Thanks Johanna, I’ve used Kerastase oleo_relax as well. After I recovered after spending so much money, I realized the products did a great job. I already follow several suggestions in this thread – cut down on shampooing, increase conditioning, etc. But I’m very hesitant to flatiron my hair because I’m apt to burn it all off. I rarely blow-dry and I don’t have a lot of success with the serums and shine products – the silicones seem to dry my hair out. After reading this thread, I realized I do have a suggestion. I bought L’oreal’s Smooth Intense Conditioner for women of color which is almost as amazing as the Kerastase. I figured that both conditioners were made by L’oreal, the formulas should be the same. Not so, the active ingredients are different but the results are almost the same. Anyway, I was wondering if there were any other brand new products that I need to know about. I will schedule a haircut with my hairdresser real soon, though. Thanks for all the suggestions.
If you can afford it, I highly suggest Bumble and Bumble or Aveda products. They are excellent.
I am shocked (shocked!) that no one has mentioned Biosilk. I swear by this stuff and so does anyone I know who has every tried it.
If your hair is REALLY frizzy, add a few drops before you blow dry. You can then add a couple drops to the finished style and your hair will be silky and lovely.
I’ve been fussing with my hair since I was about nine and it’s become a quest that makes the search for the Grail look like a light hearted pre-school Easter Egg hunt. I’ve tried nearly everything; straight, wavy, curly, long, medium and short, every product, process, or tool expensive and cheap. It’s finally paid off and I figured out what my hair needs to look the way I want it (most of the time), but the damage has been done and I have an obsession. So this is possibly the longest post about hair in the history of the SDMB, but since you now know why I’m this way, it will hopefully mitigate how crazy you think I am.
medstar, do you want wavy, straight or curly? You can usually do essentially the same thing for all of them, but the end is different. As mentioned, get somebody who knows how to cut curly hair and work with them to get the best style for your hair type, that you also find attractive. My sister has very curly hair and had a purple asymmetrical blunt cut that made her look like a punk flapper and was really cool looking (it was the 80s so YMMV).
I’m having to find new shampoo and conditioner since the Body Shop stopped carrying my absolute favorites, and everybody is going to need something different anyway. The only thing I’ve noticed is that all stylists I’ve met hate Suave, their faces go all scrunchy if you just mention the stuff. I tried it anyway and ended up agreeing but everyone’s different. Anyway, wash your hair, condition, and comb the conditioner through your hair with your fingers while you’re bending over at the waist out of the shower spray, rinse the same way but under the spray of course. Use the coolest water you can stand since it’s supposed to flatten the cuticle so hair will be smoother. It sounds weird, but you want your hair to be as little disturbed by fingers and brushes as possible if you’re going for curl (I haven’t brushed my hair in about two years). Shampoo should be gentle except for very oily scalps and most people don’t really have oily scalps. Shampoo mainly at your scalp and then just rinse the suds through the rest of your hair since this keeps you from damaging your ends. Conditioner should be whatever works for you, but try light and work toward heavy conditioning since too much can weigh down your hair and is what makes most people think they have oily scalps. Put the conditioner mostly on the ends of your hair with just enough toward the scalp to keep it from being squeeky. If you can, wrap one of those Aqua-type towels, that are for drying hair quickly, on your head for ten minutes or so. You want to get water out to lessen drying time and the towel breaks up your hair less, so don’t rub your hair if you’re going for curls.
Try samples of different products* if you can because what works on one person, won’t on another. Pantene is pretty popular but you’ll notice a poster to this thread says it doesn’t work for her. My hair is thick but not coarse so I have to stay away from anything sticky or pasty, those with coarse hair may not be able to use anything but the heavier stuff. I like John Frieda’s spray Perfect Curl or whatever it’s called, it’s light but effective and no crunchy hair if you don’t go nuts with it. On really frizzy weather days I use some curling gel from L’Oreal diluted with the Frieda stuff to avoid crunchiness and promote spreadability. Try not to touch your hair any more than neccessary, I apply gently and then squeeze my hair like I was going to put it in a pony tail to keep from breaking it up. If you want to spare your hair the blow drying, you can put it on big velcro rollers. If that’s too much of a pain you can gather it in a few hanks, twist into ropes and use banana clips on the ends of two or three of the hanks at a time. This makes drying slower but it’s almost no effort. Some hair types will find limited success with this, though.
