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View Full Version : Air drying fine frizzy hair - help



Mononoke
May 4th, 2012, 12:53 AM
Every time I air dry my hair (and before moisturizing it), it ends up very frizzy (one can't really see it from my pictures, since they were taken after taking down a bun, which helps with the frizz).
It gets better right after combing, but about 5 minutes later the frizz is back :(

Do any of you have suggestions on how to better air dry or deal with the frizz afterwards? Preferably without expensive products, since I'm on a low budget.

Thanks!

Roscata
May 4th, 2012, 03:30 AM
Microfiber towels can help with frizziness, but if you don't want to invest in one an old cotton t-shirt will work just as well, in stead of your usual towel. Lemon rinses (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=53745) (a half a tea spoon of lemon juice to an 8oz cup of water) work very well and so do leave-in conditioners or oils.

I personally oil my hair after washing to get rid of frizz, just remember less is more, only add enough oil to make your hand shinny, not glossy, because you can always add more, but washing it out takes a lot of effort. Aloe vera gel also works, the clear kind and if you're feeling adventurous you can try Kimberlily's defrizz spray (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=277).

Good luck! :D

torrilin
May 4th, 2012, 03:41 AM
A lot of the time frizz means your hair is fairly dry and less straight than you may have it typed. It can also mean you're touching your hair too much as it dries.

An easy way to deal with the fairly dry is to start doing condition-wash-condition, or at least some conditioner only washes. Both of those tend to be something you can do with your regular conditioner.

You can't really do much about less straight :). Your hair is what it is, and typing is meant to help you deal with what your hair naturally does. Generally caring for your hair in a way that suits your curl level will tend to make it easier to get a straight look if that's what you want.

As far as the no touching thing... it's hard. But it is a really vivid demonstration that most of the time hair is better off with less handling and fuss.

DancingQueen
May 4th, 2012, 03:42 AM
Well, If you oil the night before wash, wash with shampoo and conditioner in the morning, there should be no problem. The key is not to touch your hair before it is completely dry - just leave it alone. No extra products and no combing/brushing/etc. It worked for me and my extremely frizzy hair. :)

Quahatundightu
May 4th, 2012, 05:00 AM
The only thing that makes a difference for me is the weather! If it's humid NOTHING I do will prevent frizz. My good hair days are always nice warm sunny days, dry but not too dry. Now where can I move that has days like that all the time? :D

Earth Angel
May 4th, 2012, 05:52 AM
Same thing happens with mine :confused: even though I don't touch it at all when its drying. It tends to look like candy floss

whitedove
May 4th, 2012, 06:56 AM
Oh great timing for this post, I tried lemon juice rinse last night and I am so excited about the result. I have reduced frizz, its so reduced I can brush my hair without it fluffing. My hair is actually reseting on my shoulders and not in a 3" high fluff. Normally for me to get hair like this I would have to use cones or wait until 4 days after washing, I wish I had tried this years ago :D

Olyve
May 4th, 2012, 08:24 AM
Aloe, jojoba oil, ACV rinse and a silicone leave-in = HEAVEN for my frizzies.

My hair was always a huge puffball, and was given it's own nickname in high school LOL - I swore off silicone for a long time because of how dull my hair was, but all it needed was clarifying!
I now use silicone in my conditioner and in a leave-in. I wash, condition, ACV rinse (I do not rinse it out!!) - use a shirt to get excess water out. I then put in a leave-in, aloe and then a layer of jojoba oil. I let hair dry without touching and my frizz has disappeared. I will scrunch as I have wurls/curls with the shirt instead of wrapping it if I want super curls.

Mononoke
May 4th, 2012, 09:32 AM
Thank you all for the replies!
I will definitely try the lemon juice rinse. Just something I don't quite understand - Should I wash it out with water afterwards (I have hard water, if it's relevant)?

whitedove
May 4th, 2012, 09:41 AM
I have hard water too. I used the lemon rinse waited 30 seconds then rinsed with water after. For the mix of water and lemon for the rinse, I used 4 teaspoons of lemon in 1 litre of water.

*changed tablespoons to teaspoons :)

lapushka
May 4th, 2012, 09:47 AM
I have hard water too. I used the lemon rinse waited 30 seconds then rinsed with water after. For the mix of water and lemon for the rinse, I used 4 tablespoons of lemon in 1 litre of water.

Wow that's a lot. Over here, we use like 10 ml to 1 liter of water.

whitedove
May 4th, 2012, 09:52 AM
Wow that's a lot. Over here, we use like 10 ml to 1 liter of water.
oh ops I meant teaspoons, having a brain fart of a day, but it does seem alot to your 10ml, which is about 2 teaspoons.

lapushka
May 4th, 2012, 04:49 PM
oh ops I meant teaspoons, having a brain fart of a day, but it does seem alot to your 10ml, which is about 2 teaspoons.

Hey, it happens... :) Yeah, it is two teaspoons or 10 ml as per the info in the lemon rinse thread.

Roscata
May 4th, 2012, 04:49 PM
Thank you all for the replies!
I will definitely try the lemon juice rinse. Just something I don't quite understand - Should I wash it out with water afterwards (I have hard water, if it's relevant)?

