Frizzy Hair
The word frizzy is often used to refer to hair that has been curly and untended, but it’s more accurately a phenomenon related to curl formation. Frizz refers to the wavy, coiled hairs that form around each curl in curly hair. The term “frizziness” is sometimes used to refer to a high volume of frizz on the head. When there are more flyaway “babies” than tightly spiralled curls, the hair looks big and puffy rather than soft and shiny.
What Does It Mean?
Frizzy hair is a term used to depict hair that has become uncontrollable and appears to have a mind of its own. The frizz can be caused by environmental factors such as humidity and heat or caused by the type and condition of your hair. Heat styling can also contribute to frizz in the hair as it tends to drain moisture out of the hair.
Regardless, this is usually not a good look on most people. In simple terms, it is the temporary state of your hair when it has lost its moisture and has become dry. It is characterised by a lack of “shine” and “bounce”. They appear to have only one texture – rough, uneven, and dry.
When the hair’s cuticle layer is damaged, individuals may experience frizzy hair. Frizzy hair happens when the hair’s moisture balance has been disrupted, and moisture from the air has penetrated the hair shaft, resulting in structural changes to the hair strand.
The frequency of frizzy hair depends on how porous the hair cuticle is. Healthy and normal hair has the least porous cuticle and is prone to frizz. The most porous hair and therefore most susceptible to frizz is dry, damaged, or chemically treated (permed, bleached, relaxed) hair.
Frizzy hair means different things to different people. Some women are considered frizzy or dry if they have split ends. Others consider themselves dry if they have dry hair but not a dry hair on their head.
Frizzy hair is separated into two types. The first is fine hairs, which may become coarse, tangled and appear dull when exposed to high humidity. The second type, wavy/curly hair, becomes very puffy, feathery, and expands at the ends. Frizz is caused by lack of moisture (dryness), hence frizzy hair tends to be more common and more severe during dry seasons such as winter or in dry climates.
Causes of Frizzy Hair in Men and Women
Frizzy hair is something that men tend to avoid to look more presentable. But, the most common cause of frizziness and dryness in hair is due to continuous combing of hair and the use of shampoos containing chemicals.
There are many reasons for frizzy hair in men. One of them is exposure to humidity. When men go out in the rain or spend a long time under the sun and sweat excessively, the scalp will become dry, which leads to frizz. The most common problem is the lack of moisture in the strands, and using a rich deep conditioning mask can be an effective way to control frizz.
5 major causes of Frizzy Hair in Men so that you can catch your hair problems early and avoid them.
- Not drinking enough water: Hydration is important for your overall health and maintaining good hair quality. When individuals don’t drink enough water, the body does not get enough moisture, which results in frizzy hair.
- Sleeping with wet Hair: When your hair is wet, it’s important to dry it thoroughly, especially around the roots. Sleeping with wet hair can cause your hair to dry more slowly; this means it can take more time to style and dry, which will result in frizziness because of the increased length of time you are using heated styling tools.
- Using the wrong Styling Products:Misappropriate use of hair care products has been one of the major causes of frizzy hair embedded into our daily lives. We all want to look good, but in the process, we go on using different styling products without being 100% sure if they are right for our hair and skin type. The results are adverse, and the most common effects are hair fall, dandruff and frizziness.
- Swimming in Chlorine Water:First, chlorine is highly alkaline and is often used to keep the water at a certain pH level. Since our hair is naturally acidic, it can become dry and brittle after swimming. Frizzy hair is only part of the problem. If left untreated, too much exposure to chlorine can lead to split ends, end-to-end breakage, scalp dermatitis, dandruff and even partial or full hair loss.
- Repeatedly brushing through hair while it’s Wet:Hair is made up of keratin, and when it’s wet, the cuticle is raised, making the hair follicle more pliable yet weaker and prone to breakage. This can result in frizz, split ends and damage while attempting to style it. Avoid combing or brushing too vigorously when hair is wet to combat these.
Frizzy hair is a serious issue, especially for women. The root cause of frizzy hair is very easy to understand, though the causes may be different. As the oil that is present on your scalp may not reach the end of the hair strands and keep them oily, they tend to turn dry and fragile at the ends due to insufficient moisture levels. Due to this reason, frizzy hair starts growing at the ends.
Some reasons women might be dealing with frizzy hair:
- Not using a conditioner or moisturiser: Only a few women do realise that they need to condition their hair regularly if they want to give it health and strength. Women must use suitable hair moisturisers and conditioners as per their hair texture and type. It will help maintain the texture and shine by nourishing the hair but also helps in providing suffocation effects.
- Washing the hair too often: Most women are washing their hair too often. But by doing so, they are washing away their hair’s natural oils and keeping it from holding on to moisture. This could be the reason for excessive dryness and frizz in the hair. Hair needs natural oils which provide moisture and protection for the tresses. When women shampoo too often, their scalp dry, and locks become frizzy. Because women lose about 30 times more oil than water from the body during sports activities or due to heat and weather conditions, it is advisable to wash their hair every other day.
- Excessive brushing: One of the main reasons is excessive brushing or combing. Mainly, girls with curly hairs experience frizziness in hair after excessive brushing. Excessive brushing makes their hair dry and takes away moisture from the scalp. It also causes split ends and makes the hair look thin and brittle. It is important to brush your hair only twice a day, and that too with proper usage of products before starting brushing.
