What Causes Frizzy Hair? 35 Reasons Why Your Hair Gets Frizzy
By Shehnaz Shirazi
Updated
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Lack of moisture, humidity, heat … sometimes it’s confusing to understand what causes frizzy hair.
But if you zoom in on a frizzy strand – the main culprit is always the same:
A raised cuticle layer.
So what’s making your hair’s outer layer fray in the first place?
Could it be your shampoo, your straightener, your towel, your hairbrush?
Here you go …
What Causes Frizzy Hair?
Genetics, damage, and humidity are the 3 main contributing factors for frizzy hair, according to cosmetic chemist Randy Schueller.
But these 3 factors can manifest in many different ways depending on your hair texture, hair care routine, and lifestyle, causing different types of frizz.
So before you go and buy any products to tame your fuzzy troubled spots, you’ll need to understand what’s causing your hair to frizz.
By identifying the root causes of the problem, you’ll be able to make better decisions by adapting your hair routine accordingly and picking the right products without wasting your money on junk.
So here’s the complete list of the causes for frizzy hair. Identify your bugbear and check out our suggestions.
Table Of Contents
- What Causes Frizzy Hair?
- 1. Humidity
- 2. Dry and Dehydrated Hair
- 3. Genetics
- 4. Hair Damage
- 5. High Porosity Hair
- 6. The Weather
- 7. Static Charges
- 8. Shampoos With Sulfates
- 9. Over Cleansing
- 10. Lack of Conditioners in Your Hair Wash Routine
- 11. You’re Not Using Hair Cuticle-Sealing Products
- 12. Hot Showers
- 13. Hard Water
- 14. Swimming Pools (Chlorine)
- 15. Towel Drying
- 16. Poor Scalp Health
- 17. Alcohol-Based Hair Products
- 18. Chemical Processing
- 19. Split Ends
- 20. Product Buildup
- 21. Heat Styling
- 22. Brushing Your Hair When It’s Dry
- 23. Improper Detangling
- 24. Your Hair Tools Are Too old!
- 25. Your hair is Too Long
- 26. You’re Touching Your Hair Too Much
- 27. Sweaty Hair After Your Workouts
- 28. Your Pillowcase is Not Smooth
- 29. Aging
- 30. Fluctuating Hormones
- 31. Pregnancy
- 32. Bad Diet
- 33. Health Conditions
- 34. Medications
- 35. For Synthetic Wigs – (Lack of Care)
- How to Stop Frizzy Hair
- Final Thoughts
1. Humidity
Try as hard as you might to keep your locks on fleek … the slightest tinge of humidity in the air is enough to kiss goodbye to your sleek and sophisticated hairstyles. And it’s hello, Monica Geller!
Humidity can spoil a perfect hair day in minutes, whether it’s in the form of light drizzles of rain, sweat, or a high dew point. Even the most delicately crafted hairstyle will frizz up.
What To Do:
Check the frizz forecast before heading out
Accuweather provides an excellent feature on their weather report called the Frizz Index Forecast, which can help you plan ahead to keep your hair humidity-proof.
Use an anti-humidity hair spray
Anti-humidity hair sprays are excellent on-the-go products that can shield your hair and lock your style in place even when the humidity reaches Afro levels on the frizz index.
The spray coats your hair with silicone to prevent moisture from creeping in through the cuticles.
Keep your hair moisturized
Moisture moves from high concentration areas to low concentration areas.
You don’t want your hair to be a low concentration magnet for the dampness to find refuge. If you plump your hair with extra moisture, it will be satiated enough to repel the hair-swelling condensation.
Also Check Out: How to combat frizzy hair in high humidity.
2. Dry and Dehydrated Hair
Frizzy hair is a sign of dryness. It shows that your hair is crying out for moisture.
Dry and frizzy hair can also cause uncombable hair syndrome as the hair refuses to lie flat no matter how much you comb it.
The main reason dry hair becomes frizzy is that the strands project away from the main body of the hair seeking moisture.
Just as plant roots stretch towards the nearest sources of water in the soil, your parched hair strands start to unfold from their styled pattern desperately searching for that nearest source of water in the surrounding air.
