Dry Damaged Frizzy Hair Product Results

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Frizzy hair products I tested on fly aways. The dreaded halo of frizz you get with damaged, broken or brittle hair.

About 15 months ago my hair seemed to lose itโ€™s shine. I always had shiny, strong hair prior to that. I was 24 at the time. A few months after I lost the shine, I started noticing โ€œfly awaysโ€ or broken pieces of hair that would stick up on top of my head. This has continued since then. I first noticed the change a few months after starting hormonal birth control, but my doctor says she doesnโ€™t think the change can be the result of the birth control. She sent me to a dermatologist who said he thinks it may be related to my ehlers danlos syndrome which is a collagen disorder. The unfortunate part about that is, if that is true, itโ€™s genetic so I canโ€™t really fix it. The dermatologist recommended that I start taking prenatal vitamins so I did that a few months ago, but I have yet to seem improvement.

frizzy fly aways broken hair

Over the past year and a half Iโ€™ve purchased many products that claim to moisturize, hydrate, strengthen and/or smooth damaged, frizzy hair or fly aways. Very few have helped at all, so I thought I would share my experience in case it helps someone else in my position.Also for your reference, my hair is not chemically damaged. I had not dyed my hair in 4-5 years when this started happening. I never perm my hair or anything else with chemicals. I only flat-iron or curl my hair a few times per year, and I use a heat protecting spray when I do.

My pre-frizz hair

My hair in 2014, before the damage and frizz started.

For reference, my hair has been about armpit to mid-back length during this time. I have mostly straight hair, but it can get poofy or slightly wavy when itโ€™s humid. I have thick hair in the sense of having many individual hairs. When getting my hair washed before a cut I often hear โ€œyou have a LOT of hair. Like, a LOT.โ€

frizz halo hair products

1) Pantene Pro-V shampoo and conditioner. I tried this because when I used it when I was younger and had shiny hair, it made my hair greasy quickly. I thought it was essentially TOO hydrating back then, but that it may help now. It caused build-up in my hair after a few weeks. The back of my head felt โ€œwaxyโ€ in the back, even right after a shower. I wound up buying Neutrogena clarifying shampoo to remove the build-up. That worked great at removing the build-up.

2) Aussie 3 minute miracle. I saw this recommended all over Reddit. It does make my hair more manageable and more moisturized feeling but it didnโ€™t help with getting the frizz to lay down. This is a product Iโ€™ve bought a few bottles of though. Itโ€™s only about $3 in the store which is a price I appreciate.

3) After seeing the 3-minute miracle help some, I bought the Aussie Moist shampoo and conditioner to see if it helped. It isnโ€™t bad, but it didnโ€™t seem to help any more than my regular shampoo and conditioner which was Whole Blends honey line.

4) My mother in law recommended keratin. She said as sheโ€™s aged, her hair has become more dry and she used to buy infusium with keratin, but later realized that most any conditioner with keratin helped just as much. So she switched to the Suave with keratin which is very affordable ($2 or so a bottle). I tried that and it didnโ€™t seem to make any difference.

5) Argan Oil is another one I saw recommended all over the place. I couldnโ€™t find pure argan oil in my local supermarket so I bought Agadir argan oil hair treatment. When applied to dry hair it makes the frizzy hairs lay down at first, but once it dries and gets touched or the wind blows, it goes back to being frizzy. When wet, it seems to work a bit longer but still goes back to frizzy within an hour or two of my hair drying. I was later told that 100% argan oil is different so I got 100% argan oil which is cheaper oddly enough. It seemed to work exactly the same as the argan oil blend did. Something interesting about both of these is they sometimes have a curl show up around my ear area. I assume it is moisturizing my hair well enough to let the curl pop out, which rarely ever happens.

6) I read further on reddit and heard about hot oil treatments. Many people say the V05 hot oil treatment works as well as high-end brands so I bought that. It felt GREAT when I was in the shower. I was hopeful based on the in-shower experience. It helped a little bit (maybe 20% less frizz) but after a day I was back to being just as frizzy.

7) I donโ€™t recall the brands or specifics unfortunately but I found some $2 hair masks at Walmart. One that was shea butter and another that was a kertatin treatment. They came in foil packets. I tried those and saw no improvement or change.

8) Aussie leave in conditioner was another that I tried. This was with little hope because I had heard that leave-in conditioners donโ€™t do much in terms of conditioning enough to tamp down frizz, but it was cheap (I think about $3?) so I tried it. It made my hair feel sticky even with just a light spritz.

9) For about six months I took biotin supplements. I didnโ€™t see any clear improvement. When I saw a dermatologist he said that biotin is good but prenatals are even better because they include more ingredients that can help your hair in general. So thatโ€™s when I switched to prenatals.

10) I have a friend who heard coconut oil works as a natural hair mask. I bought this coconut oil and used this tutorial for using it on my hair. It felt VERY greasy and just gross when applied. I didnโ€™t have any issues with a greasy look once it was removed as many people do. My hair felt soft and looked shiny but it didnโ€™t make the frizz lay down, and it seem to have any benefits in terms of moisture after the second wash.