When blow drying for straight hair, use that flat ended nozzle and a paddle brush. Everybody says something different about whether it should be metal, plastic, or natural bristle, but metal seems most effective/faster even though it’s a bit more harsh on your hair. Take the section of hair, working from the bottom to the crown of your head, scalp to ends, and keep the nozzle as close to the paddle brush as you dare. Closer equals more heat damage though. Finish it off with a straight iron if you want straight, or a large barrel curling iron for waves and relaxed curls. Be patient with the straight iron, small hanks of hair work best. The last time I straightened my hair it took two hours because it’s super curly and there’s tons of it. There’s a reason I don’t try to have straight hair anymore and it’s called lazyness. It’s also hard on your hair and you don’t want to do it every day. Washing every other day, or even every two days will keep the damage to a minimum and most people can’t tell you skipped a day. Use a shower cap though.
If you want curly curls, like mine are fairly tight spirals and look like dreadlocks if I don’t use something, so you do the whole washing, towel, spray, gel a bit on ends and trouble spots, then blow dry using a diffuser (don’t even bother if you don’t have a diffuser). Your goal is to break up those hanks of hair as little as possible, because the more you fuss the more frizz and they’re going to break up a bit anyway. Bend at the waist to do the crown (and the rest if you want volume there too) and then upright for the rest of your hair. Try not to fluff your hair while drying I actually just hold my hand behind the hair I’m drying to keep it still, no scrunching. Let your hair cool off a bit before the last styling and hairspray.
See? Nuthin’ to it. Just years of experimenting is all.
*If you end up with lots of bottles of stuff that don’t work for you, you might want to see if the local women’s shelter could use them, and I’ve even used the shampoo as body wash.
I SO agree.
Don’t blowdry it all, I recommend. I think blowdrying is really bad for your hair, and mine is full of thick curls. And I can manage to avoid frizz 90 % of the time.
Don’t even touch it when dry, let alone comb it.
Find a cgood curly- or wavy- hair shampoo and stick with it. I recommend Pantene but it may not work for you.
If all else fails, cut it short and start over again, taking really good care of it.
I have naturally frizzy hair…I mean, naturally curly hair. I detest it. The only thing that even comes close to helping it is Pantene. I use the shampoo and the conditioner. I never use the blowdryer anymore and I never brush it. I only use a comb. I also must use a flat iron on it at least once a day. In humid weather, twice a day. I swear by Pantene, though. It’s the only thing that makes my hair look nice. It’s quite long now…right above my buttcrack. It takes some work, but it’s worth it.
I have long, curly hair that tends toward frizziness much of the time. I like L’Oreal’s Lasting Curls Gel, mentioned above by gfloyd.
The best product I have ever used was discontinued. It was called Kara Elixir, from Helene Curtis. If you see any of this stuff at Big Lots or other liquidators, try it. It’s wonderful for curly, unruly hair.
I have long, wavy/curly hair that gets frizzy. I cut it to my shoulders and now I blow dry and flat iron it every day (I give it a break on the weekends). I bought a very expensive, ceramic flat iron and it is a miracle. I wish I had had one of these things in high school!
On the weekends, I wash it, put in some curl booster and scrunch it, no combs/brushes or touching it after it dries!
The longer my hair is ther less ‘frizz’. It needs to get to a certain length for the weight to pull it down into curls.
I neglect my hair dreadfully with regard to choice of products and styling but it does ok, anyway I’m not sure if this is an approved method but after washing I often tie my hair into a (reasonably loose) plait or two - this keeps it out of the way while it’s drying so I don’t feel the need to keep running my fingers through it but also means that it dries more slowly and tends to have a better kink / curl to frizz ratio. (It’s so thick that it is often still damp at the end of the day!)
Infusium makes a good shampoo for frizzy hair and also has a leave in treatment. It is not too expensive - about $4-5 a bottle. I go easy on the shampooing too, I think one of my problems before was over-cleaning my hair. I find it a good alternative to Pantene, for me Pantene works really well at first but after a few uses it seems to leave build up on my hair. I also recently discovered the Garnier Fructis curl spray that others have mentioned here and like it. It works better than mousse for me.
I have wavy hair that goes curly with a little scrunching if I just let it air dry, which is the norm for me in the summer. I rinse with cool water, wrap it in a hair towel, comb it and apply product, and then don’t touch it again. Sometimes I will apply a little pomade to it after it is dry if it is humid out.
If it is really frizzy frequent small trims help too.
I love my Aveda Confixor liquid gel. I am frugal…no, I’ll admit it, I am CHEAP! So when I say I love stuff that costs that much, I really mean it. I finger comb it through my hair after towel-drying, and that’s all I do to my hair. I’m not a hair person, so a low-maintenance routine is key for me.
No local salons carry Aveda, so I get it in the Big City in a specialized shop. It’s actually kind of pleasant; they served tea and such. As I said, I’m cheap, so it’s nice to be spoiled like an important customer for once. 
I have really long, curly hair and I live in Humidity Hell. I spent 20 years concerned about “Body” when I should have been paying attention to “curls”.
-
Good Haircut. Even long hair needs to be cut regularly and cut well.
-
Good Conditioning. Every day I use Pantene conditioner and on the weekends I use olive oil on my hair for deep conditioning.
-
Limit damage. Brush the roots, not the ends. Wide tooth comb the ends sparingly. Minimize exposure to heat.
-
Find the leave-in conditioner/oil/product that works for you. Alberto VO5 Hairdressing is fabulous on my hair. Yes, it’s what my grandmother used but it’s cheap and really helps define my curls.
First, let me say I totally agree with so many of you…right cut, good shampoo, excellent conditioner, hands-off are all totally imperative to banishing frizz but I also find that after shampooing & conditioning a solid 5 second rinse with the coldest water I can tolerate helps as do the following…
a dollop of Be Curly by Aveda
a splash of Confixor by Aveda
Mix it up in your hands then gently schmear onto hair – don’t comb in or over work the curls/waves. I schmear it in, then with a little clip (because I have very long hair) I gently pull part out my eyes and let it air dry.
This has been the only method that works – I’ve lived in NC for 3 years now and it took me 2 full years to find this method which actually works. Maybe you’ll have different results and I wish you the best of luck. The frizzies are singularly frustrating.
Well, first I must say: if you have curls embrace them!
I’m only repeating people here when I say this, but this is what has worked for me:
[ul]
[li]Get a good haircut, regularly[/li][li]Comb through hair in the shower with conditioner on with a wide tooth comb (afro comb?)[/li][li]Don’t use home colourants (learnt this the hard way!)[/li][li]Try not to blow dry - if you have to, use a diffuser[/li][li]Don’t shampoo every day[/li][li]Wide tooth comb again after shower, on wet hair[/li][li]Some sort of “sticking” agent on wet hair - gel, mousse, whatever. At the moment I am using “sleek creme”.[/li][li]After putting the agent in - leave it alone! Do not touch it again! Resist the urge.[/li][/ul]
I’ve learnt to manage my hair, and when I leave it out as I described, rarely a day goes past without someone commenting. Embrace your hair!
(side note: it’s also a lot quicker using this method than attempting to straighten/blow dry it every morning!)
Kiehl’s Silk Groom. It’s the most amazing thing ever. It controls frizz and also repairs hair. For real. I use a tiny bit on wet hair and let it dry naturally, no frizz, perfect corkscrew curls, which never happend before I used this. It’s expensive, about $30 for an 8 ounce bottle, but it lasts a long, long time. Like a year.
[QUOTE=Ghanima…One of the main hints is not to ever shampoo your hair, just use conditioner only.[/QUOTE]
The logic being, the natural oils from your fingers scratching your itchy scalp all day will prevent frizzing up.
Hmmmm. I go two ways about the ironing dilemma.
It’s a bit like going drinking when you’re down about something. You do cheer up but you wake up in the morning with the problem still there worsened by a hangover.
What on earth am I getting at? Ironing cures the problem and causes it at the same time. For my hairtype (mildly wavy - if your hair is properly curly then I can’t offer any help) nothing and I mean nothing will cure a bad case of frizz as effectively. However, as it dries out your hair, the frizziness tends to increase the more you do it so you need to do it more often - vicious circle.
Therefore I use my iron only every once in a while for special occasions when I absolutely must look my best. I use good ceramic irons and a heat protection spritz and a glossing serum over it (Nicky Clarke’s what I got for that at the moment). I wouldn’t worry overly much about burning your hair. A good iron will be set up to not get hot enough for that to happen. As long as you keep it to special occasions you should be fine.