Weird curly, frizzy flyaways - help!

[florenonite]

Whenever I wash my hair I get these weird curly, frizzy flyaways that look unkempt and are, frankly, embarrassing, and they're really obvious at least until my hair dries (which takes, erm, around 8 hours? Possibly more?). I tried to take some photos, but my hair is fine and fair and so you can't really see them, but it's basically like every single one of my baby hairs is curling up and away from my head, like I've stuck my finger in a socket. They're also concentrated above my ears, so things like conditioning from the ears down wouldn't help.

From my time here I've learned that these are usually a sign that your hair is curlier than you think it is, but every time I've tried to coax waves out of my hair it's either ended up with even more of this frizz or just ended up lank and greasy. I wash every other day, and I have to wash in the morning (see drying time ;) ), so this is something I'm dealing with at work at least twice a week and, while I can damp bun for a while to help get these under control, I have to take the bun out at lunch time if I want my hair to be dry by the following morning, and then the frizzies come back.

Besides these frizzies, my hair seems pretty healthy and sufficiently moisturised. It doesn't tangle easily and it's soft like cat fur. By day 2, when it's dry and I've brushed it, it's pretty shiny, too, and often too slippery to stay in a bun.

Here's my current routine:

Wash every other day with a sulfate-free shampoo
No conditioner (see below)
Coconut oil or Nightblooming salve on dry hair as needed (applied from around chin to ends).


And these are some things I've tried in the past that didn't work for me:

Stretching washes. I need to wash regularly to keep my eczema from getting cranky.
Products containing cones or glycerin (which rules out just about every conditioner ever devised by man, as well as shampoo bars). They make my hair greasy wherever I apply them.
Oiling on wet hair. Again, it makes it greasy.
WO. It makes my hair, if possible, greasier than before I got in the shower.
Acid rinses. I tried ACV many moons ago and it made my hair greasy. Citric acid dried my hair out. Lemon juice rinses work okay, but I don't like doing them in the morning in case I'm out in the sun later, and I didn't see any real difference in my hair last time I used one.


Any suggestions? I know the obvious answer is 'condition', but even if I could find a conditioner that didn't contain an ingredient my hair doesn't like, I'm not sure it would help much as the problem is concentrated on the shorter baby hairs, and given how quickly my hair needs washed I don't think applying conditioner at the scalp is a good idea.

TIA!

ETA: Photos in post #9 (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=138995&p=3269520&viewfull=1#post3269520).

[Decoy24601]

From what I've been told, weird curly/frizzy flyaways are typical of 1c hair. I get them too and have had them since I hit puberty and my hair texture changed.

What I do is use flaxseed gel every day. It's relatively easy to make, cheap, and doesn't weigh down or cause buildup. It also has a light hold, which will help to bring out any waves you have. What I love doing is smoothing it over the braids that I sleep in. Flaxseed gel is also a film-forming humectant, so it will moisturize your hair too. It's water-soluble, so you don't have to worry about washing it out with shampoo. You can put a lot on without it looking like it has any product on it too. If you add just a bit of xanthan gum to even out the consistency, it adds a little bit of crunch too, but that goes away as soon as you detangle. So far, this is the only thing I've found that will smooth down my frizzies while boosting volume and without causing buildup.

My frizzies on a high humidity, rainy day:
http://i.imgur.com/52f4gQG.png

So, I feel your pain.

[Frankenstein]

Welcome to my life :D I have a ton of these hairs too, although they go from ear level to neck level. I've tried everything to make them behave and nothing has worked (aside from flat ironing, which I'm not about to do that often). Some days they're worse than others but they're always there. Since they seem to be newer growth, I've just tried to ignore them, but to be honest they're the thing I hate most about my hair. And I find it especially annoying since I have a ton of inch-long hairs growing from my scalp that don't frizz up the way these do :rolleyes: I keep hope that as they grow longer they'll straighten themselves out.

Edited to add: Just saw Decoy's post, I'm also 1c like you guys, so maybe that has something to do with it :lol:

[florenonite]

Thanks for the gel suggestion, Decoy. Do you think AVG might work, too? I have some in my bathroom cabinet (the pure clear stuff), so if possible I'd rather try that first, as my hair has a complicated relationship with humectants.

I see we live in similar climates (assuming you're not in the mountains :) ), which compounds the problem; I don't have so much trouble when I visit my family in Ontario, especially in the winter!

[Decoy24601]

Personally, AVG and I have a love-hate relationship. It does end up causing a bit of buildup that's hard to wash out if I use too much (my hair is low porosity though), but it does smooth down the frizz. I usually do mix a little AVG in with my flaxseed gel though. I personally prefer my flaxseed gel with a little bit of aloe in it. I find it to be much more moisturizing and softening and it's a lot harder to use "too much". Flaxseeds also have the benefit that they're much cheaper than finding 100% AVG. I can find them for dirt cheap in the bulk foods/nuts area of my grocery store. I haven't found any pure AVG sold in my town, so I have to buy it off of amazon for about $18 for a small bottle.