11) Through an amazon review I was sent Aria Starr argan oil mask. It didnโ€™t seem to help.

12) I read about ceramic ion reducing frizz. I tried straightening my hair with a ceramic ion hair straightener alone. I also tried putting in argan oil, letting it dry fully and then straightening. They helped a little bit (maybe 10-15% less frizz) but my hair is so thick that itโ€™s very time consuming and I donโ€™t like the idea of using heat on my hair regularly when itโ€™s already brittle as I think it will do more damage in the long run.

13) I tried a ceramic ion brush with heat as well and it didnโ€™t make any difference.

14) Through an amazon review I was offered keratin splash leave in spray. This seems to help frizz when it fries dries after being damp but quickly goes back to frizzy once dry.

15) Also for an amazon review I was sent Hask placenta instant hair repair. It didnโ€™t seem to help and makes your hair sticky with VERY light use.

16) I saw in a YouTube video that pomade can be used to tack down stray hairs. I bought Aveda pomade to try. It does tack hair down for a while but only a few hours, and itsโ€™ very easy to accidentally use too much and have it look greasy. Itโ€™s also expensive.

17) One day on a whim I bought John Frieda secret weapon touch-up creme. Itโ€™s around $8 at my local store. I use about a dime amount in my waist-length hair and it does the best job of keeping frizzies down that Iโ€™ve found so far. It doesnโ€™t look greasy unless you really over-use it. It works for a few hours in most cases (maybe four?). When I have had social events where I really want to leave my hair down, this is my go-to solution. It tamps down maybe 75% of frizzies.

18) Distilled water. I read that hard water is really rough on your hair. We know that we have very hard water because weโ€™ve tested it and the test strip showed โ€˜very hardโ€™ as our result. So we bought a couple gallons of distilled water to try and I noticed my hair felt softer right away. It didnโ€™t seem to help with frizz, though.

19) About 3 weeks ago we got a shower filter. The shower filter has made a very significant change in my boyfriends hair. His used to have more volume and shape, but now itโ€™s very slick and smooth and I believe that is because there is less build up allowing for the friction needed to hold his hair in place. Iโ€™ve noticed my hair tangles less and feels softer, but it has not helped with the frizz at all.

20) Paul Mitchell super skinny serum is a product that I had tried really early on. It smells incredible but doesnโ€™t seem to help my frizz stay down.

Ultimately, the secret weapon creme is all that has really helped me enough to let me feel comfortable wearing my hair down. Even with it, I still have days with so much frizz that I canโ€™t tame it all down so I just wear my hair up. I plan to get a very short hair cut soon and hope that my new growth comes in stronger now that I am on a prenatal vitamin and have the shower filter.

Have you battled dry, frizzy hair and found solutions that work for you? Please share in the comments.

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If you happen to find this old post โ€“ check out my curly girl method posts. IT turns out, my hair was secretly wavy!

Comments 8

  • Jane

    I suggest trying Carolโ€™s Daughter, Miss Jessieโ€™s, or Shea Moisture products. They work well for frizz. Iโ€™ve been battling frizz for over 20 yrs, and those are some of the best products on the market for frizz, and Iโ€™ve tried them all. Pretty much anything with alcohol will dry out your hair, and most products contain alcohol. Conditioner, masks, and all that junk are loaded with alcohol, and are a total sham. Get yourself a leave in conditioner, preferably with no alcohol. Baby products and products made for ethnic hair work best for frizz. Just my 2 cents.

  • Laura

    Iโ€™m surprised you never tried Olive Oil! Or Avocado, mayonaise, eggs. All of those things work AMAZING and I have very thick, curly hair and people comment on how pretty my hair looks all the time!

  • Jane

    Oh, and another product that works well for frizz is Dove Advanced Hair Series Quench Absolute Supreme Creme Serum.

  • Roshae Moore

    What helps prevent split ends? I hardly ever blow dry it or use a flat iron. When I do, I always use a protective product. It seems like a week after getting my hair trimmed I already have split ends towards the front of my head. I is so discouraging!

    • Emmy - Author of Post, FrankLovesBeans.com

      My hair has gotten a lot healthier since switching ot the โ€˜curly girl methodโ€™ which avoids harsh sulfates in shampoos. You may also look up moisture/protein balance. Breaking hair can be protein overload.

  • Anna

    I have very frizzy hair and dry hair need something for my hair

  • Judy Horn

    I agree with Emmy aboveโ€ฆtry the curly girl method. Do everything to your hair upside down..get your hair wet, shampoo, brushing etc. If you are damaging your top hair with your routine, then slowly the frizz will switch to being your underneath hair. And you wonโ€™t see it. Try a masque with protein. Always rinse with cold water to close the cuticle.

  • Judy Horn

    And maybe try an apple cider vinegar rinse

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