Frizzy hair is serious. So serious, in fact, that meteorologists use an instrument containing human hair to measure the level of humidity in the atmosphere. The pouffy-haired among us don’t need science to tell us that -- all we have to do is look in the mirror to see that our stylish chin-length bob has shriveled up to resemble a Q-tip.
Here’s how frizz happens: A strand of hair has a protective outer layer, the cuticle, that looks like a series of fish scales along each strand. When the cuticle is exposed to moisture, the hair shaft soaks it up like a sponge and swells, lifting the cuticle’s surface, so it’s no longer smooth. The trick to fighting frizz is getting the cuticle to lie flat and keep it that way.
Frizzy hair is usually overly dry, porous hair in which excessive heat, harsh chemicals, and over-processing have created tiny gaps in the surface, gaps that gorge on any available moisture, get roughed up and make hair go haywire. That’s why nourishing shampoos, serums and oils are the answer -- they fill in those gaps, thereby smoothing the surface of each strand.