To have a shot at winning the war against frizz, you have to start at the root—literally. Shampoo is the first and most important step in maintaining healthy, smooth hair.
Finding a frizz-reducing shampoo is not the only component in solving the problem though. There are some techniques you can use to properly care for your hair and drastically reduce the amount of frizziness, even in the most humid of situations.
1. Rinse.
Before you lay a hand on your shampoo bottle, ensure that every strand of hair is thoroughly wet, preferably with warm water. Warm water helps work the oil and dirt out of your hair so your shampoo has less work to do. It also expands your cuticles, so more of the moisture from shampoo is absorbed.
2. Focus on the scalp.
It may be a difficult habit to break, but only rub your shampoo into your scalp. The hair at your roots is the youngest, and usually the dirtiest, so it needs the most cleansing. The rest of your hair is more fragile since it’s older, so it can be easily damaged. Allow the shampoo to glide on its own down the rest of your hair, which will ensure a light cleansing.
3. Be gentle.
Hair is in its most fragile state when wet, so you should take extra caution and shampoo it with care. Friction can sometimes cause irreversible damage to your cuticles, resulting in dryness and frizz. Massage the shampoo throughout your scalp to increase blood flow to your roots and aid in hair growth.
4. Don’t repeat.
Most shampoo bottles instruct you to shampoo your hair, then rinse and repeat. Do not follow these instructions unless your hair is extremely dirty. Shampooing your hair one time is usually plenty, and you do not want to strip any more of your natural oils than you already have the first time. If your hair is dirty enough to not form a lather when you shampoo initially, repeat one more time. If not, there is no need to shampoo all over again.
5. Skip a couple days.
Unless your hair is very oily, it is not necessary to shampoo every day. In fact, you can do more harm than good if you over-shampoo. Normal hair can become overly dry if you wash it every single day, leading to more frizz. Try to shampoo once every three days, and if needed, use a bit of dry shampoo during the in-between days to instantly eliminate some of the oil from your roots.
