No frizz, no fragrance.

July 9, 2008 10:31 AM

I have fine, dry, wavy hair that gets really frizzy during the humid summer days of New England I also have a husband that abhors any product with "fragrance" as an ingredient. Help me find product that will tame my frizz that either has no fragrance or has a natural fragrance that won't make my husband wrinkle his nose.
posted by a22lamia to clothing, beauty, & fashion (18 comments total)

Redken Glass.
posted by phatkitten at 10:41 AM on July 9, 2008

Fragrance/parfum is listed as a Redken Glass ingredient. Let him sniff it before you buy it.
posted by Carol Anne at 10:49 AM on July 9, 2008

Bedhead After Party has almost no scent even though it does have fragrance on the list of ingredients. You'll have to try it to see if it's scentless enough for your husband but it's great for managing hair. I hate scented stuff and I like it.
posted by jessamyn at 10:50 AM on July 9, 2008

Oil. Seriously. I also am frizz-prone and my favorite way to keep it under control is by squirting a few drops of oil into my hand, then running my fingers through the ends (and any other frizzy bits), usually after washing but also at any unusually frizzy moments. At the moment I'm using almond oil. Jojoba is nicest but more expensive; you could also use refined coconut oil, grapeseed oil, apricot kernel oil, olive oil (this will be a little heavier, a little goes a long way) and probably a number of other plant oils. None of the above have much of a scent.

Before I discovered the oil trick I also had good luck with a John Frieda styling wax that came in a little flat blue can, could be used in very, very small quantities, and didn't smell like much of anything.
posted by clavicle at 10:53 AM on July 9, 2008

I have similar hair and found it's best to have it dry up or in curlers. This makes sure it's wavy rather than frizzy, and I don't have to use much product. I usually shower in the morning, put in a very little John Freida Frizz-Ease gel (no scent), and twist it up into a clip for the work day. By the time I get home, it's dry, I put it down, and I have nice, wavy hair.

When I was younger I showered at night slept in foam curlers. But the bedtime look would definitely wrinkle a husband's nose. =)

A ceramic flat iron also does a good job with relatively little product, but it's time-consuming and not great for fine hair.
posted by CruiseSavvy at 10:53 AM on July 9, 2008

Sorbolene? Sounds awful I know but you just use a smidge. (The first time I tried it I was anticipating... washing it out soon after! :) So I just used a whole heap, but even still the result was nowhere near as terrible as I was expecting!!) It's actually not as bad as you might think.

You can get fancier ones but plain old Sorbolene has a really weak neutral smell.
posted by mu~ha~ha~ha~har at 10:54 AM on July 9, 2008

My recent question about fragrance-free hairspray yielded one particularly useful answer: Consort for Men hairspray. It's almost odorless once it dries. Also, I've found that Pantene's fragrance-free hairspray's another good alternative, if you just want something for smoothing purposes.

The Askville thread has some more options I haven't had a chance to try yet.
posted by limeonaire at 10:58 AM on July 9, 2008

I have similar hair and found it's best to have it dry up or in curlers.

Beware air-drying's propensity to trap shampoo scents in one's hair, though. Might want to find a fragrance-free shampoo if you go this route. Alternately, blow-drying tends to remove a lot of the scent that would otherwise dry onto the surface of your hair and scalp.

If you don't want to blow-dry, you might want to find a good fragrance-free shampoo/conditioner while you're at it, 'cause those trapped scents could also be bothering your hubby. (If you're into shampoo/conditioner two-in-one combos and find a good fragrance-free one, please post it back here—I could definitely use one myself!)
posted by limeonaire at 11:06 AM on July 9, 2008

do you shampoo your hair every day? my hair is also dry and wavy (but thick) and i've found that it's far less frizzy, much healthier, and less prone to breakage since i switched to washing it every three or four days.
posted by lia at 11:16 AM on July 9, 2008

Seconding the suggestion of Frizz-Ease, though I prefer the serum to the gel. This version of the serum is virtually scent-free (to me); this one has a mild scent at first, then dissipates. Alternatively, try a little jojoba oil.
posted by scody at 11:17 AM on July 9, 2008

Fragrance/parfum is listed as a Redken Glass ingredient. Let him sniff it before you buy it.

It smells like nothing to me, though, so I think it's a good bet.
posted by phatkitten at 11:31 AM on July 9, 2008

Frizz-ease is the thickest of the silicone hair syrups - I've never tried it, but I have similar hair to yours and have found the next-thinnest ones (CitreShine Shine Miracle, Fx Silk Drops) to be too heavy occasionally. The best thing I've found for my hair (other than various smelly conditioners) - no joke! - is silicone lube. It's exactly the same stuff as the silicone hair products but lighter and fragrance-free.

Just be sure you're willing not to be evasive about it: My grandma once asked me what I use in my hair to make it behave so well...
"I use, uh, lubricant."
"You mean like for machines?"
"No, like for condoms."
...The next time I saw her she was complaining she put KY in her hair and it hadn't worked at all!
posted by hyperfascinated at 11:55 AM on July 9, 2008 [3 favorites]

You might try Creme with Silk Groom from Kiehl's. (My second Kiehl's recommendation recently.) If you go to their web page for the stuff, you can read the label/ingredients. I think it smells really good, in a natural/neutral kind of way, and as best as I can tell, there is no fragrance additive.
posted by jroybal at 12:38 PM on July 9, 2008

A good shampoo for this is Phytocurl. Get the one that's for curly hair, even though you describe your hair as wavy. (I have fine, wavy, frizzy hair too, and I love this product.) I don't know if it describes itself as fragrance free, but I have never noticed a fragrance, and neither has my fiancee, who is also sensitive to fragrances.

You will of course still need a conditioner and probably some other styling product, but I can't direct you to those because mine all have some fragrance.
posted by Tren at 1:59 PM on July 9, 2008

I use the bumble and bumble version of the silicone anti-frizz products. It has no smell that I can detect. I mix two drops of it with a dab of Redken Fresh Curls Curl Refiner, which does have a mild scent, but it's a very clean, non-perfumey scent.

The mix of those two controls my fine, curly hair's tendency to frizz pretty well, but the silicone serum alone does a pretty good job in a pinch. A small bottle of it lasts me a long time, too, since I only use 2-3 drops max. Just emulsify it in your hands really well first, and apply evenly. My hairstylist told me a good way to make sure you get the product distributed evenly in your hair is to section it as if you were making two low ponytails, then emulsify the product in your hands till your palms are coated with a light film, and grab the ends and work it through. Then go over your entire head with what's left. This avoids you getting too much goop at the roots and not enough at the ends, which tend to be drier than the rest of your hair.
posted by bedhead at 3:47 PM on July 9, 2008

Thanks for all the responses! I have a 6 month old which means that anything that requires drying is out of the question - so lube wins! I'll try a few of the actual hair products recommended as well.
posted by a22lamia at 5:20 PM on July 9, 2008

Clavicle - what brand of almond oil do you use?
posted by invisible ink at 7:28 PM on July 9, 2008

invisible ink: Aura Cacia.
posted by clavicle at 8:35 PM on July 11, 2008