What To Do:
Moisturize your hair thoroughly from the shower
When your hair is optimally hydrated from within, it remains perfectly balanced with the outside humidity. Therefore, it won’t beg for extra moisture.
If in-shower conditioning is not enough to hold your hair throughout the day, use a leave-in conditioner to top it up as and when you feel your locks are starting to feel dry.
3. Genetics
Your hair can be genetically predisposed to frizziness because of its texture.
For example, African-American, wavy, and curly hair tend to be the driest of all hair types because the scales on the cuticle layer don’t lay flat and aligned. They are naturally raised, which causes moisture to escape.
To makes things worse, the natural oils produced by the scalp (sebum) also struggle to work their way down the hair lengths because of the twists, bends, and spirals that create obstacles in their way.
On the other hand, straight, Caucasian, and Asian hair, which are straight, are always perfectly aligned and sebum is evenly distributed. That’s why straight hair doesn’t always feel frizzy and is more manageable than naturally curly, kinky, or coily hair types.
What To Do When Your Hair Is Predisposed To Frizz:
Use products formulated for your hair type
While there isn’t much you can do to change the hair you were born with – you can still tame and control the appearance of frizz by compensating for the lack of moisture and natural oils.
For curly hair, don’t just use any regular hair product anyone with straight hair would use. There are specially formulated shampoos, conditioners, and masques designed for curls that can boost cuticle hydration and mimic sebum to keep your curls moisturized and frizz-free.
For example, DevaCurl, CurlSmith, John Frieda, Carol’s Daughter, and Shea Moisture are some of the best brands that make hair products exclusively for people with curly, dry, and textured hair. Check them out.
Try the LOC or LCO Method
Depending on your natural hair’s porosity, the LOC or LCO methods can help.
Read: The complete guide to the LOC Method for dry and porous hair.
Both methods use a moisture layering treatment involving applying oil, conditioner, and cream in a specific order to help the hair capture and seal maximum moisture.
Do it once a week as part of your hair care routine to help support your hair’s moisture balance. I’ve been doing the LOC method on my curls for years now, and it helps my natural pattern from turning into a frizzy mess.
4. Hair Damage
Years of accumulated damage from coloring, chemical treatments, and using products with harsh chemicals can cause frizzy hair problems because they weaken and lift the cuticles.
The hair shafts also become highly porous when cracks and gaps emerge along the surface, exposing the inner cortex to attract moisture.
What To Do:
Grow out the damaged parts and chop them off
While it’s impossible to reverse damage caused to the hair, the best thing you can do is to nurture your strands back gradually until the damaged parts start to grow out. Once you get enough growth, cut the damaged parts out.
Use products that can make your hair manageable by replenishing lost keratin and collagen.
5. High Porosity Hair
Hair porosity refers to how well your hair can absorb and keep hold of moisture.
If you have high porosity hair, it means the cuticles are open, have cracks and gaps along the surface, which allow moisture to pass through, but won’t allow moisture to stay in for longer.
A highly porous hair strand works like a sponge with big holes that can soak in a lot and leak out a lot.
What To Do:
Moisturize with the LOC method
As I mentioned above, the LOC method is the best way to maximize hydration into dry and highly porous hair because of its liquid, oil, and conditioning formula that infuses and seals moisture.
6. The Weather
Weather affects your hair in many ways. In fact, we girls wear our hairstyles depending on how cold, hot, or humid it is out there before stepping out the door.
Reason: We don’t want a frizz emergency!
Here’s how weather conditions can cause your hair to frizz unexpectedly:
Cold Winters
Hair is hygroscopic, which means it allows its moisture level to balance out with its surrounding environment.
In high humidity, it will soak up moisture from the air to bring itself level with humid air, and when it’s cold and dry outside, it will expel moisture to equalize with dry air. That’s why you experience brittle and frizzy hair in cold months.
Rain and Monsoons
Rain or monsoon increases the level of moisture in the air. And when the humidity levels are high, your hair swells past the cuticles causing its shape to distort.