- Using dirty tools: Another major reason for frizzy hair is using dirty tools like curling iron, blow dryer, etc. When you use your curling iron for a long time, then it becomes full of dust and oil. Along with this oil and dust, the microorganisms also go into your hair, leading to several hair health issues, including dandruff or scalp infections.
- Using heat styling tools too often: Regular blow dryers, tongs and straighteners dry out your hair and scalp leading to frizziness. The more you heat-style your hair, the drier and damper it gets, which can create a puffy, unruly mess. Because women tend to use heated tools daily to achieve their desired look, they often find themselves battling with frizz.
Classifications of Frizzy Hair in Men and Women
Frizzy hair is a common problem of hair type in men. It can be dry, coarse, or curly. The following are the 4 main types: Dry, frizzy hair, coarse, frizzy hair, Wavy Frizzy Hair and Curly Frizzy Hair.
Dry, frizzy hair is caused primarily by a loss of moisture in the hair, which can make the hair shaft swell. The swelling takes up more space than it would when the hair is healthy, causing the diameter to increase. This can make your hair appear colicky or poufy. A variety of factors can contribute to dry hair, including using too many heating tools, too much sun exposure and brushing your wet hair. Dry hair can also be caused by certain medical conditions such as an overactive thyroid, anaemia and hypoparathyroidism.
Coarse, frizzy hair has a very thick and curly structure. Untreated, frizz can make coarse hair appear dull and add years to your appearance. The climate where you live plays a key role in the amount of frizz and dryness. A high humidity climate makes it more likely for coarse, curly or even straight hair to become dry and frizzy.
Wavy frizzy hair is not straight, and it is not curly. It is somewhere in between. Wavy hair is often dismissed as a kind of unsatisfying in-between hair type,
Curly Frizzy Hair is the name given to a group of hair disorders that causes hair shafts to be brittle and fragile. The most common form is diffuse resorption of the inner root sheath, resulting in hair breakage.
Women’s frizzy hair can be straight, wavy, curly, or coiled (tight curls). Women have many different hair types, including straight, wavy, curly, and coiled. Frizzy hair has been around for thousands of years. The shape of the follicle determines the shape of each strand. There are four main types:
Type 1 is straight hair. It can be fine, medium-thin, or coarse
Type 2 is wavy hair. It can be loose waves or tight waves
Type 3 is curly hair. It can be tight curls (corkscrews) or spirals (S-shaped)
Type 4 is coily hair. It can be loose coils or very tight coils (Z-shaped)
Frizzy hair in women represents one of two extremes in texture, being either straight or curly. Straight hair is shiny and smooth, whereas curly hair is dry and relatively frizzy. Wavy hair falls somewhere between these extremes.
Diagnosis of Frizzy Hair in Men and Women
The major methods of diagnosis of frizzy hair in Men and women are:
- Trichoscopy: Trichoscopy is a technique that enables dermatologists to examine hair and scalp conditions, including other skin-related disorders. This technique takes care of enlarged conditions and diseases, such as alopecia and contagious skin conditions. The main advantages of trichoscopy examination include noninvasiveness and simplicity, low cost, and high compliance with patients.
- Hair pluck test: A hair pluck test can diagnose Frizzy hair in men and women. It is the examination of the hairs that are plucked from the scalp. This test helps in diagnosing hair disorders. Normally for this test, about 50 to 100 scalp hairs are pulled out with special forceps called plucker.
- Dermatoscopy: Dermatoscopic examination of hair can be useful for the diagnosis of various forms of alopecia and differentiation from other entities. It is helpful in the differentiation between anagen effluvium and telogen effluvium in cases where the two occur simultaneously. The technique has also proven useful for the early diagnosis of frontal fibrosing alopecia and lichen planopilaris. On dermatoscopy, hairs from patients with frontal fibrosing alopecia have been shown to have a central band of lighter colour, which is wider than normal, associated with loss of pigment at the base of the hair follicle.
A trained professional can diagnose frizz in person by looking at your hair. Alternatively, you can also diagnose it yourself by checking for frizzy hair in the mirror and considering your overall health. One option is to address frizzy hair with keratin treatments to smooth out damaged hair and give your hair a shiny look.
Frizzy hair is simply a case of your hair not holding moisture as it should. This can be cured or controlled by using a good moisturising conditioner and shampoo. There are no special techniques for diagnosing frizzy hair. If it is curly, thick, or wavy, it probably has frizz issues, as straight hair is usually less prone to frizz.
More often than not, frizzy hair is a result of dryness and lack of moisture in the hair. Dry hair is prone to frizz and breakage, which makes it difficult to manage and style. To prevent dryness that causes frizz, deep conditioning treatments are essential to bringing back moisture and hydration to the hair.
A common cause of frizzy hair is damage, so one way to avoid your hair looking and feeling fried is to reduce the heat you put on it, whether that’s by using a lower temperature setting on your hairdryer or straighteners or by wearing your hair natural rather than using heated appliances.
To avoid the frizzies from the get-go, look for shampoos that are moisturising and hydrating. When you wash your hair in super hot water, it will make your cuticle rise, so if possible, It is strongly recommended to wash your hair with warm water and hydrating shampoo.