I have an acute case of the frizzies and I’m not alone. According to the market-research company Kantar Worldpanel, 5m women in the UK are prone to frizz, and more than 1.5m say it’s the most annoying thing about their hair. No surprises there, then.
What is surprising is that frizz is not the same for everyone. The texture expert (yes, really) Zoltan Vargyai, has been taming unruly mops for more than two decades. He tells me: “There are three main types of frizz — wiry roots, often seen in grey hair, puff caused by bleaching, and static hairs.”
At the frizziest extremes are people with the thankfully rare “uncombable hair syndrome”. According to researchers at the Universities of Bonn and Toulouse, this is caused by mutations in three genes that lead to enzyme and protein irregularities and, ultimately, wild hair.
Regardless of its source, if you suffer from frizz, winter is not your friend. “The temperature might be biting in January, but it’s not the cold that results in frizz, it’s the humidity,” says Vargyai. Counterintuitively, the levels of humidity your hair experiences in January are high — just think of the times you’ve come in from wet, freezing weather only to thaw in balmy central heating. It’s a frizz-inducing nightmare. So, how to make 2017 the year you tackle the texture?
Wash carefully
First things first, shampoo and conditioner matter, and you should be on the lookout for sulphate-free options. While sulphates produce a satisfying lather, they can strip the scalp and hair of moisture. Parched hair is vulnerable to damage, and damage plus dehydration is frizz in the making. Pureology shampoos and conditioners are sulphate-free and have an AntiFade complex to filter out UVA and UVB rays that can damage hair.
Need to know Swapping your regular towel for a microfibre one will make the drying process gentler. Microfibre towels mop up excess water faster than regular ones, cutting blow-dry time in half. They are also softer and less aggressive on fragile strands and reduce static flyaways.
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Check your FPF
If there is one thing my frizz-reducing efforts have taught me, it’s this: spend your money on decent styling products. Blow-dry sprays with cuticle-smoothing properties are a godsend for the frizz prone. Redken has developed a frizz protection factor (FPF) measure, which essentially helps you to match the product to your level of frizz. My favourite is Redken Frizz Dismiss FPF20 Smooth Force (£17), which tames my fine hair without weighing it down. If you have thicker hair and coarser frizz, try Frizz Dismiss FPF40 Rebel Tame (£18). Either way, comb it through damp hair before setting the dryer on it, and the result is a smooth and light-reflective finish that lasts until your next wash.
Need to know Like most products that reduce frizz, the texture is on the heavy side, so don’t use too much.
Seal the ends
As anyone who has left it too long between trims knows, split ends can make your hair look electric. GHD Advanced Split End Therapy (£20) is a gift from the hair gods — it’s a heat-activated treatment with a “thermo-marine bonding system” that instantly, albeit temporarily, seals splits. Apply it to washed hair, dry and then seal in the goodness with GHD Platinum Styler straighteners (£165), which maintain a more consistent temperature and claims to reduce breakages by up to half.
Need to know I normally have to wash my hair every day or it becomes an oily, frizzy mess. Using this treatment once a week helps me manage my mop by setting a smooth style that lasts until I get it wet again.
Pick the right pillow
Did you know that cotton pillowcases, even 1,000-thread count Egyptian ones, can dry out hair, resulting in breakages? Silk, however, won’t rough-up cuticles or wick away valuable moisture. I bought a pair of Slip pillowcases, and at £124 for the two, my bank was begging me not to like them, but there is no denying the fact that when I sleep on silk, my hair is less Cruella de Vil come morning.
Need to know Silk pillowcases are great if you want to maintain a straighter style; however, if your hair is curly and you don’t mind the odd kink or two, wrapping your hair in a silk scarf will work, too.
Brush it smooth
Try the Babyliss Diamond Radiance Heated Smoothing Brush (£80). Its ceramic “fins” emit frizz-taming antistatic ions to smooth and detangle hair. It won’t eliminate every stray strand, but it does an admirable job of softening the fuzz without flattening. It has become my desk buddy for last-minute de-frizzing before heading out of the office.
Need to know Fellow frizzies with straight to wavy hair will love this, but if your hair is very curly, you’re unlikely to see big changes.
Get a long-term fix
When all else fails, Brazilian keratin blow-dries and Japanese straightening treatments banish the fuzz for longer. Keratin treatments smooth frizz without changing the overall structure of the hair, and afterwards my hair is quicker to blow-dry and it doesn’t frizz up when it gets wet. Japanese straightening obliterates frizz entirely and leaves hair poker straight — not to everyone’s liking, but I love it, as for the first time in my life I can air-dry without the frizz. The George Northwood salon offers NanoKeratin (from £250), which plugs damaged spots making hair smoother and stronger. At his Soho salon, Vargyai uses everything from permanent chemical straightening to keratin treatments (POA) that smooth hair for up to eight months. His treatments aren’t cheap, but things that work rarely are.
Need to know Some smoothing treatments can’t be washed out for up to three days. Check with your salon before you book in, and if so, take an umbrella to your appointment to avoid being caught in a downpour after.