Summer
Prolonged exposure to the sun can dehydrate the hair causing discoloration, dryness, brittle strands resulting in frizziness.
What To Do:
Shield your hair from the scorching heat, dry winters, or humidity by wearing an appropriate weather-proof protection spray.
And don’t forget to moisturize thoroughly before styling.
7. Static Charges
Static happens when your hair builds up electric charges due to friction from other objects like a hairbrush, hair accessories, or even a change in the weather. As a result, the electrical charges make the hair strands repel each other, causing the appearance of a frizzy halo on top of your head.
Causes of frizzy flyaway static hair:
Dry Hair
Static is more likely to happen when your hair feels dry because dry surfaces don’t conduct electricity well. When your hair has enough moisture, static charges will spread out evenly, reducing the buildup happening in one place.
Brushing
According to celebrity stylist Jenny Cho, using a plastic brush can cause static in your hair.
Watch this video to understand more about why plastic materials create static in the hair.
What To Do:
Use anti-static dryer sheets
Anti-static or fabric softener dryer sheets are excellent for calming static hair. With just a few swipes, you can fix the static frizzy hairs and add much-needed moisture back into your strands.
Use an anti-static oil
An anti-static oil makes your hair more conductive, therefore spreading out electric charges to prevent your hair from ballooning into frizz in patches.
Here are two excellent products to smooth out the surface of the hair and prevent static:
Related: Anti-frizz hair sheets: The celeb-approved frizz tamer.
8. Shampoos With Sulfates
Most drugstore shampoos contain sulfates and other detergents that attract oils and water to loosen grime, dirt, and buildup from the skin and hair. The problem, however, is that sulfates don’t discriminate. While cleansing the hair, they also strip sebum, which lubricates the hair strands and smoothens the cuticle layer.
Over time, the cuticle cells start to tear apart and buckle, leaving your hair unprotected and prone to frizziness and breakage.
What To Do:
Use gentle SLS-free shampoos
Since the hair and scalp are naturally in the acidic range (low pH), using hair products that respect the pH harmony will ensure a good balance that keeps the scalp and hair happy and healthy.
Look for sulfate-free and low pH shampoos.
9. Over Cleansing
Less shampoo = Less frizz
Even if you’re using a good sulfate-free shampoo, washing your hair too often can unsettle your scalp’s natural oils.
You should aim to wash your hair a maximum of twice a week. If you’re washing more than twice a week, then you’re not giving your scalp’s natural oils the chance to work.
Sebum is an essential part of the equation to keep your hair moisturized and your scalp in good health. Messing up with its cycle will give you chronic hair problems, including frizz, breakage, and scalp irritations.
What To Do:
Stretch your washdays
Allow the natural oils time to settle. It may feel gross to see your scalp greasy, but this natural greasiness is essential to lubricate the lengths of the hair and protect your scalp from bacterial infection.
Spread out your washdays, and train your hair to get used to washing less.
Try the No Poo method
The No Poo method is an excellent way to train your scalp to adjust without shampoos. It helps you stretch your washdays for longer and eventually learn to wash your hair with just pure water.
10. Lack of Conditioners in Your Hair Wash Routine
You’re probably not using enough conditioners in your hair after your shampoo.
Conditioners help to rebalance the hair’s pH by neutralizing the static-causing negative charges from surfactants in shampoos. They also help to smooth down the cuticles and give your hair slip for proper detangling.
What To Do:
Don’t rush the conditioning process.
It’s an essential step in your shower routine. Make sure you apply your conditioner generously from mid-length to the tip of your hair.
Tip:
Don’t apply conditioner too close to your scalp. It will create buildup.
11. You’re Not Using Hair Cuticle-Sealing Products
Although conditioners do an excellent job at sealing the cuticles after your shampoo, there are times when the cuticles will still unsettle even when you’re not shampooing. For example, when brushing, detangling, or heat styling.
You need to work on optimizing your hair’s cuticle layer by using products that can moisturize and seal the hair shaft for a more extended period.
What To Do:
Use low pH products
Every product has a pH value, which alters the natural pH of the hair.
