By BR Kellie
I am a human hygrometer. The moment a hint of humidity hits the air my locks lurch upwards and form unruly waves and ringlets, meanwhile the fluffies around the edges of my face create a brown halo. At it’s worse I look like I’ve been pulled through a hedge backwards. At its best … well … there is no best. There are only buns. Tight, high on my head, hair-holding back buns. And hair spray, lots of it.
But I must be honest, I’m sick of wearing my hair in a bun most days, I’d like to branch out – maybe even wear my hair out. For the whole day. And I figured I’m probably not the only woman to want to do this, or the only woman who bemoans her boofy hair on a regular basis. So I got my sleuthing cap on and set about finding out how to battle the boof.
First of all, why is some hair more susceptible to humidity? Turns out it’s all to do with how dry your hair is. The drier it is the more likely it will be to suck up moisture and go frizztastic. So if your hair is dyed or damaged or just naturally on the dry side, there’s a good chance your hair will go cray cray the moment it senses moisture.
So what’s a haloed hair girl to do? Ironically, add moisture to your hair.
Frizz-fighting starts from the moment you step in the shower. Shampoo and condition with products designed to smooth your hair and beat humidity, like Hask’s Keratin Protein Smoothing Shampoo and Conditioner. Before you step out of the shower give your hair a quick blast of cold water, as some believe that seals the cuticle (some don’t, but really, if you’re prone to boofy hair trying it isn’t going to hurt). Once out of the shower don’t rub your hair ferociously as that will encourage a frizzbomb, instead gently squeeze the water out with your towel.
While your hair is still wet add a smoothing serum, like L’Oreal Paris Elvive Smooth Intense Anti-Frizz serum. At this point you can make a choice as to whether you want to air dry or style it.
If styling it is your preference, make sure you blowdry it on the lowest heat setting. If you’re going for a straight look, use the concentrator attachment. If you’re embracing your natural curl, pop on the diffuser attachment. Not sure how to blow-dry your hair correctly? Check out our vid category here.
If you don’t feel like going through the blow-drying process you can let your hair – whether it’s naturally straight, wavy or curly - air dry, but try not to overly fiddle with your hair as it does or you’ll just cause it to go frizzy.
Once your hair is dry and styled to your liking you can add extra humidity protection by applying an oil or anti-frizz serum to the ends of your hair. As for that hair halo? Spray hairspray straight onto a comb or teasing brush (the Cameo brush in March’s Beauty Review Beauty Box is great for this) and run it through the fluffy-prone areas of your head. If hairspray doesn’t cut the mustard, grab a small amount of pomade, rub it all over your palms until it’s nice and pliable and then run it gently over your hair. Be careful not to use too much though or you’ll look like a grease-ball instead of a frizz-ball.
Finally whatever you do don’t touch your hair throughout the day. Imagine it’s a Christmas present and you’ve been told that if you lay so much as a finger on it you won’t get it at all. Why? Because much like during the drying process, the more you touch it the more likely it is to frizz.
So is your hair affected by humidity? What are your tips and tricks for keeping it under control? Or are you a fan of tying it up and forgetting about it? Chat away…
Helpful read. For me it's mainly static that's a huge problem especially during winter. But this is helpful, interesting how it's mainly dry hair sucking the moisture out the humid air.