Humidity and curls just do not go together! And in the summer, lots of curlies struggle with fighting back the frizz while trying to do any kind of outdoor activity in high humidity. Luckily, there are some ways to stop this humidity from ruining your curls – it requires tweaking your routine a little and being strategic with your stylers. Read on to find out how to keep that frizz at bay, plus my own anti-humidity curly routine:
Why does curly hair go frizzy in humidity?
Our hair strands are made up of 3 types of bonds: disulphide bonds, salt bonds, and hydrogen bonds. When our hair gets wet, the hydrogen bonds react with the water and break, which is why our hair can look so different when it’s wet.
With humid air that contains a lot of moisture, we are seeing the beginning of that happening – the hydrogen bonds are getting disrupted and the cuticles start to swell up, leaving our hair puffy and frizzy and ruining whatever style it was in.
How to stop curly hair from going frizzy in humidity
As I live in the south west of England which is famously humid (it is actually classed as a rainforest biome!), I have had a lot of practice with seeing what stops my curls going frizzy when it’s humid outside. The below advice is based on a curly routine I did when I went to a festival and stayed outside for 9 hours in 85% humidity! Head to the bottom of this post for the exact lineup I used.
Caveat: no routine will eliminate all your frizz permanently – frizz is a normal part of having curly hair. But there are definitely ways to keep it at bay!
1. Make sure you’re not overconditioning your curly hair
A long-lasting routine starts with shampooing and conditioning effectively, and with curly hair, it’s easy to overdo it on the conditioning products. In actual fact, too many conditioning products can make certain types of curly hair too soft, which will only get softer once you’re walking around in damp air. This will cause your curls to drop and your hair to go either limp or frizzy (or both!).
If your curls are actually quite soft to the touch, and especially if you have fine hair, keep the conditioning steps in your routine to a minimum. Wash with a less-moisturising shampoo (don’t worry if it makes your hair a bit squeaky), deep condition less regularly, use a lightweight conditioner, and if your hair detangles easily after rinsing that out, skip the leave-in and curl cream and go straight to gel to get the best hold.
2. Use glycerin-free or anti-humidity curl stylers
Glycerin is a humectant that is in found in hundreds of hair products, especially stylers. Its job is to hold onto water, keeping the hair moisturised. But in humid weather, it can keep taking on water from the moist air, which creates excessive frizz for us curlies.
Instead, I find that I have great success with glycerin-free stylers, and using curl stylers that contain film-forming humectants instead. These still hold onto moisture, but they also form a flexible film around the hair shaft, preventing extra moisture from entering the hair.
Film-forming humectants include aloe vera, panthenol, carrageenan, polyquats (e.g. Polyquaternium-7 and Polyquaternium-10) and polymers (e.g. Acrylates copolymer, PVA/VP Copolymer). For my favourite stylers that contain these humidity-proof ingredients, keep scrolling!
3. Use curl products containing protein
Protein also creates a film around the hair, which can strengthen our curls and again, stop them from taking on too much water. If you have damaged hair, there will be gaps in your cuticles that means that your hair takes on water more easily, so protein can be helpful in covering those gaps. Protein also works great on fine hair, as it is a lightweight conditioning agent. I personally find that a high-protein lineup helps my curls to hold their definition for longer. For more information about this, including product recommendations, check out the below post about protein vs moisture.
4. Add texture or “grit” to your curls
If your hair is prone to losing its curl easily, using stylers that provide a texturizing effect will help with your hold. This “grit” may feel slightly drying, but it stops your curls from being too soft and going limp. Hairsprays often provide a bit of texture, along with salt sprays, texture sprays, and certain foams and gels. For hairspray recommendations, check out my post How (and why) to style curly hair with just hairspray.
My favourite anti-humidity curl stylers
Boucleme Seal & Shield Gel – this gel contains aloe leaf juice and panthenol – both film-forming humectants as mentioned above. It’s a medium hold, but it works well with other gels or with a hairspray on top.
Buy direct from their website and use code COAST15 for 15% off, or find it on LookFantastic (and use coast LFTFCOAST for 21% off) or Amazon.
Color Wow Dream Coat for Curly Hair – I would spray this over the top of another styler as it doesn’t have a very strong hold, but it works really well for keeping out moisture – as long you apply enough of it!
Buy direct through their website (and use code CURLSBYTHECOAST for 20% off), Amazon UK, Amazon US, or LookFantastic (and get 21% off with code LFTFCOAST).
Giovanni LA Hold Styling Gel – this has a little of that “grit” I mentioned above, as well as those film-forming humectants. It’s lightweight but quite a thick consistency, so make sure you’re styling with lots of water.
Buy directly from their (US) website and get 15% off when you buy through this link, find them on LookFantastic (use code LFTFCOAST for 21% off), or on Amazon UK, Amazon US, or Naturalistic Products.
Ouidad Advanced Climate Control Gel – this actually does contain glycerin, but it also contains wheat proteins, silk proteins, and panthenol, so together it makes a high-performing anti-humidity gel. Make sure you buy the red bottle – it’s a stronger hold.
Buy direct from their website, Amazon US, or Amazon UK.
TréLuxe Hi! Definition Styling Gel – a medium-hold gel that contains aloe leaf juice, carrageenan gum, and panthenol – three of the film-forming humectants mentioned above. It also contains a little protein.
Buy direct from their website, or find their international stockists here. TréLuxe is also sold in Walgreens.
VO5 Mega Hold Gel – a great budget option, this is also glycerin-free and contains those all-important film-formers. It gives very good hold on its own!
Find it in Boots, Superdrug, Amazon UK, as well as Sainsbury’s and other supermarkets.
My humidity-proof curly hair routine
Below is an example of a curly hair routine that I’d do when I need to be outside in the humid air for a long time. On this occasion, despite having my hair in a half-up-half-down hairstyle for a music festival for all of day 2, the curls barely stretched out or frizzed up. After I rewet and re-defined (finger rolled) the front pieces, this hair lasted for 4 more days – that’s 6 days in total!
I’ve also included any discount codes I have for the brand’s own website, although the products may well be cheaper elsewhere. Feel free to shop around!
- Bounce Curl Gentle Clarifying Shampoo (CURLSBYTHECOAST10) with 6 drops of Boucleme Protein Booster (COAST15)
- Umberto Giannini Conditioning Water (now discontinued sadly, but the L’Oreal Wonder Waters are similar)
- Boucleme Curl Defence Spray (COAST15)
- Boucleme Seal + Shield Gel (COAST15)
- Brush styled with Bounce Curl Define Edgelift Brush (CURLSBYTHECOAST10)
- Ouidad Climate Control Gel, Stronger Hold
This curly hair routine uses all of the tips I mentioned above: slightly stronger shampoo, protein, lightweight conditioning, and two humidity-proofing gels – as well as some UV protection! Together, it created lasting hold and protection, while still staying lightweight for my fine hair. A winning combination!
If your curls are battling the elements all year round check out more weather-proofing tips in the below post.
Curls by the Coast 
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