20 Tips to Reduce Frizz in Curly & Wavy Hair

Monsoons aren’t a curly girl’s best friend, let me tell you that. Why? FRIZZ! Lot’s of it! Over on my Instagram, I often get messages like below:

 “My hair isn’t really curly but dry and frizzy. “

“My curls look great when they’re wet but they become poofy and frizzy when they dry!”

“My curls look good only on wash day! Next day it’s a cloud of frizz.”

Okay my curly haired fam – here’s the deal – Curly hair is naturally frizzy. We’ve got the driest texture of the lot & frizz is just a happy camper aboard the wavy & curly hair express. You gotta get okay living with it! Embrace it, life will get easier this way 😉

You can obviously reduce the poofy halo though. Follow the tips below – few are mentioned in my post on dry curly hair that I have repeated for this post ( to drive the point home in your heads 😀 ) & few are new! If you personally have a tip that will help other curly hair peeps, don’t forget to comment below!

1. Table of Contents

   • 1 Don’t brush your curls dry
   • 2 Don’t shampoo everyday
   • 3 Switch to a moisturising conditioner and leave in conditioner
   • 4 Increase quantity of conditioner and leave in conditioner.
   • 5 Switch to a CG friendly routine
   • 6 Check for glycerine & alcohol in your products
   • 7 Deep condition every other week.
   • 8 Add Honey or Glycerine to your DIY hair masks
   • 9 Apply Leave in Conditioner & gel to wet hair
   • 10 Add a Gel to your Routine
   • 11 Change Styling Technique
   • 12 Seal with oil
   • 13 Use a t shirt to scrunch and dry your curls
   • 14 Rinse with cold water
   • 15 Diffuse on cold
   • 16 Cut down/Avoid Heat
   • 17 Don’t touch your hair
   • 18 Protect your hair While Travelling & Sleeping
   • 19 Plop Your Hair
   • 20 Don’t overdo oiling
   • 21 Share this:
   • 22 Like this:

   Don’t brush your curls dry

   When you comb your curls dry, you disturb it’s pattern & this results in frizz. So comb it wet after you’ve applied conditioner inside the shower. Outside, add a leave in conditioner when hair is still wet & comb again.

   Tip: If you have too many tangles, detangle your hair with a little bit of oil before your shower. This way, when you condition and comb, less tension is put on the hair and consequently less breakage!

2. Don’t shampoo everyday

   Cowash ( use a light conditioner to cleanse) if you have to wash your hair more than thrice a week. The less you shampoo, more moisturised your curls will be.

3. Switch to a moisturising conditioner and leave in conditioner

   If you’re following the first tip & still struggle to detangle, it’s time to switch to something that remains more hydrated. My go to leave in currently are either of these three: As I Am Leave in Conditioner, Cantu Curl Activator or Miss Jessie Leave in Condish.

4. Increase quantity of conditioner and leave in conditioner.

   You understand just how much you need by trial and error. Drench your hair with conditioner. From a dollop to a palm full of leave in conditioner – listen to what your hair needs.

5. Switch to a CG friendly routine

   If you’re following all these tips but still have dry hair, switch to a routine that has no sulphates in your shampoo ( this dries out your curls) & no silicones in your conditioner ( which builds up on your hair & needs sulphates to remove). You can read more about it here.

6. Check for glycerine & alcohol in your products

   Glycerine free products perform better in humid conditions and products with it perform better in hot, drier season. So choose your leave in conditioner accordingly.

   Also, look for products without common alcohols (Ethanol alcohol, Ethyl alcohol, Propanol alcohol, Alcohol denat, Isopropyl alcohol, Isopropanol alcohol
   Benzyl alcoholor ). If it does have any of these, make sure it is in the bottom of the ingredients list. In this regard, do not use gels with alcohol in them, CG or Non CG.

   Tip: The closer ingredients are to the top of the list, the more concentrated they are.

7. Deep condition every other week.

   Huge reason why my frizz that I had, especially at the crown reduced over time. You can read more about deep conditioning curly hair here.

8. Add Honey or Glycerine to your DIY hair masks

   Honey is a natural humectant and glycerine helps draw moisture back in your curls. Add a spoonful to your homemade masks depending on if its dry or humid season.

9. Apply Leave in Conditioner & gel to wet hair

   I’ve noticed I have more frizz when I apply it on hair that has partially dried. If you have thick hair and apply leave in conditioner in sections (another tip to reduce frizz), keep a spray water bottle handy to re-wet the next section before you apply products.

10. Add a Gel to your Routine

    The amount of frizz I cut down by using a gel! Definitely add one to your routine & apply it right after your leave in conditioner. You can either comb after applying the gel as I do or scrunch in an upward direction. My go to gel at the moment is Ecostyler Gel.

11. Change Styling Technique

    If you find combing your curls after leave in conditioner gives you more frizz you can STC- Squish to Condish. Check out this video to learn.

12. Seal with oil

    Serums have silicones. Instead, take a light oil like almond or Jojoba & coat your strands with it. Not only will your hair shine, it will form a barrier between the strands & the environment.

13. Use a t shirt to scrunch and dry your curls

    A normal towel increases frizz. Either use a plain t shirt or alternatively use microfiber towels.

14. Rinse with cold water

    Doing this closes the hair cuticle & prevents the strands from absorbing water from the environment.

15. Diffuse on cold

    A diffuser spreads the air uniformly, making it less harsh on the curls. It is also my favourite way to get more volume for my curls! You can watch how I diffuse my hair in this video here.

16. Cut down/Avoid Heat

    The more you use the straightening iron, curler & blow drier on heat, the more you fry your hair strands & make frizz a frequent visitor.

17. Don’t touch your hair

    Especially until it dries. I know looking at my videos, it looks like I don’t follow this rule 😛 but I don’t mind a little bit of frizz. If you want to reduce frizz, adopt a no hands approach.

18. Protect your hair While Travelling & Sleeping

    Don’t let hair get trapped between bag straps while you travel. This will also increase breakage. Simply protect your hair & keep it out of the way when you travel with a lose pineapple or a ponytail.

    While sleeping or napping, use satin pillow cases at night or a satin bonnet. This is especially important if you have more frizz on day two & three. Check out my nighttime routine here.

19. Plop Your Hair

    Before you diffuse & after you finish styling, use a t shirt to plop your hair for 10-15 mins. This will keep your hair out of the way when you finish dressing & applying make up.

20. Don’t overdo oiling

    If you completely drench your hair in oil, you will need more shampoo to remove it. I find giving my scalp a good oil massage and applying generously to my ends makes it a less drying affair.

Oh and if you have frizz only on the crown, smooth down some leave in on the hair but make sure you don’t apply it onto the scalp!

How many of these are you following for your hair? Try them out and let me know the results!

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