When the pH goes high (alkaline), the cuticles open, and when the pH drops (acidic), the cuticles close and lay flat. Use lower pH hair products like conditioners to keep your hair in its happy range.
Use an acidifier to smoothen and tighten your hair cuticles
You can do an apple cider vinegar rinse once every week to neutralize alkaline buildup in the hair and on the scalp. ACV also helps to keep the hair soft and smooth.
Do a cold water rinse after your shower
Hot water creates steam which swells the hair shafts forcing the cuticles to lift. A burst of cold water will snap the cuticles shut and keep them smooth and tight. It also helps your hair look radiant and shiny.
Use a cuticle porosity reconstructor (CPR) treatment
CPR is a restorative treatment that repairs the hair cuticles by replenishing nutrients and lipids that have been depleted from the hair shaft. The protein, silk amino acids, and keratin penetrate the broken strands of individual hairs to seal them.
12. Hot Showers
Steam from hot showers works like a sauna for your hair. It opens the pores and lifts the cuticle scales to infuse moist heat into the hair shafts. This is one of the main reasons why your hair always feels so frizzy after a shower. Combined with a harsh oil-stripping shampoo, then blow-drying, and clamping between the hot plates of your straightener, your locks stand no chance of making it frizz-free!
What To Do:
Use lukewarm water when washing your hair, and always finish off with a quick blast of cold water. Try to air-dry your hair when possible and avoid using hot tools if not necessary.
13. Hard Water
Hard water contains many minerals that can leave hard residues coating the hair strands. Over time, the minerals accumulate and crystallize, causing obstruction to moisture which leads to dry and brittle hair.
What To Do:
Use a hard water shower filter
To prevent hard water from making your hair frizzy, use a shower filter to neutralize and remove the minerals before they hit your hair. A shower filter will also help your skin feel softer.
Use a hard water neutralizing shampoo
You can also add a hard water shampoo to your hair wash routine once a fortnight or monthly. A hard water shampoo uses a unique formula with chelating agents that are excellent at neutralizing minerals and help them dissolve.
Also, check out the Malibu C hard water crystal gels. They are excellent at fizzing out buildup and mineral residues that make your hair dry.
14. Swimming Pools (Chlorine)
Chlorine is a harsh oxidizer used in swimming pools to kill bacteria. It also works as a bleaching agent.
When it comes in contact with the skin and hair, it eats away the lipid layer, stripping the natural oils and causing structural damage to the skin’s protective layer and hair’s cuticle layers.
Chlorine makes your hair dry, coarse, brittle, and prone to static and breakage if you don’t protect your hair when swimming.
What To Do:
Saturate your hair thoroughly with regular tap water before jumping in the pool or wear a protective swim cap.
Recommended:
15. Towel Drying
Hair is at its weakest when it’s wet. It gets mushy and stretches more due to the increase of hydrogen bonds within. So when you rub a coarse towel onto it, the movements stretch the hair causing the cuticles to unfold.
That’s why I personally never use a cotton towel because the fabric pulls on my hair, causing tangles. I always find myself having more frizz after towel-drying.
What To Do:
Use a microfiber towel
A microfiber towel is an excellent alternative to regular cotton towels because it has a smoother surface and absorbs more water from the hair without the need to rub. Just wrap it around your head for a few minutes to blot your hair, then unwrap, finger comb your locks, and let them loose.
It’s the best way to allow your hair to air dry without going frizzy.
16. Poor Scalp Health
Many people suffer from combination hair problems where the scalp feels oily, but the hair is frizzy at the front and dry at the ends.
This happens due to reasons like:
- Stress – Higher cortisol levels causing oiler roots
- Buildup – Too much buildup on the scalp
When your scalp is not healthy, every single strand of hair will reflect it. To fix combination hair problems, you need to work on rebalancing your scalp back to a healthy state.
What To Do:
Use a scalp balancing treatment
When your scalp’s not feeling so zen, a balancing treatment can help dissolve impurities and restore pH levels. The Aveda Pramasana, for example, can clean the scalp pores to leave it feeling re-energized and balanced without overdrying.
