frizzy hair

Jojoba oil. Works wonders on frizzies - or does for me anyhow.
:o)

The curly girl routine is based on a book called Curly Girl by Lorraine Massey. The concept is that you only use conditioner. Conditioner has cleansing properties without stripping your hair. There are other recipes to use also. There is one that uses brown sugar as a scalp scrub. I really like that one. I also use a diluted vinegar rinse (about one or two tablespoons in a big glass of water). Some people use baking soda but I found that is too drying on my hair.

The book is only about $10 if you want to get it.

When I had my hair professionally trimmed for the first time in 12 years, the stylist told me that I have *curly* hair. Could have fooled me because it hangs fairly straight, but curls a little here and there. It's more wavy than curly, but definitely not straight. When I think of curly hair, I think of ringlets, which I most certainly don't have. However, because of my curl, I get frizzies, and occasionally, it will get quite puffy and fluffy and unmanageable.

I go many days between washing my hair because it is very long, and the natural oils that build up and get moved down the length smooth out the frizzies and make my wave more defined. It doesn't do much for manageability, but that probably has more to do with the thickness than anything else. I've been doing an experiment this week on my hair. I haven't scalp washed at all, and it's been since Saturday since my last full shampoo. I've been using BBBs to move the oils down, and my hair is remarkably shiny and soft, and I've gotten more compliments this week than any other time. My hair has been remarkably wavy, wavier than usual.

Like some of the others have suggested, you can try giving up shampoo to see if that helps, but it's important to learn the curly-girl routine before you do that because it is important to make sure your scalp does get cleaned. I don't know the curly girl routine myself, but I'm sure some others here do or can point you in the right direction.

OH! A good way to clean your BBBs is by getting a toilet cleaning brush, but only use it for your hairbrushes. The bristles are stiff enough to clean out the dust and debris that get dragged out of your hair and into the bristles.

The tea tree products are pretty good and probably aren't causing many problems. It sounds like you just have dry hair--understandable when it's 31 inches long! I don't know if all of these are available in the UK, but here are a few suggestions:

Redken All Soft line (about $8 for shampoo and $9 for conditioner...sorry, I don't have a currency coverter for pounds!)
Frizz Ease Glistening Cremen ($5)
Loreal Nature's Therapy Mega Moisture Shampoo ($6 at Sallys)
Aura Almond Cherry Bark conditioner ($9 at Sally)
the moisturizing Biotera line ($5 shampoo, $6 conditioner, also at Sallys!)

My hair also looks and feels much nicer the second day because the oils from your scalp build up--which is a good thing as long as you don't wind up looking greasy. Second-day hair is a good thing when you're prone to frizz. Have a lovely day!

Hi gizmocrystal,

Welcome to the website; it's nice to have another UK member. I live in Michigan but was blessed enough to visit London when I was 14. What an amazing place. I too have frizzy hair and shop at Sally a little more often than I should. First let me ask what shampoo and conditioners you're using. There's another recent post on the long hair board that discusses some ingredients to avoid which can dry out hair and lead to the frizz you and I deal with.

I would suggest a smoothing gel on the frizzy parts of your hair and/or a leave-in conditioner. Sally carries a product called Keratin-Infused hair splash by Tresemme 4+4. I really like it. I think a glosser might also give you the shine and smoothness you want. A great (cheap!) one is Beyond the Zone's frizz zapper oil-free glosser. It's blue and comes in a funky bottle. (It's probably on the Sally website.) Great to have you here--hope you enjoy your hair talks!