Frizzy, Frizzy, Frizzy Hair

[Millie]

Dear curlies, wavies, and other frizzy haired folk, how do you manage your hair? Every time I think I have it all figured out, the weather changes, or I chop off my hair and have to figure it all out again. Do any of you have secrets for consistantly nice hair?

Last summer was the season of good hair for me - mild drought, good haircut, no frizz! I don't remember doing anything special to manage it other than adding a few drops of oil, and I could wear it down without getting instant dreads.

This year we have flooding, daily rains and mistings. Oh the frizz! When I wear my hair up I get a magnificent halo. Can't let it down or it's giant tangles. I'm using gobs of leave in conditioner, it's a little better, but it has been a long time since I've had a good hair day.

Okay, it is entirely shallow to mention hair in the face of droughts and flooding. Our local farmers are managing. Folks with million dollar shacks on the lakes will have to spend some money to fix their vacation homes, but I'm pretty sure they'll manage.

Back to hair. What are your secrets?

 

[DeeAnna]

I make a conditioner bar with a silicone alternative product -- Neossance hemisqualane. It does a good job of taming my fine, wavy hair in humid weather. Not sure if it would be enough to tame super frizzy hair, but I've not tried a high % of this ingredient to see. http://www.lotioncrafter.com/neossance-hemisqualane.html

I'm sure Susan (swift crafty monkey) has recipes for de-frizz products.

 

[Soapprentice]

Well, I do deep conditioning before washing my hair and washing it twice or just once a week helped my dry, frizzy and curly hair. I deep condition with 1 part coconut oil and 1 part castor oil and leave it on for a day.. yes, greasy hair. I wash with shea moisture shampoo and use their conditioner and apply their leave on after.

 

[IrishLass]

I'm sure Susan (swift crafty monkey) has recipes for de-frizz products.

Ditto^^^. Susans blog is the perfect place to look because she herself is a self-described 'frizzy-haired' girl. Here's is one of her several blog entries on what to use or what to make for frizzy hair: http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/2012/09/question-is-frizzy-hair-always-dry-hair.html


IrishLass

 

[Susie]

I wear my hair up 99% of the time in the humid summer. I use this as needed:

http://www.ulta.com/frizz-ease-flawlessly-straight-conditioner?productId=xlsImpprod1840141

 

[Millie]

Thanks IrishLass and DeeAnna for pointing me in the right direction! Susan is amazing, I should have started with her blog.

Soapprentice, I just started using Shea Moisture products last weekend - I think they are better than what I was using before, but still think I'm missing some key ingredient. I bet swiftcrafty will have the answer I have never left in a conditioning treatment for a whole day - I guess it's worth a try, thanks for the tip!

 

[navigator9]

I make a conditioner bar with a silicone alternative product -- Neossance hemisqualane. It does a good job of taming my fine, wavy hair in humid weather. Not sure if it would be enough to tame super frizzy hair, but I've not tried a high % of this ingredient to see. http://www.lotioncrafter.com/neossance-hemisqualane.html

I'm sure Susan (swift crafty monkey) has recipes for de-frizz products.

DeeAnna, how does this compare to regular silicones? They make a dent in my frizziness, but the build up is so annoying. And with fine hair, it just looks greasy...yuck. I've yet to find something I really like, that actually helps my frizzy hair. And I've tried a boatload of "frizz tamers." And the older I've gotten, the worse the frizz! When I was younger, the frizz only showed up on humid days, which we have plenty of around here, but I would at least get some relief in winter. Now the frizz is here year round. And I hate it. Grrrrrr! :headbanging:

 

[DeeAnna]

The hemisqualane is nice and I'm planning to reorder when I run out. I don't know how it compares to "real" silicones -- I'm sure I've used commercial products with silicone in the past, but I haven't deliberately compared them to the hemisqualane. I used it at 8% in my last conditioner bar, but the product literature says you can use up to 40% in anti-frizz products. At 8%, my hair isn't weird or greasy feeling -- just soft and wavy without being frizzy. My hair is fine enough that anything overly heavy or greasy is really icky, and this stuff is not behaving that way for me.

 

[Saranac]

I have shoulder-length frizzy hair, make all of my hair products, and I stay away from humectants and 'cones. I like hydrolized oat protein, Lamesoft (well, my DIY dupe), and jojoba. I'd love to try broccoli seed oil but it's expensive (and jojoba is cheaper and contributes some of the same FAs).