17. Alcohol-Based Hair Products
Alcohol-based ingredients are mainly used in hair products to allow styling agents to attach faster. The problem is, alcohol has a quick-drying effect. It evaporates fast, sucking the hair dry in the process.
While not all alcohols are bad, you should watch out for short-chained ones like:
- Ethanol
- Denatured alcohol
- Propanol
- Propyl alcohol
- and Isopropyl alcohol
According to hair care brand Pantene, short-chained alcohols are bad for the hair as they cause dry, brittle, and frizzy hair when used frequently.
Related: Why dry shampoos with Butane and Propane are bad.
What To Do:
Use oils or creams for styling
Limit using hair products that contain the alcohols listed above. Instead, use oils or creams to style your hair, which is non-drying.
18. Chemical Processing
Frequent coloring, straightening, rebonding, or bleaching treatments can leave your hair feeling over-processed, resulting in endless breakage, split ends, dry patches, and frizziness.
That’s because any chemical products used to alter the hair’s structure, shape, and color, contain alkaline agents that lift the cuticles to deposit color in the hair cortex or modify the structure of the keratin bonds.
Over time, the frequent manipulation of the cuticle layer can leave your hair feeling overworked and stressed out. And when that dreaded hair rut kicks in, every day feels like you’re fighting a losing battle to prevent frizz.
What To Do:
Grow your hair out and trim the damaged parts
If your hair feels over-processed, the best thing to do is give it time to heal, allow the damaged parts to grow out, and then cut them. You cannot literally repair your damaged strands, but you can use healing products to manage them until it’s time to chop them off.
19. Split Ends
The ends of your hair are the oldest and the furthest from the scalp. Therefore, they don’t get enough natural oils to keep them lubricated and moisturized. That’s why the ends of your hair quickly develop into a messy pattern that refuses to blend in with the rest of your hair.
What To Do:
Do regular trims
Getting regular trims is the best way to prevent the dry ends of the hair from developing into frizzy layers.
Use a split ends smoothing serum.
If you don’t have time for regular trims, use a frizzy hair serum in between to camouflage and seal those straggly ends.
Reduce heat styling
Keep them away from heat. The ends are the most fragile and brittle part of your hair. Therefore, they will always end up frizzy after flat ironing as they’ll instantly curl up due to lack of moisture.
20. Product Buildup
If your moisturizing game is A+ and you’re still experiencing frizz, it can be a sign that you have product buildup in your hair.
See, when you use many hair styling products, some of their leftovers accumulate, causing a thin layer over the hair shafts. For example, silicone, which is present in many hair products these days, tends to stick like glue and is also non-soluble, making it hard to rinse out with regular shampoos.
Over time, the buildup affects your hair’s ability to extract nutrients and moisturizing goodness from other hair products like conditioners.
What To Do:
Use a clarifying shampoo
Add a weekly clarifying shampoo to your hair care routine to purge product buildup that may be obstructing moisture.
A clarifying shampoo is excellent at breaking down dirt, oils, and product remnants to leave the hair surface super clean and in optimal condition for absorbing moisturizers and conditioners.
Check Out: The best clarifying shampoos for removing product buildup.
21. Heat Styling
Clamping your locks in between plates that are almost 400°F hot will undoubtedly lead to instant moisture evaporation, in fact, fried hair.
Repeat that a few times a week, and your hair will never actually recover from the rigors of heat damage. This is why your hair always feels frizzy.
What To Do:
Use heat protection
Use a heat protection spray to cushion your hair from the direct heat of flat iron plates.
Use a better styling iron
There are more advanced hair straightening irons on the market that use Ionic technology to style the hair. Ionic technology, unlike traditional heated tools, does not use direct heat. Instead, it uses negative charges to interact with the positive charges in the hair to make it smooth and shiny.
22. Brushing Your Hair When It’s Dry
Never take a brush to your hair when it’s dry. Especially curly and natural hair. Dry brushing causes friction and static, which will make your hair poof up, and worse, cause breakage.
