Ah, Frizz. The assassin of great hair. Few men with curly hair realize that their “doesn’t look good” woes are coming from too much frizz. It sneaks up, knocks your hair down a few pegs, and leaves before you even know what hit you. Okay, it actually sticks around, and that’s the issue, but you get what we mean.
That’s why we’re giving you the basics of everything you need to know about taming frizzy hair, including the many causes and what you can do to reduce frizz in the long term.
The good news is that calming frizzy, curly hair doesn’t require too much effort!
Let’s dive right into it.
What Causes Frizzy Curly Hair In Men?
So, what causes frizzy hair, and what makes curly hair frizzy? Before we can get to the solution, we have to understand what causes frizz in the first place!
As always, let’s start with the science behind it all.
The anatomy of a hair follicle is pretty simple. There are three layers: the medulla (innermost layer), the cortex (middle layer), and the cuticle (outer layer). The cuticle is the beast to tame if you want to tame frizzy hair.
On a microscopic level, the cuticle cells overlap (think shingles) and form a barrier to the outside elements.
Just how large the gap between shingles determines the absorption rate of moisture & other substances. This is referred to the porosity.
The thing is, curly hair naturally has larger gaps between each cuticle cell (higher porosity), making it more prone to irritation from dryness, friction, UV rays, pollutants, or chemicals.
In turn, irritation raises the cuticle cells further and creates a vicious cycle of irritation that leads to damage & of course, frizz.
Whether your curls start well-defined and frizz over time or can never quite seem to un-frizz, there are likely multiple factors at play.
The causes of frizzy hair in men can be broken down into 1) environmental causes and 2) how you treat your hair.
Environmental conditions are a key cause of curly frizzy hair in men.
- Moisture (aka humidity) — Humidity is just the word for how much or how little moisture is in the air at any given time. Dry, winter months can cause frizzy hair, and so can hot, humid summers. Both extremes affect your hair in different ways. When it’s dry out, your curly hair may have trouble attracting moisture. When it’s humid, your curly hair may have trouble keeping out excess moisture.
- Chemicals in water — An obvious example of this would be chlorine in swimming pools. However, even seemingly less harmful chemicals in your tap water could be damaging your hair. Ever heard of hard water or soft water before? The buildup of elements like calcium or magnesium causes hard water, which can be rough on your hair. In contrast, soft water is simply water with minimal amounts of these elements and a more balanced pH level.
- Sunlight — Just as too much sun can be harmful to your skin, it can be bad for your hair, too. UV rays are no joke! While damage to your hair from the sun isn’t as bad as the damage, it can do to your skin. It’s still a significant cause of frizz through extreme drying.
Hair management, an overlooked cause of frizzy hair in men
- How you wash your hair — Washing your hair too often is a big no-no for curly hair. Shampoo is a necessary part of a good hair care routine to get rid of dirt and buildup of hair products, but at the same time, it can take away all the good stuff your curly hair needs, like its natural oils. Being too rough on your hair while shampooing can also damage your cuticles and cause frizz.
- How you dry your hair — High heat blow-drying is the arch-nemesis to healthy curly hair. If that wasn’t enough, the friction created by using standard bath towels also creates issues. Both of these drying methods can lead to frizzing and even damage. (If you’re wondering how you should dry your hair instead, see our next section!)
- Damaging Product Ingredients — Product ingredients matter just as much for men’s curly hair as they do for women’s curly hair. Sulfates and alcohol are two of the most critical hair product ingredients to avoid. Sulfates are harsh and can irritate the cuticle while throwing your hydro-lipid balance out of wack. Alcohol does the same, plus it severely dries out hair.
- Not using moisturizing ingredients — Just as the presence of hair care ingredients that dry out your hair can cause frizz, so, too, can the lack of moisturizing ingredients. The body indeed produces natural oils to protect your hair, but it’s usually not quite enough for curly hair to fight off frizz. (Don’t fret, we’re almost to the part where we tell which ingredients you should be using!)
- Headgear — While it may be tempting to cover your frizzy curls with a hat and call it a day, you could be causing more frizz in the long run. Hats, caps, beanies, and bandanas create added friction to your hair — and as anyone with curly hair knows, once a hat has flattened hair, there’s no going back until you rewash it. Wearing hats now and then is perfectly fine, but the prolonged wearing of headgear over a period of time or headgear that is too tight can only worsen your problems.