 

[SunRiseArts]

I used to have straight hair when I was a child. Don't know what happened. I hate my thin frizzy hair.

The only thing that I have found works for me is argan oil. I have not tried the oil itself, I used this. I am guessing regulr argan oil should work.

I find it at a local store for less than 2 dollars a tube. And I also love to use it in my bath bombs, as is not heavy.

 

[DawninWA]

Aloe Vera Gel. The stuff that they sell for sunburns, works great to tame the frizz and doesn't leave any weird build up.

 

[Obsidian]

home made flax seed gel. Works to tame frizz and define curls. Its easy to make but has a very short shelf life, only make a little every four days or so. Keep refrigerated.

 

[navigator9]

I make a conditioner bar with a silicone alternative product -- Neossance hemisqualane. It does a good job of taming my fine, wavy hair in humid weather. Not sure if it would be enough to tame super frizzy hair, but I've not tried a high % of this ingredient to see. http://www.lotioncrafter.com/neossance-hemisqualane.html

I'm sure Susan (swift crafty monkey) has recipes for de-frizz products.

The hemisqualane is nice and I'm planning to reorder when I run out. I don't know how it compares to "real" silicones -- I'm sure I've used commercial products with silicone in the past, but I haven't deliberately compared them to the hemisqualane. I used it at 8% in my last conditioner bar, but the product literature says you can use up to 40% in anti-frizz products. At 8%, my hair isn't weird or greasy feeling -- just soft and wavy without being frizzy. My hair is fine enough that anything overly heavy or greasy is really icky, and this stuff is not behaving that way for me.

Well, I'm definitely willing to give hemisqualane a try. When I do a search on Susan's blog I come up with nothing. Do you know of any good recipes? I did find this one, but it contains humectants, (vitamin B5, and silk peptides)which I realize now, I don't want to use. I don't need to attract any moisture to my hair, as it reacts badly to the slightest amount of humidity. I'm not an experienced enough lotion maker to know if I can just leave out the humectants without affecting the outcome of the conditioner negatively. How does this look to you? http://www.humblebeeandme.com/restorative-hydrating-hair-conditioner/

 

[DeeAnna]

You can substitute hemisqualane for the silicone in someone's recipe. I agree - I wouldn't use humectants in a product for frizzy hair either. You can simply leave them out. Here is a conditioner bar that I've been tweaking. This is my latest version. It probably doesn't have enough de-frizz to tame super-frizzy hair, so you may want to play with that.

Solid conditioner bar
All ingredient amounts are % by weight

Liquid oil … 8 … Avocado, meadowfoam, almond, etc
Solid oil … 10 … Shea, tallow, palm, mango butter, etc.

Hemisqualane … 8 … Or a silicone suitable as a defrizzing ingredient, but check the usage info for suggested amounts

Conditioning emulsifier … 62 … Emulsifier. Oil free conditioner. BTMS is a brand name product *
Cetyl alcohol … 10 … Thickener. Oil free conditioner

Colorant … 1 drop per 100 grams

Phenonip … 0.5 … Or other oil-soluble preservative. **
Fragrance … 1.5 … Essential oil or fragrance oil. Keep it light!

Total … 100%

* Conditioning emulsifier works as an emulsifier (duh!) but also as a oil-free conditioner for hair and skin. E-wax can be substituted and will work fine as the emulsifier in this recipe, but it doesn't offer any conditioning properties. You could also sub stearic acid for the cetyl alcohol, but again the cetyl is an oil-free conditioner and stearic is not.

** Phenonip is not temperature sensitive so it can be added with the other main ingredients. If you use another preservative, be sure to check the usage instructions -- if it is temp sensitive, then it has to be added with the fragrance when the temp drops to a safe level.

Mix all ingredients except fragrance (and temp-sensitive preservative, if using). Warm in microwave in 15-30 second bursts, stirring after each heating period until emulsifier and solid oil are fully melted and colorant (if using) is even and the sticky mixture is smooth with no lumps. Pour into small molds and let cool. To unmold, chill in the refrigerator for 1/2 hour or more and pop the bars out.

To use, rub lightly over wet hair and work the product into the hair strands. You can rinse lightly to remove some of the conditioner or you can just towel dry your hair to leave more of the conditioner. You can also use this product as a light skin lotion -- rub it over your wet skin and lightly pat your skin dry.

I recommend making 100 grams for a test batch. Any less and it's hard to measure accurately unless you have a really good scale. Any more and you may be stuck with a bunch of product you don't like -- 100 grams lasts me a LONG time.