Oh, the humidity around here is terrible. I live in a town that's technically below sea level if I remember correctly. During the fall/winter it's not so bad, because the humidity doesn't go much higher than around 60% and it's colder. It very rarely gets as dry as when I lived in Alaska. My hair behaved a lot better then, but the cold and dry air ended up damaging my hair anyways, because I never did anything to moisturize it.

For a long time in high school I actually used my father's hair gel that he spiked his short hair with to smooth down my frizz, but it had such a stiff hold that my hair looked crunchy unless I took the time to brush through it for a while and work the hair apart.

You could try both, and see which one your hair likes better, or a mix of the two.

[florenonite]

$18 for a small bottle?! My bottle is something like 500g, and it cost me around half as much.

My hair is low-porosity, too, which I think is why it has issues with humectants in this climate. It's pretty damp year-round, too; it rarely falls below freezing but feels colder at 2C than Ontario feels at -15C, so my hair doesn't get any respite in the winter.

I'll try the AVG first, then, as I already have it lying around, and if my hair's not wild about it I'll boil up some flaxseed gel.

[lapushka]

Join the wispy club ;)
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=131555

It's perfectly normal to have these. I just ignore them, because they lay differently with every wash anyway. And there's fairly little you can do apart from slicking them down (which I'm not about to put oily stuff on my roots).

[lithostoic]

Definitely try avg in a spray bottle with water. I haven't tried it because I actually like my frizz (weird I know) but it seems like it would work well! I use avg as eyebrow gel haha.

[florenonite]

Join the wispy club ;)
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=131555

It's perfectly normal to have these. I just ignore them, because they lay differently with every wash anyway. And there's fairly little you can do apart from slicking them down (which I'm not about to put oily stuff on my roots).

Sadly, they're not just wispies around my hairline and nape (I'm okay with those ones; they add softness to updos). If I bun my hair when it's wet it actually looks fine. It's when I wear it down as it dries that the hairs all over my head start floating out, as though the entire top layer has suddenly decided that Hermione c. Philosopher's Stone is a good look for me.

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz270/frogggyh/Frizzies_zpsqudjzktf.png

On the left is how my hair looks around 1.5 hours of washing; on the right after bunning it for 4.5 hours and fingercombing.

These pictures don't even really do the situation justice, as they're with my phone camera and my hair is fine and light. It didn't settle down for another 5 hours or so, when it was mostly dry (besides at my nape).

It's not really something I can ignore, because it means I have this ridiculous messy hair at the office every other day.

[littlestarface]

My hair does it too, it just comes with the territory.
http://i.imgur.com/4n8z9EE.jpg



Hair grows in different lengths so those shorter ones are gonna look like that, unless you bun it.

[lapushka]

Maybe try and use a heavier conditioner? Something that weighs it down a little more.

[leilan]

Hi, another 1c(ish) here. I get the same thing. FWIW, AVG works well to tame the frizzies for me. I put one tiny squirt on one hand, wet the other hand and rub them together. Then I 'pet' the frizzies, not pressing down hard into the hair, but just enough to push the frizzies down.

For the ones on your length, a light oil might help. For me, camellia oil is the only thing that doesn't make my hair look oily. I apply one to two drops to damp hair from my shoulders down.

I definitely sympathize with you! While I try not to hate the frizzies because it means new growth, it's very hard to enjoy them, since they make my otherwise smooth hair look like a mess.

[Groovy Granny]

I have new growth the entire length from crown to hemline, and on shampoo or humid days they take on a life of their own :p

Most of the time I ignore it....when I can't, I spritz a BBB with hairspray and give the top layer a light brush over; that tames my fine silver pretty well.

[Anje]

Is the weather being weird there? More humid or warmer or something? (Word on the radio is that there's a heat wave, but I don't know if that's affecting you way up in Scotland.)

Randomly, what does your hair do with protein? (I'm not thinking conditioner. Maybe a spoon or two of soy sauce in a cup of water. Flaxen said it didn't stain her hair when she used it.)

[florenonite]

Maybe try and use a heavier conditioner? Something that weighs it down a little more.

Sadly I can't use most conditioners because they contain either cones or glycerin, both of which make my hair greasy.


Hi, another 1c(ish) here. I get the same thing. FWIW, AVG works well to tame the frizzies for me. I put one tiny squirt on one hand, wet the other hand and rub them together. Then I 'pet' the frizzies, not pressing down hard into the hair, but just enough to push the frizzies down.