How To Prevent Frizzy Hair When Brushing:
Brush your hair when it’s still damp and slathered in conditioner when you shower. A conditioner adds slip to your locks to make your brush glide without tangling and causing friction.
If your hair gets frizzy halfway through the day, and you need to touch it up, reach for a blow dryer rather than a brush to fix it.
Always avoid brushing when it’s not necessary.
23. Improper Detangling
Improper detangling happens when you are:
- Detangling your hair when it’s dry
- Using the wrong hairbrush
Either case or both combined create friction in the hair roughing up the cuticles to cause frizz and breakage.
How To Detangle Hair Properly Without Frizz:
Detangle when your hair is wet and conditioned
Wet hair with conditioner allows your brush to glide through without causing snags and friction.
Loosen the knots first
To avoid the need to brush hard, use your fingers first to gently loosen up your hair and work through them in sections.
Use the right hairbrush for your hair type
Check if your hairbrush is suitable for your hair type.
For fine hair:
Use a brush with thin, flexible bristles.
For curly and thick hair:
Use a brush with long teeth to detangle and one with short teeth to smooth the cuticles.
Additional Tip:
Brushes that have bigger space between their bristles glide through your hair easier.
Recommended:
24. Your Hair Tools Are Too old!
Have you ever checked if your hairbrush or straightener has rough edges that may be snagging your hair, causing friction?
If your hair tools are too old, chances are they don’t run smooth enough through your hair, and that’s why your hair always ends up feeling rough rather than smooth.
What To Do:
Always make sure your hair styling tools have smooth surfaces.
For example:
Check the plates of your hair straightener to see if they have chips, cracks, or buildup from hair products that may be causing snags in your hair.
Check your hairbrush to see if any broken bristles might be pulling your hair.
25. Your hair is Too Long
Longer hair attracts more frizz than shorter hair.
That’s because the longer you keep your hair, the older it gets, and the more wear and tear it endures.
What To Do:
Keep your hair reasonably short
By cutting the old worn-out hair, you’re less likely to get frizz as the newer hairs growing from the roots are in better condition.
So let your hair renew itself.
26. You’re Touching Your Hair Too Much
Have you got hands in hair syndrome?
Like you’ve always got your hands in your hair either out of boredom, or when you’re feeling anxious, sitting at your work desk, or flirting …
You may not realize this, but your fingers may carry more moisture and greasiness than your hair. And touching your hair frequently may disrupt its moisture balance.
Frequent touching and fluffing is the reason why your hair is always frizzy on the front because you’re constantly trying to move it away from your face.
What To Do:
Style your hair up
If your hair always gets in the way, and you feel the need to adjust all the time, style your hair up to keep it away.
Use styling products to set your hair so that it’s not hanging loose.
27. Sweaty Hair After Your Workouts
Sweaty workouts can dehydrate your hair because sweat contains salt (sodium), and salt is known to pull water out of cells.
If you allow sweat (salty water) to sit in your hair for too long after your workout, it will draw out moisture from your strands, causing them to dehydrate and frizz.
What To Do:
Always rinse your hair after a workout
Even if you just rinse it with pure water, ensure you’re getting rid of the salty buildup.
Use a pre-workout dry shampoo
Dry shampoos are excellent at soaking up sweat and extra greasiness from your hair to leave it feeling fresh until your next wash. It also adds a refreshing scent to your hair.
28. Your Pillowcase is Not Smooth
Your cotton pillowcase may be the reason why your hair is always frizzy in the morning.
Cotton pillowcases are rough and create friction on your skin and hair. Moreover, cotton fabrics are super absorbent, which means they suck out moisture from your skin and your hair too.
That’s why you get frizzy hair when you wake up, and your skin has crease marks.
What To Do:
Get a silk pillowcase
Unlike cotton, silk and satin materials have super fine textures that allow your skin and hair to glide.
And the best thing about these luxurious materials is that they don’t absorb moisture. So when you sleep on satin or silk pillowcases, both your skin and hair will retain their moisture and look glowy in the morning.
Related: How to prevent your hair from frizzing overnight.
29. Aging
Age is just a number, they said.
But try telling that to your skin and hair!