 

[navigator9]

You can substitute hemisqualane for the silicone in someone's recipe. I agree - I wouldn't use humectants in a product for frizzy hair either. You can simply leave them out. Here is a conditioner bar that I've been tweaking. This is my latest version. It probably doesn't have enough de-frizz to tame super-frizzy hair, so you may want to play with that.

Solid conditioner bar
All ingredient amounts are % by weight

Liquid oil … 8 … Avocado, meadowfoam, almond, etc
Solid oil … 10 … Shea, tallow, palm, mango butter, etc.

Hemisqualane … 8 … Or a silicone suitable as a defrizzing ingredient, but check the usage info for suggested amounts

Conditioning emulsifier … 62 … Emulsifier. Oil free conditioner. BTMS is a brand name product *
Cetyl alcohol … 10 … Thickener. Oil free conditioner

Colorant … 1 drop per 100 grams

Phenonip … 0.5 … Or other oil-soluble preservative. **
Fragrance … 1.5 … Essential oil or fragrance oil. Keep it light!

Total … 100%

* Conditioning emulsifier works as an emulsifier (duh!) but also as a oil-free conditioner for hair and skin. E-wax can be substituted and will work fine as the emulsifier in this recipe, but it doesn't offer any conditioning properties. You could also sub stearic acid for the cetyl alcohol, but again the cetyl is an oil-free conditioner and stearic is not.

** Phenonip is not temperature sensitive so it can be added with the other main ingredients. If you use another preservative, be sure to check the usage instructions -- if it is temp sensitive, then it has to be added with the fragrance when the temp drops to a safe level.

Mix all ingredients except fragrance (and temp-sensitive preservative, if using). Warm in microwave in 15-30 second bursts, stirring after each heating period until emulsifier and solid oil are fully melted and colorant (if using) is even and the sticky mixture is smooth with no lumps. Pour into small molds and let cool. To unmold, chill in the refrigerator for 1/2 hour or more and pop the bars out.

To use, rub lightly over wet hair and work the product into the hair strands. You can rinse lightly to remove some of the conditioner or you can just towel dry your hair to leave more of the conditioner. You can also use this product as a light skin lotion -- rub it over your wet skin and lightly pat your skin dry.

I recommend making 100 grams for a test batch. Any less and it's hard to measure accurately unless you have a really good scale. Any more and you may be stuck with a bunch of product you don't like -- 100 grams lasts me a LONG time.

Thanks so much DeeAnna! I'm going to give this a try. I've been struggling with my frizz for what seems like forever, although when I think about it, my hair was always wavy, but not nearly as frizzy as now. As it's gotten frizzier, I've thought that I needed to condition it more, but from what I'm learning, it may not be that it needs conditioning so much as that it needs the right kind of conditioning. I always let my hair air dry, so it's not that I have dry, frizzy hair, it's healthy and soft, just frizzy as anything. Remember Gilda Radner as Rosanna Rosannadana? That's what my hair wants to do. So I'm really keeping my fingers crossed that this will work. Thanks again for the recipe!

 

[DeeAnna]

I'm not saying this recipe is the ultimate solution to frizzy hair, but it's simple and easy to make and it lends itself to being tweaked and improved. Because this recipe has a minimum of exotic ingredients, I think it's more user friendly than some of the recipes on Susan's blog. Sometimes her recipes are overwhelming to me with too many exotic additives. I understand why she does it and don't blame her a bit, but I prefer to stick to fewer ingredients and preferably ones that can be used in a variety of products. I don't want to have my shelves full of "a little bit of this and a little of that."

 

[navigator9]

I'm not saying this recipe is the ultimate solution to frizzy hair, but it's simple and easy to make and it lends itself to being tweaked and improved. Because this recipe has a minimum of exotic ingredients, I think it's more user friendly than some of the recipes on Susan's blog. Sometimes her recipes are overwhelming to me with too many exotic additives. I understand why she does it and don't blame her a bit, but I prefer to stick to fewer ingredients and preferably ones that can be used in a variety of products. I don't want to have my shelves full of "a little bit of this and a little of that."

I agree, I was happy to see that your recipe was not a mile long. I hate the idea of buying dozens of ingredients in the hope that this recipe might work, only to have it not be the one for me, and as you mentioned, be left with a laundry list of things I'll never use again. I put an order in at Lotioncrafter today, and I'm anxious to give this a try.

