to go for a curling balm with a thick creamy texture and some styling hold to it to keep the frizz at bay.

Thermal protecting sprays are awesome for locking in a smooth style. They range in level of hold from none at all to strong hold with different levels of shine too. Super light-hold sprays like Huini’s Power Polish are great for just protecting your hair and giving you a little blast of shine. The level of hold you want totally depends on how much coaxing your hair needs to stay straight but the main feature of these sprays is their ability to shield your hair from heat damage. One of our popular stronger hold ones, the Biolage Thermal Active Setting Spray, is great for giving you a long-lasting style even when you’re curling or flat-ironing.

Time to look at option two: Not to blow dry.

Let’s face it, air-drying your hair is a time-saving wonder. Some of us fear letting our hair express itself naturally but fear not for with the right product in your arsenal, you’ll save time and have beautiful hair. Since the element of heat is missing when you do not blow dry your hair, the cuticles still need to be sealed from the external moisture. A good visual example would be oil and water. We all know the two don’t mix. If you apply some oil to your hair, the external moisture won’t be able to get in and frizz you up! There are other types of products that you can use to coat your hair and prevent frizz other than oils but they all do give a different effect.

Some of the products you can use when air-drying are similar to the ones I have mentioned above but of course you are letting your hair have a bit more freedom in expressing itself here. For hair which is wavy to straight, a leave-in conditioner or oil works great to keep frizz at bay and it adds a little moisture too. The curlier or more prone to frizz your hair is the more intense of a frizz-fighter is needed. Thicker creams work better in this case. If you have curly hair and want to add a bit more bounce to it, try a curl enhancing balm or cream. A great product for medium to thick curly hair is Moroccanoil’s Curl Cream or their Curl Defining Cream.

Those with finer curly hair should be careful about the heavy-ness of these products as some of them will weigh your hair down causing you to lose some volume. Try a light leave-in conditioner like the Paul Mitchell The Conditioner. Leave-in conditioners work great for wavy or straight hair too but if your hair is on the fine side, try to steer away from the heavy stuff! Also, applying the product and scrunching helps your hair dry with a little shape and bounce.

Generally the products I have just mentioned will leave your hair feeling soft but if you’d like a bit more of defined beach look with the strong hold you can go for a curl enhancer like the AG Recoil. The hold factor in this product really defines each strand so it’ll give your curly or wavy hair some solid anti-frizz texture.

As you can tell from this post, choosing the right product and knowing how to apply it is very important in this stage of frizz fighting. We have checked out a few choices here but there are so many options out there sometimes it can be hard to figure out which is right for you.

We are always ready to help you figure out what you need for your hair, and how to use it too! If you have any questions about your hair or you're looking for any hair care product, please send us a message.

Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash