Some people are born with natural hair texture that is frizzy, while others have frizzy hair because of the damage to the hair follicles, usually caused by heat damage. Frizzy hair requires that extra bit of tender loving care and it is worth investing the time and effort to treat it properly.
The first thing to sort out, before you even think about experimenting with cool hairstyles for frizzy hair, is the condition of your hair. So many people are taught how to ‘tame’ their frizzy hair – with smoothing shampoos, flat irons and lots of hair spray. This is great for sleek, controllable hair for one night out, perhaps.
What many fail to comprehend is how to ‘treat’ their hair to limit the amount of frizz. Here are just a few hints and tips for the frizzy haired women among us:
- Finish washing your hair with a cool rinse. The cooler you can manage the better. This closes up the hair cuticles, leaving it with more protection and it helps prevent frizz caused by humidity or heat appliances.
- Wet hair is extra delicate and prone to breakage, so be sure to treat it carefully. Pat wet hair dry, rather than rubbing it, for example.
- Use styling products that are right for your hair (lightweight treatments for fine hair and deep moisturizing for coarse hair). There are heaps of sleek and smoothing blow dry sprays, shampoos and conditioners to choose from that help give your hair a silky, shiny finish. Find the ones that work best for you.
- Use a wide tooth comb rather than a brush, and tease out tangled hair gently. Do not pull and tug at the hair strands, as this can weaken the follicles and cause breakage.
- Invest in a good quality hair dryer and one that has a cool setting option.
- Treat your hair to a conditioning mask from time to time. Usually once a fortnight is sufficient. Leave it in for around 10 minutes (or longer if the instructions state so) and let it work its magic. It’s better to cover the hair with cling film while the treatment soaks in; this helps it work deep into the roots for more effective conditioning.
- Split ends can worsen the condition of frizzy hair, so aim to get a trim every 8 weeks to keep it fresh.
- If you prefer to tie your hair back, do not use regular office elastic bands, but proper hair bands instead, and leave your hair loose for bed as it might break when you toss and turn during the night.
- If you straighten your hair with heating irons, use heat protectant spray and try to limit their use, if possible. A good quality heating iron will get to a hot enough temperature that only needs to be used on one section of hair once, maybe twice.
- Your diet and a healthy lifestyle (sleep, exercise) can help with the condition and even texture of your hair.
The basics are important for any hair type, but even more so for frizzy hair, which can really be problematic in certain weather (such as humidity). Take time to better the condition of your hair. And now it’s time for the fun part – the styling! The key piece of advice is to experiment. The second piece of advice is to be patient.
Some of these hair style ideas may need more time and practice than others. The best time to give them a go is when you have some free time to sit in front of a mirror and play with your hair, the worst time is just before going out for the evening when you are rushed and stressed.
Once you have got the hang of them, these hairstyles are perfect for day or night, but some can take a bit of time to get the hang of. Why not invite some friends over and have a pamper party while you try out some of the following styles?
1. Loose curls
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Frizzy hair gives curls a soft look and feel, with body and definition. Before trying out this style, spritz a leave-in conditioner through your hair and scrunch it as your dry it with a diffuser. Your hair will now have a natural bounce to it and the next step is to wrap large sections of hair around a curling iron.
There is no need to be particularly neat or regimental about this step, just separate them randomly and leave some sections loose. Some hair texture will need to be finished off with a touch of hair oil to smooth down fly-away hair. Argan oil is a good option.
2. Tight curls
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Use your frizzy hair to your advantage by making it extra curly and don’t worry about the frizz, it actually adds to the effect. Part your hair into neat, small sections and use curling tongs to tightly wrap your hair. Hold it for the instructed amount of time for the heat to work and then unravel gently.
Secure in place immediately with a good hair spray. Some people need firm hold, while others find that this makes their hair look too heavy. If you have fine hair, try a lighter hold hair spray and see whether that is sufficient to keep your curls tight and in place.
This style needs to look a little neater and more organised than loose curls, but the benefit is that by the end of the day or evening, the curls may loosen and you can also rock the loose curl look. Two looks in one day!
3. Messy braids
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Frizzy hair is perfect for a messy braid as it adds to the effortless beauty of the style. When drying off your hair, use some mousse to keep it from being overly unruly. Once it is all dry, add some volume with curling irons and tie back in a loose, low ponytail.
Divide the hair into three fairly equal sections and twist around each other in a plait, but do not pull the sections too tightly. Tie the plait with a hair band and take out the first band. The charm of this look is that sections falling out can actually add to the wispy, messy charm of the style.
