Humidity Proof Curls

Summer might be nearing its end but it's not completely over yet. At least not here in New York. It is pretty much humid all summer long. And for some of you (I'm looking at you, Florida) humidity seems to never end. We all know what this means for our hair- a poofy, amorphous mess. But hey, there is one kind of ingredient that we apparently should have been looking out for all along in high humidity weather- more specifically in high dew point weather. *Get out whatever weather app that's on your phone and look at the hourly dew point.* If it is 60 or above- I would listen up.

Humectants- that is what we must look out for. When there is A LOT of water in the air- humectants in our products will draw A LOT of water to our hair. This in turn will cause our hair cuticles to raise, resulting in frizzy looking hair. But wait- shouldn't we want water drawn to our hair? Sure- but not TOO much. Too much of a good thing can be bad, very bad. The main humectant people refer to is GLYCERIN, but there are many more. Here are a few most commonly included strong humectants: Propylene Glycol Sodium PCA Sodium Lactate I understand that this can be a bit overwhelming. Honestly, I'd rather have frizzy hair than obsess about every single ingredient in each of my products. Is anyone with me on this? You may not have to completely avoid all humectants. If it isn't one of the first few ingredients listed- then it shouldn't be as highly concentrated in the product. Also- if you have naturally high porosity hair or heat and or chemically damaged hair, humidity might have more of an impact on your hair. I have learned that FILM FORMING HUMECTANTS are not quite as frizz inducing. These form a film over the hair, which makes it more difficult for water to come in and out of our hair. Thus, our hair doesn't become quite as frizzy, and (bonus) our hair stays more balanced and moisturized. Here is a list of some of these: Flax seed gel Okra gel Aloe vera Pectin Xanthan gum Guar gum Marshmallow root Slippery elm Carrageenan Nettle extract Honey Another way to make sure the humidity doesn't get to you is to further seal your hair with an oil. My favorites are coconut, jojoba or grapeseed. These will act as even more of a barrier to that evil humidity- just make sure to use very little at the very end of your routine. I like to use an oil when I'm scrunching out the crunchy gel cast once my hair is already dry. In case you need some suggestions, I will show you some products that have really been working for me in this super humid summer. I will usually use one of the two leave in conditioner/detanglers and one of the stylers (gel or mousse.) Let's be honest, though- I never even leave the house anymore #2020. And if all else fails, there are always protective styles- more on that in the next article.