Control/tame frizzy hair – learn the science behind frizz

One of things I get asked about the most—from women with every hair type—is how to treat and manage frizzy hair. The science behind it’s pretty simple.

Frizz is related to the way that moisture in the hair changes the arrangement of temporary bonds (hydrogen bonds) that you create when you style your hair. The amino acids that make up hair connect with other through hydrogen bonding, like scaffolding, when hair dries and a style is created. But moisture in the air can come into hair and change the bonding pattern.  This takes hair from a styled pattern to a less ordered pattern, which for many women means frizz.

When you wet your hair completely you disrupt these bonds so they can then be rearranged. And that’s where styling and styling products (specifically frizzy hair products) come in.

Styling is your chance to set up hydrogen bonds in a specific way—think of it as “training” for well-behaved hair. You can apply product and then use heat to create the arrangement of hydrogen bonds that gives you the style you want, whether it’s sleek, straight hair or smooth, bouncy curls.  Products designed to prevent or control frizz should control the movement of water in and out of hair so that the hydrogen bond arrangement is not disturbed, which helps to preserve your style.