Like the rest of your body, your hair changes with age. Follicles shrink, the hair loses its color pigments, and the scalp produces less sebum, which leaves your hair feeling coarse and dry.
And since gray hair is generally more porous, its ability to absorb and retain moisture changes. That’s why most people over the age of 40 experience frizzy hair – Excluding Jennifer Aniston!
What To Do:
Use hair-boosting supplements
Hair supplements and gummies contain essential nutrients to support the hair’s aging process gracefully.Keep styling to a minimum
Avoid manipulating your hair too much. Wear low-maintenance hairstyles that don’t require hair products and tools to put together.
30. Fluctuating Hormones
A good and balanced hormonal state is vital for the quality and growth of your hair.
But life happens, and we have to deal with many circumstances that can affect our hormones. For example:
Birth Control Pills
If you’ve been on birth control pills for a while, you may have taken your luscious, shiny, and voluminous hair for granted.
Birth control pills directly influence your hormones, and hormones influence the quality of the hair. While most people report having luscious and healthier hair while on the pills, the problem is when they go off the pill.
Going off the pill can cause a sudden slowdown in hair growth, decrease in hair density, and some texture changes, which may lead to the appearance of frizz occasionally.
“When we take birth control pills, our bodies think that we are pregnant.
We do not ovulate, and the uterus lining is built up, getting ready for a fertilized egg to implant and start growing. Usually, “the pill” makes our hair luscious, shiny, and abundant. When we stop taking it, we may see a sudden loss of hair and a slowdown of growth, as well as a decrease in the quality of the hair shaft.” Janice Lima-Maribona MD.
Miami Dermatologist - Talking to New Beauty
Related:
Menopause
When you’re going through menopause, two things happen to your hormones:
- Estrogen and progesterone decrease
- Testosterone levels increase
These hormonal changes affect the growth cycle of your hair as well as its density. You may experience thinning on the top and texture changes in patches.
What To Do:
Unfortunately, it’s not easy to fix hormonal problems. The best thing to do is talk to your doctor and support your hair with the right supplements during these phases.
31. Pregnancy
Frizzy hair can happen during or after pregnancy due to fluctuating hormonal changes. While some people experience fuller and thicker hair, unfortunately, it’s not the case for everyone.
Most women would describe their hair as extremely frizzy during their last trimesters, as the hair texture changes. After pregnancy, due to lower levels of estrogen, some women may also experience minor hair loss.
But these changes are only temporary. You shouldn’t worry too much about it. Your tresses do get back to normal in around 6-8 months.
What To Do:
The best thing to do is not to stress too much about the frizz and not to buy products to fix a problem that’s only temporary.
Relax, and let your tresses right themselves as your hormones begin to settle.
32. Bad Diet
Beautiful hair reflects not only your personality but also your health and what you put in your body.
But because human hair is not a vital organ, its nutritional needs are often ignored. Still, hair cells remain the second fastest-growing cells in the human body, all of which need optimal nutrients to flourish and grow.
Without these essential nutrients, the deficiencies will often show up in the form of dryness and frizz.
Here’s a list of nutritional deficiencies that make your hair prone to frizz:
Lack of protein (Keratin)
Protein, in the form of keratin, gives your hair its strength, elasticity, and shine.
It is the lifeforce of the hair cells responsible for creating new tissues and regenerating the damaged ones.
A lack of protein in your diet will limit your hair from maintaining its cellular machinery, therefore losing strength, elasticity, and its ability to balance moisture.
Vitamin deficiency
Every cellular process in the human body requires specific raw materials and vitamins to function. If your scalp and hair follicles can’t draw from crucial hair-building micronutrients, you could wind up with weak and frizzy hair.
Zinc deficiency
Zinc plays an important role in:
- Balancing hormones
- Maintaining cell reproduction
- Synthesizing proteins
- Helping the body absorb vitamins and minerals
When your zinc intake is low, your hormone levels also go out of whack, which directly affects your skin and hair. Zinc deficiency can cause hair to break off and feel overly dry.
However, be mindful not to overdose on zinc supplements as too much zinc can also be detrimental.