If you are very adventurous, you can attempt a skin plait, which is essentially a braid, but uses extra hair as you pull in each section from the scalp, so that the plait is thick and follows the hairline and stays close to the scalp.
4. Wavy hair
The best part of the messy braid style (see paragraph above), is that once you undo the plait and let it loose (but do not brush it through), you can separate the hair with your fingers gently and are left with a wavy hair style. Spray lightly with hair spray to fix the style and add a pretty clip or hair band to finish off the look. You can even grip the hair to one side for a different look.
5. Half up, half down
This hairstyle helps control frizzy hair. Simply scrape the top section of your hair back (from your eyes upwards) and smooth with a brush back into a grip, clip or hair tie. Leave the remaining bottom section loose and curl loosely with curling tongs or rollers for added volume. This is a quick and easy style, but helps keep frizzy hair under control on those particularly humid days.
6. Beehive up-do
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Frizzy hair adds volume to the beehive 50s look. This is effectively a volumized up-do. The key is to get as much volume as possible into the hair, with products (try not to back comb the hair as this snaps it).
Dry your hair by scrunching it. When dry, put large rollers in it for added volume. Tip your head upside down and use dry shampoo or volumizing mouse for extra volume. The frizziness of your hair should help with extra texture.
Simply pin your hair up with lots of grips and into a bouffant along the crown of your head. Use lots of grips and hair spray to secure the look.
7. Messy bun
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An over-sized bun is another perfect style for frizzy hair types, because the more texture, the better the end result. When your hair is damp, use mousse from the roots to the ends and let the hair dry naturally.
Use dry shampoo to finish it off, and then brush the hair back into a high ponytail (don’t worry about it looking too neat and tidy). Secure the ponytail with a hair tie and grips and wind the hair around the base of the hair tie, loosely.
Pin the bun into place and allow for wispy stray hairs to fall out of the style and add to the natural feel of the hairstyle. For a neater bun, you can secure with a hair net or scrunchie.
8. Sporty ponytail
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The best part about this look is its effortless approach. Your frizzy hair will already add texture to the ponytail and all you need to do is to scrape your hair with your fingers or a wide-tooth comb up into a high ponytail and secure with a hair tie.
Tease sections of the hair out so that they fall loosely around your face. Of course, you can make this look much neater with a smoother brush and shine spray, but the ‘bed hair’ look is also a great option. An alternative hair style is the side ponytail, which adds something a little different to the conventional ponytail.
9. Bed head
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This last one isn’t really a ‘style’ as such, as it requires no effort at all – no grips or ties.
Simply run your fingers through your hair after it has dried naturally and fix with some oil to control fly-away strands and wear your hair as it falls naturally. Embrace the soft volume of your locks. You can add to this look by pinning back your fringe with a sparkly grip if you want to jazz it up.
So many people who have frizzy hair curse it. The best piece of advice I can give, is to work with what you’ve got. Let’s face it; it is unlikely that we can change the natural texture of our hair. Of course, diet, exercise, lots of good quality sleep can all help improve the condition of our hair and products can do so much, but at the end of the day, we are given a certain type of hair and we need to make it look its very best.
Frizzy hair is often difficult to control and tame, so why try? Luckily, messy styles are trendy and many celebs are wearing their hair that way. The key is confidence. Work with what you have and use it to your advantage. Set aside some time to really get to know your locks and how to ‘wear your hair’ best. This means, experimenting with drying, straightening and curling techniques as well as hairstyles, accessories and finishing products.
While you may have ‘frizzy’ hair, there are many types of frizzy hair and no two people are the same. Find out what works best for your hair type, looks and personality and wear it the way you feel most confident with, but also in the most suitable style that will look good for hours on end, so you won’t need to fuss or worry.
There are always ways to tweak your look to make it stand out. For example, if you like to wear your hair in a high ponytail, why not try adding loose curls to it for a night out and maybe some accessories? Hair is like make-up; styles and trends are constantly changing. Enjoy your frizzy hair and make it a part of who your are, rather than spending all your time thinking about how to control it – let it be free and learn to love it.
Do you have frizzy hair? If so, how do you style yours? We would love to hear more about your ideas, hints and tips in the comment section below. Please share your hair dos and don’ts, how-to hairstyle guides or rave about your favorite products and advice. If there is anything I have overlooked about styling frizzy locks, please let me know.