Damn Humidity

July 18, 2005 6:27 PM

VanityFilter: My hair's about 3 inches long, curly and turns into a huge afro in this constant humidity. How come and what kind of product can I use to stop this?

and yes I checked google, they all wanted to sell me something.

posted by slapshot57 to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (11 answers total)

I know you don't want to buy anything, but many of my female friends have very curly hair. They all felt like the book Curly Girl was brilliant and that it helped them with frizz etc. They were very high on it when they got it.
posted by OmieWise at 6:55 PM on July 18, 2005

A pair of clippers? Shave it; chicks dig 'it.
posted by keswick at 7:01 PM on July 18, 2005

Wha? Go with it. Chicks dig that look. But seriously go with pomade. Just like grandpa. I actaully have a similar thing going on so I alternate between CREW and ENJOY. both are good but the crew stuff feels less chemical. And neither are greasy at all, just silky.
posted by snsranch at 7:31 PM on July 18, 2005

Here's a thread about curly hair. Shine gel is mostly silicone, and makes hair shiny, softer and relaxes the curls. Gel keeps it from going out of control.
posted by theora55 at 7:40 PM on July 18, 2005

IIRC, curly hair is oval in cross-section, whereas straight hair is round.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 7:57 PM on July 18, 2005

Use a gel or serum that contains silicone. There's a jillion of them out there, the most well-known of which is John Frieda's. This is the one I use, also by John Frieda, but part of the Brilliant Brunette line. I've used the Laminates line by Sebastian, also with good results. When you're using this stuff, tho, be careful. A little goes a LONG way. Too much and you'll look all sad and wilted. Just put a pea-sized blob on one palm, gently rub to lightly coat your fingers, and then TOUCH it to your hair. Don't rub.

Also, are you brushing your hair? As in, using a brush on it? If so, stop that! Handle it as little as possible. Use a WIDE-toothed comb, if necessary. If you blow-dry, use a diffuser.
posted by houseofdanie at 8:00 PM on July 18, 2005

A "pea-sized amount" of just about any leave in conditioner will do wonders for you and not remain oily all day like most of the silicone products will(even if you just use a drop or two). Paul Mitchell's The Conditioner is a good choice, I've tried the Store Brand/Compare Ingredients to... versions of it with equal success.
posted by nenequesadilla at 8:59 PM on July 18, 2005

Find a cutter who knows how to cut curly hair so it lays, this involves cutting into the hair a certain way, find an expert.
posted by hortense at 9:14 PM on July 18, 2005

Response by poster: omie
may check it out at barnes and noble, thanks

keswick
are you daft? If girls constantly come up to you saying "does anyone ever tell you you look like Hugh Grant?" you don't shave your head. That's just batty.

everyone else
sorry, condensing as I'm kinda drunk. No, don't brush it. Yes, will try a pea of silica gel. And nyc is the best city in the world.
posted by slapshot57 at 10:35 PM on July 18, 2005

Check out naturallycurly.com for everything you could ever want to know about curly hair, including tons of product reviews.

I haven't read Curly Girl, but the woman that wrote it has a salon in New York called Devachan, and I got a hair cut there last time I was in the city, and it was the best haircut I've ever had. I also use her products and her "no shampoo" method and have been very happy with them.
posted by amarynth at 8:00 AM on July 19, 2005

I like Curls Rock Leave-In Moisturizer, just about the best thing I've tried that stops my hair from going into a frizz. You only need the tiniest dab of it, so a bottle should last about a year.
posted by essexjan at 4:28 AM on July 20, 2005