How A Man Can Tame His Frizzy Curls
Now that you know everything you could possibly need to know about what causes frizzy hair, let’s get down to why you’re here — how to tame, get rid of, and prevent frizzy, curly hair for men.
You can’t control the weather, but there’s still plenty you can do on your own to strengthen and hydrate your curls to stop frizz in its tracks and prevent it from even happening.
Similar to the previous section, we’re breaking down what you can do to make your curly hair less frizzy into a few parts: 1) simple lifestyle changes, 2) a better hair care routine, and 3) using the right products for curly hair.
Step 1: Simple lifestyle changes
Emphasis on the simple here. This isn’t about going on some new fitness craze but rather making minor adjustments to your daily life that will positively affect your hair and overall well-being.
You might be surprised to learn that what you eat can directly impact your hair quality.
No, it can’t turn curly hair into straight hair or vice-versa, but your diet can help give your curls the nutrients they need to be strong and to fight frizz.
Consider adding a little more foods high in omega-3s, vitamin B, and protein to help your body grow healthy hair.
As for external protection from frizz, try wearing a swim cap when swimming to prevent damage from chlorine, and wear a comfortable hat when in the sun for long periods.
Finally, you should see a stylist specializing in men’s curly hair for regular trims.
This will not only help you look great and feel confident with your curls, but it’ll also prevent split ends from causing additional frizz.
Not sure how to find a stylist for curly hair? Check out our guide here!
Step 2: Better hair care routine
Next comes the routine. Don’t worry, guys — we’ll keep things as easy as possible! You can keep your curly hair from getting frizzy without doing much extra work.
We have a full guide on creating a hair care routine, but we’ll summarize the basics here.
The first step in any curly hair routine is washing it properly. Instead of shampooing every day, wash your hair gently every other day or up to every three days, depending on your unique hair needs to prevent the loss of natural oils.
Follow-up with conditioner. No, 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner won’t cut it for curly hair.
Out of the shower, run through your hair first with your hands and then with a comb.
Brushes & standard combs are not recommended, as they can be too rough. Not sure what comb to use? Check out the tool section on our guide to styling products, tools & techniques.
Let your curls air dry naturally, and only lightly pat dry with a towel as needed.
A microfiber towel will help prevent frizz created from friction.
If you’re in too much of a rush in the morning and can’t wait for your hair to air dry, you can use a blow-drying on cold with a diffuser attachment.
Lastly, end your curly hair care routine with moisturizing products to kick frizz to the curb and give your hair a flawless finish — which, of course, brings us to…
Step 3: Using the right curly hair care products and ingredients
You know the causes, you know which ingredients not to use, you know the routine you should keep, and now finally, you’re about to know what you need to put in your hair to keep your curls from getting frizzy.
At a minimum, the two types of products you’ll need are a good shampoo & conditioner.
As for ingredients, here are the most important ones to note.
- Coconut oil is a key moisturizing ingredient and, thankfully, a common ingredient in many products. It’s incredibly hydrating and smoothing to the cuticles of your hair — keeping the moisture you want in and any excess out.
- Keratin is the secret weapon ingredient that takes your curls to the next level. It penetrates the hair shaft and acts like a builder’s putty by repairing damage caused by UV light, chemicals, humidity, and day-to-day wear.
- Aloe and green tea extract are excellent ingredients to prevent hair damage and frizziness from environmental stressors like UV rays and pollutants.
- When it comes to styling products, look for creams or gels that include the additional ingredients of hydrolyzed wheat protein and goji berry extract to define, soften, and strengthen curls all at the same time.
Thankfully, our Formula F=kx products include all of these ingredients! Engineered with all curly hair types in mind, we’ve developed the perfect and most straightforward men’s curly hair care system to date. You’ll never have a bad frizzy hair day again, whether you try the classic or extra moisturizing systems.
Save yourself time from wandering the aisles of your local grocery store, and get the men’s curly hair care products you need straight from the source with Formula=fkx! Your perfectly optimized content goes here!
posted in: Complete Guide to Curly Hair