For the ones on your length, a light oil might help. For me, camellia oil is the only thing that doesn't make my hair look oily. I apply one to two drops to damp hair from my shoulders down.

I definitely sympathize with you! While I try not to hate the frizzies because it means new growth, it's very hard to enjoy them, since they make my otherwise smooth hair look like a mess.

Thanks for the advice! I'll try petting my frizzies with AVG after I wash tomorrow morning :)

I've not tried camellia oil; I'll have to keep an eye out for it.

[lapushka]

Sadly I can't use most conditioners because they contain either cones or glycerin, both of which make my hair greasy.

I don't find that conditioner makes my scalp more oily (and I have SD), but I don't use conditioner on my scalp, only on my lengths! And you can even just put it on the very ends if it worries you.

[Anya15]

Totally normal. I have this on almost all days and it's terrible on wash day :lol:

[florenonite]

I don't find that conditioner makes my scalp more oily (and I have SD), but I don't use conditioner on my scalp, only on my lengths! And you can even just put it on the very ends if it worries you.

Oh, I don't put it on my scalp, either. Ingredients like glycerin make my length greasy!

[lapushka]

Oh, I don't put it on my scalp, either. Ingredients like glycerin make my length greasy!

Have you tried the conditioner of a lighter range, say from a volume shampoo, from a shampoo designed for oily hair, or from the Aqua Light (Pantene). They are usually way too light for my taste, but they might work for you.

If you have, then well... it might not work for everybody. YMMV, I guess.

[Daydreamer.]

I have hair like that, too. I've tried just about everything to lay them flat to no avail. So, I just let them be.

[florenonite]

Have you tried the conditioner of a lighter range, say from a volume shampoo, from a shampoo designed for oily hair, or from the Aqua Light (Pantene). They are usually way too light for my taste, but they might work for you.

If you have, then well... it might not work for everybody. YMMV, I guess.

Hmm, I just looked up the Pantene Aqua Light and it does not contain glycerin, so it might be worth a shot.

I just took my hair down from its towel turban, fingercombed and petted it with aloe vera, so I'll see how that looks in an hour or two.

[lapushka]

Hmm, I just looked up the Pantene Aqua Light and it does not contain glycerin, so it might be worth a shot.

I just took my hair down from its towel turban, fingercombed and petted it with aloe vera, so I'll see how that looks in an hour or two.

I never noticed a lot of glycerin in my conditioners. This puzzles me. Is it under a more chemical name that I might not recognize?

[florenonite]

I never noticed a lot of glycerin in my conditioners. This puzzles me. Is it under a more chemical name that I might not recognize?

Nope, it's just listed as glycerin. Weird, it seems to be in just about every conditioner I've looked at, and a lot of shampoos, too. Maybe it's more common in cone-free conditioners?

[lapushka]

Nope, it's just listed as glycerin. Weird, it seems to be in just about every conditioner I've looked at, and a lot of shampoos, too. Maybe it's more common in cone-free conditioners?

Oh, that could be it.

[florenonite]

Okay, yesterday morning I petted a bit of AVG on my hair and fingercombed it through, but it didn't make much difference to the frizz; about the only discernible difference was that the bulk of my hair was straighter (presumably due to more manipulation), so the curly frizz was more noticeable.


Is the weather being weird there? More humid or warmer or something? (Word on the radio is that there's a heat wave, but I don't know if that's affecting you way up in Scotland.)

Randomly, what does your hair do with protein? (I'm not thinking conditioner. Maybe a spoon or two of soy sauce in a cup of water. Flaxen said it didn't stain her hair when she used it.)

Sorry, Anje, didn't see your post before!

And, yes, it has been incredibly hot and humid (by Scottish standards ...) here lately; on Tuesday it was 25 degrees with 91% humidity. That's not an abnormally high humidity percentage, but with warmer weather it is of course more moisture in the air. That being said, yesterday it was around 18 with 70% humidity, and my hair still frizzed up.

I've never actually tried any protein treatments for my hair, so I've no idea how they affect it. I'll try the soy sauce. I'm not really worried about staining as my hair seems to have some kind of stain-repellent force field around it; when I did a henna gloss a few years back it faded within a few months.

[Obsidian]

Suave daily clarifying conditioner is cone and glycerin free, maybe that would work for you?
AVG does nothing for my hair. Plain aloe juice feels better but it doesn't help frizz at all.

[florenonite]

Suave daily clarifying conditioner is cone and glycerin free, maybe that would work for you?
AVG does nothing for my hair. Plain aloe juice feels better but it doesn't help frizz at all.

Thanks for the suggestion! I'll keep an eye out for it; I don't think I've ever seen Suave products over here (and I just tried Amazon and the prices were ludicrous!).