For what it's worth, one of my favorite conditioners, one that makes my hair feel soft and silky, is the one included with Clairol's Natural Instincts hair color. I just took a look at the ingredients, and here they are.

COLOR TREAT CONDITIONER (3)
WATER, BIS-HYDROXY/METHOXY AMODIMETHICONE,
STEARYL ALCOHOL, CETYL ALCOHOL,
STEARAMIDOPROPYL DIMETHYLAMINE, GLUTAMIC
ACID, FRAGRANCE, BENZYL ALCOHOL, PANTHENYL
ETHYL ETHER, CITRIC ACID, EDTA, SODIUM CHLORIDE,
COCOS NUCIFERA (COCONUT) OIL, CARTHAMUS
TINCTORIUS (SAFFLOWER) SEED OIL, PANTHENOL,
TRIMETHYLSILOXYSILICATE, ALOE BARBADENSIS
LEAF JUICE, METHYLCHLOROISOTHIAZOLINONE,
METHYLISOTHIAZOLINONE

You can see the first ingredient is a "cone", but this one doesn't feel like it builds up in my hair at all, so I guess there are cones and there are cones. Yet others like the ones in Bio Silk, feel greasy if I use more than just the very tiniest amount.

And here is some more info I ran across, for what it's worth.
http://pedaheh.blogspot.com/2012/04/which-ingredients-to-avoid-in-curly.html

 

[navigator9]

Something else I just thought of...recently I noticed that my hair seemed even frizzier than usual. I was stumped. What had changed? Then I realized what it was. I always use an apple cider vinegar rinse between shampoo and conditioner, and I had run out of ACV, and kept forgetting to buy more. So it had been a while since I used it, and my hair noticed. I can't really say that it helps defrizz my hair, but it does make it feel softer. Don't know if this would work for everyone, but it does for me. I've seen it recommended in a 4:1, water to vinegar solution, I don't measure mine, but it's not nearly that strong, and it makes a difference for me, and it helps remove residue from all those products we use to attempt to defrizz. It's frustrating, I read a bunch of different articles today on what to do for frizzy hair, and I've tried most of them and they don't work. I'm convinced that the people who write the articles don't have frizzy hair! And I'm also convinced that many people confuse frizzy hair with curly hair or even wavy hair. NOT the same animal. I'd be very happy to be wavy or curly.

You'd think someone would have figured this solution out by now, wouldn't you?! :wtf:

 

[Saranac]

Something else I just thought of...recently I noticed that my hair seemed even frizzier than usual. I was stumped. What had changed? Then I realized what it was. I always use an apple cider vinegar rinse between shampoo and conditioner, and I had run out of ACV, and kept forgetting to buy more.

When I first started playing around with shampoo I was so dissatisfied because I felt like my hair was even frizzier when I got out of the shower than it was when I got in. And on top of that, there was so much drag when the shampoo was rinsed out that I couldn't run my fingers through my wet hair. I finally was able to fix all that by substituting ACV for some of the water. I loved what it did for my hair, but my better-half didn't like coming out of the shower smelling like a pickle. . . so I had to replaced the ACV with citric acid. Moral of the story--acid is good! (And with my hard water, a chelator, too!)

 

[navigator9]

I'm not saying this recipe is the ultimate solution to frizzy hair, but it's simple and easy to make and it lends itself to being tweaked and improved. Because this recipe has a minimum of exotic ingredients, I think it's more user friendly than some of the recipes on Susan's blog. Sometimes her recipes are overwhelming to me with too many exotic additives. I understand why she does it and don't blame her a bit, but I prefer to stick to fewer ingredients and preferably ones that can be used in a variety of products. I don't want to have my shelves full of "a little bit of this and a little of that."

Just a note to let you know that I made the conditioner bar, and washed my hair tonight and used it for the first time. I'm really surprised at how nice my hair feels! It's silky and slippery and soft. It's as nice as any commercial conditioner I've ever used with the exception of the one that comes with the hair coloring. I did order some amodimethicone to try the next time and I'm anxious to see how that works out. The only thing I'm not crazy about is the bar form. I felt like I had to work a lot harder to make sure that I got conditioner all through my hair, from roots to ends. Usually, I mix my conditioner with water and pour it through, so I think I may try a creamy style next time. But I wanted to thank you for the recipe, because as you mentioned, most of the ones I'd ever seen had sooooo many ingredients, I hesitated to try them, because I didn't know if they'd even work. This one is simple, and feels so good. Thanks again, DeeAnna!!!