On a normal day, my hair is curly and frizzy. On days when it is humid outside, this just gets even worse. I have no choice but to put my hair in a braid or a bun to avoid the extreme puffy-ness. I was wondering if there is a scientific explanation for why humidity makes hair frizz.

One article explains that “humid air causes hydrogen bonds to form between water molecules and the proteins in your hair, triggering curls and frizz.” It also talks about the fact that our hair is super sensitive to humidity and is sometimes even used as a tool to measure it. In a way, our hair swells up as moisture passes through it. The follow picture shows exactly what happens during this “swelling” process.

Because of the frizzy nature of my hair, I have tried a lot of different hair products. Some are gels while others are mousses or creams. While they all look and smell different, they each have the same goal, fighting the frizz. Moknowshair.com explains that Silicone, a chemical found in almost all hair products, “attach(s) to the hair (to) create a barrier that stops external moisture, mainly humidity, from getting in the hair shaft.” I picture it to essentially cover the cuticle (in the picture) and hold it down to avoid the raising in the second picture. This makes sense but leads me to wonder why some products work better than others for different people if they’re all made with the same chemical. The same article goes on to explain that the other ingredients in hair products vary. Most contain a type of protein and oil and it seems that different ones of these just work better with different types of hair.

I use two products everyday, Moroccan Oil and Oui Dad. I took a look at both of their ingredients and was surprised to see that neither contained Silicone! Moroccan oil contains anti argan oil and vitamins while oui dad contains Wheat protein, amino acids and vitamin A. I find it interesting how they could have completely different ingredients while trying to obtain the exact same goal.

According to another source, there are three types of hair frizz. There’s “surface frizz, halo frizz and in the curl frizz. There doesn’t seem to be any way to avoid a certain type, it just has to do with one’s natural hair type. This source suggests getting a different hair cut, shampooing less often and just hoping for better weather! Prevention.com talks about how different shampoos can effect frizz. It explains that it has to do with the PH level of the shampoo, which has a direct effect on how much it dries on one’s hair. Dry hair makes the cuticle level more likely to rise and therefore hair to frizz.