You can make it more concentrated than 1/2 a tea spoon to 8oz of water, leave it on for a few minutes, and then rinse it out, but if it's the concentration I mentioned you can leave it in and not rinse it out. It really depends on you.

I used to make it 1 tea spoon of lemon juice to one cup of water, left it on while I did my shower duties and rinsed it out at the end with cold water because I was afraid that it might bleach my hair when exposed to sun.

mendy
May 4th, 2012, 05:06 PM
Recently read an interesting scientific article which found that low heat drying is actually better for hair (less damaging to cortex) then air-drying, because the hair shaft is swollen for less time.

I have found this anecdotally. I gave up high heat and flat ironing, but found that my hair looks better when I get it dry quickly with some medium to low heat, so have switched to that.

Roscata
May 4th, 2012, 05:31 PM
Recently read an interesting scientific article which found that low heat drying is actually better for hair (less damaging to cortex) then air-drying, because the hair shaft is swollen for less time.

I have found this anecdotally. I gave up high heat and flat ironing, but found that my hair looks better when I get it dry quickly with some medium to low heat, so have switched to that.

I've read scientific articles that showed when you use any kind of heat to dry hair your strands end up having less moisture than they have with room temperature drying. Dry hair ends up in split ends. You also move the hair around a lot with a blow dryer which causes friction and tangles that result in even more damage.

So I personally think that blow-drying is damaging no matter what and this whole "swollen" deal sound hockey to me because having moisture in your hair doesn't damage it, and if it did you can avoid doing that kind of damage by washing your hair less often and keeping it wet less time. Microfiber towels can reduce drying time and so can splitting up wet strands that stick together by fanning your hair with your hands without the damage that blow driers cause.

mendy
May 4th, 2012, 05:48 PM
Well, I haven't found that at all with my hair. I mean, it takes me 15 minutes max to dry my hair on a lowish setting, as opposed to hours the other way...That's a lot of time for water to be in the hair...Why are people so invested in certain ideas? I use a bit of heat because MY hair looks healthier than air drying when I do...Maybe this would be true for SOME others...

Let me find that article....

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3229938/?tool=pubmed

mendy
May 4th, 2012, 05:56 PM
Damage is to the cell membrane complex, not cortex. The point is, there is damage from both methods. You do what works for you. My hair looks better when I use a bit of heat. It also saves me hours of time.

Roscata
May 4th, 2012, 06:39 PM
Sorry if I upset you mendy, that was not my intention. You are totally free to say what you think is best, just like I am. We happen to have different opinions on this subject and I'm ok with that, but it doesn't mean I won't say what my opinion is just because it differs from someone else's.

If you want to blow dry your hair go ahead, and if it works for you that's awesome. I don't blow dry and I know that heat styling of any kind can result in dry, split end hair, which is why I avoid it like the plague. But maybe your hair is more resilient than mine. The operative word there being CAN. Not all things are 100% bad, always, no matter how you do them.

I hope you're not upset because of what I said. :flower:

ETA: I read the article you linked and copy-pasted some parts that I found very interesting:
"Hair drying without a hair dryer produced a relatively well protected hair surface, while hair that was dried using a hair dryer showed more damage of hair surfaces. In addition, the hair surfaces showed an overall tendency to become more damaged as the temperature increased, with the most severe surface damage produced after drying with the highest temperature (95℃).[...]
The CMC was damaged only in the naturally dried group.[...] However, the differences between the groups were not statistically significant." (Disscussion)

mendy
May 4th, 2012, 06:58 PM
You have misread the article. People who are interested can read it and come to their own conclusions...sigh.

kitcatsmeow
May 4th, 2012, 08:17 PM
Mine does that and it's not dry. I think it's just because of the chemical dye/bleach and the fact that my hair is wavy naturally. Bad combo. Wrap it when it's still slightly damp. I keep mine wrapped for 3 or 4 hours then wrap it the other way and volia! Perfectly straight and silky hair.

I use the top of silk nylons, cut the leg off, tie the nubs together. Wrap my hair using bobby pins and after putting my "cap on" I pull out the pins and give it a twist to smooth it all then finish with a bandanna for more compression.

BeckyAH
May 4th, 2012, 11:30 PM
I really wish I had an idea. After a bout of anemia earlier this year, associated hairloss, treatment *FOR* anemia - I have redefined frizz. I have tons of new growth, it is curly, and is determined to stick STRAIGHT up around my head. And nothing keeps it down.

I swear, if anything prompts me to shave my head, it wont' be damage. It'll be the two inch long halo of fuzz. Not just because it's fuzz, mind you, but because it looks like damage - to ME, anyway - and I hate that.

battle_angel
May 11th, 2012, 04:39 AM
Thank you mendy for posting the article! I am always interested in studies and what the science has to say. It may not be right 100% of the time, but it's helpful to see study results - often it can save lots of time and money. Oh, wouldn't it be great to have an archive of all kinds of hair research all in one place? ^_^

Your POV is contrary to what seems to be the common knowledge here on LHC so it's not surprising that you meet other people who oppose your ideas.

I've read the article and think that Roscata also has a valid point, as the differences between the groups were not statistically significant. So, maybe it's best for each person to experiment and see what works for their particular hair type and not worry of ruining their hair unless they use high temperatures.

- Laetitia