Humidity doesn’t just make hot days feel hotter, it can also play merry hell with your hair. The problems arise when the level of moisture in the air gets higher than the amount of moisture in your hair — this dampness gets added to your ‘do, causing it to essentially forget its shape and reform in an entirely new configuration. When each strand of hair decides to go its own way, well, that’s frizz.
Luckily, there are a few ways to help keep your hair in check on those humid summer days. Unsurprisingly, they’re all about keeping your locks lubricated on your own terms. For example:
Avoid Hot Showers
Hot water strips your skin and hair follicles of the natural oils they produce to keep themselves protected and moist. The cooler you can keep the water — even luke-warm would be better — the more moisturized you’ll stay throughout the day (among other benefits).
Use a Hydrating Shampoo and Conditioner
Same deal! When you clean your hair with shampoo, you’re getting rid of all the dirt, sweat and oils that have built up in there, but there’s a point at which you stop cleaning things up and start taking away the oil actually needed to keep your hair healthy and protected. A good hydrating shampoo and conditioner will clean you up and keep your hair moist. For the same reasons, don’t feel the need to shampoo every day if it’s not that prone to oiliness — giving your hair a break now and then could do it some good.
Pat Your Hair Dry Instead of Rubbing It
Once you’re out of the shower, your instinct may be to vigorously rub your hair dry with a towel. However, this dries your hair too well, and you don’t want that if you’re looking to prevent it from frizzing up once you go outside. Pat it dry instead, so the towel absorbs the excess moisture without completely drying it out. (It’s not a bad idea to pat yourself dry all over, rather than rubbing, if you want to keep both your hair and skin looking healthy — and if you can handle letting your hair air-dry, that’s even better.)
Seal It All in With Hair Products
You may prefer to keep your hair au naturel, but after you’ve gone through all this effort to keep your hair looking good on a humid summer day, there’s no reason not to seal the deal, so to speak. Using the right hair products — whether it be gel, pomade, cream, or whichever you prefer — will not only help shape and style your hair, but it’ll help lock in all that moisture you’ve worked so hard to keep.
And if all else fails? Well, you could always just shave it all off.