The best way to get your zinc is by using a supplement and following the recommended dosage per day. This way, you don’t have to overthink it.
Lack of hydration
Just like your skin, your hair needs to be moisturized from the inside out. When you don’t drink enough water, your skin loses its glowy complexion, and your hair is likely to become brittle, dull, and frizzy.
Most celebrities will tell you this:
Their secret to beautiful-looking hair and skin is: Drink plenty of water throughout the day.
Biotin deficiency
Biotin (Vitamin B7) stimulates the production of keratin cells in the hair to support growth and strength from within.
If you suffer from thinning hair from the top leading to frizzy patches, a Biotin supplement can help with boosting the density of hair strands that are weakening.
Recommended: Best shampoos with biotin and aloe vera.
What To Do:
Use hair vitamin supplements
Grab yourself some hair supplements that combine the essential hair vitamins.
Hair gummies are excellent products formulated with everything your hair needs. And they are delicious too!33. Health Conditions
Sometimes changes in your hair texture, density, and the way it behaves may be related to underlying health issues that affect your hair’s ability to function as it should.
If your hair starts to feel severely dry, and it doesn’t get better with a positive change to your hair care routine, you should consult a doctor or dermatologist to identify what’s making your hair frizzy and dry all the time.
Here are some of the documented health causes of frizzy hair to watch out for:
Thyroid imbalances
A thyroid disorder can lead to hair loss and fluctuating hormone levels that directly affect your hair’s growth and density.
According to Philip Kingsley, a Trichological hair care expert, Hypothyroidism can cause your hair to become dryer and thinner.
Eating disorders
Eating disorders cause malnutrition. As a result, your body doesn’t get enough proteins and essential nutrients it needs to keep the hair and scalp in optimal conditions.
Over time, this leads to dry and brittle hair, which becomes awful to manage and style.
What To Do:
The first course of action will be to consult a doctor and get the right medications.
Other things you can do is to embrace a healthier lifestyle by eating more organic food and using non-toxic cosmetic products whenever possible.
Your general health can affect how your hair looks and feels, but your hair can also reveal underlying health conditions.
34. Medications
Medication and drugs can cause temporary changes to your hair’s appearance, density, color, and growth cycle.
Suppose you’re taking antidepressants, blood pressure medication, or acne pills, your hair may feel unpredictable during that time, which means you may experience frizz due to changes in hair texture, density, and thickness variations.
Read: Bad hair day? Blame it on your medicine.
What to do:
See your GP (doctor) if you notice anything unusual with your hair texture and density after a week of taking a new medication. Your GP may help you switch to other medicines, if appropriate, or even reduce the dose.
If your GP can reassure you that the effects are not permanent, just carry for the prescribed duration.
According to Dr. Sam Shuster, Professor of Dermatology at Newcastle University, when drugs affect your hair, the changes are usually mild and will reverse when you stop taking them.
35. For Synthetic Wigs – (Lack of Care)
For many of us, frizzy wigs are a pain because they can look unkempt, dull, and even dirty. As a result, we feel less confident and less comfortable when styling our wigs.
Over time, it’s common for synthetic wigs to adopt some frizz. That’s because wigs are made from artificial fibers, losing their shape and producing static electricity (or static cling).
What To Do:
Use a shampoo for synthetic wigs that can remove dirt and buildup, like the SheaMoisure shampoo for synthetic and natural hair.
Use a wide-tooth comb to brush them regularly and keep them clean.
How to Stop Frizzy Hair
There is no magic cure for frizzy hair.
The best you can do is to use products that can tame and prevent frizz.
Since everyone’s hair and lifestyle are different, you need to figure out what works best for you.
Invest in good hair styling tools that are modern, gentle, and give more protection to your hair.
Final Thoughts
So there you have it.
A complete list of reasons why your hair gets frizzy and how to tame the frizziness in every case.
The most important things to remember:
- Never leave your hair too dry
- Keep the hair cuticles flat and smooth
Sticking to these two simple rules will help you enjoy more long-lasting frizz-free hairstyles.
