The East Coast has been dealing with a sweltering heat wave for the past few weeks, and the high temps coupled with the moisture in the air has meant that those of us in New England have been suffering from both constant thunderstorms and constant bad hair days.
As someone with long, thick, curly hair, these record-breaking temperatures have caused my hair levels to rise to record-breaking heights as well. Even if I wake up with perfectly smooth hair, by the time 11 a.m. rolls around and the humidity index is at 97%, I'm sporting a look that can be best described as a bad 80's perm mixed with a Pre-Yule Ball Hermione Granger. Since unfortunately, neither the heat nor the humidity is showing signs of stopping any time soon, I've had to resort to a few handy styling techniques and products in order to control my curls.
1. Ditch the heat.
If you can't change take a break from the weather outside you can at least take a break from your heat styling tools for a while. Don't bother with the straightener/curling iron/blowdryer. You'll only end up drying out your hair more and making frizz levels even worse!
2. Try an oil treatment.
Hot oil treatments are like $7 a bottle at any local pharmacy and yet still feel like such a luxury! Definitely indulge in some self-care during your next shower by applying a hot oil treatment to your whole head after rinsing your conditioner. Leave it in for about 10 min. and your hair will stay extra soft and shiny for up to a week!
3. Skip the shampoo.
Tons of magazines and websites have raved over the benefits of the "no poo" lifestyle when it comes to thick, curly locks. Many shampoos contain sulfates that strip oils from your hair while you lather, so especially in the summer it's best to just skip right to the conditioner.
4. Deep condition.
If conditioner is the curly-haired girls best friend than it only makes sense that deep conditioner is the go-to product for particularly troublesome hair days. To restore all that extra moisture that the weather is sucking up, apply a deep conditioning mask and leave in for at least 10-20 minutes while you're going through the rest of your morning routine.
5. Rinse with cold water.
Rinsing out your conditioner with cold water instead of hot not only benefits the environment (and your electric bill!), but cold water also locks in shine better and leaves your hair looking sleek and smooth!
6. Don't overbrush.
Brushing your hair too often or too forcefully damages your strands and leads to breakage, hair loss, and split ends. Let your natural curls be with just a little bit of finger styling and they'll appear much more polished. If you really must detangle, go for a wide tooth comb or a brush with wooden bristles over plastic.
7. Invest in smoothing serum/mousse.
A quality smoothing serum or mousse that you can work into your post-shower damp hair makes airdrying a much less scary experience. I'm personally a huge fan of the CHI keratin treatment as well as the Aussie Volume Mousse for leaving my curls looking styled and beach ready.
8. Squeeze dry.
By aggressively rubbing your hair dry with a towel after exiting the shower you're actually sabotaging yourself and increasing frizz levels. Instead, try gently squeezing excess water from your ends and avoid applying the towel to your scalp entirely.
9. Pull it back.
Not only is a sleek ponytail a great causal look, it's also the perfect way to feel less sticky in the summer heat by getting all that heavy hair off of your poor, sweaty neck!
10. Embrace braids.
Whether they're Dutch, French, or mermaid, there's nothing like a braid for controlling your hair woes. Check out some funky braid tutorials on Youtube and you'll soon be rocking an adorable and functional look. Plus, when you eventually take the twists out at the end of the day, you'll get the bonus of gorgeous post-braid waves!
11. Gel down fly-aways.
Apply a light layer of gel around your hairline to hold those flyaway strands in place, and you'll never again have to deal with the annoyance having a photo ruined by one awkward hair standing straight up in the air.
12. Throw on a stylish sun hat.
When all else fails and you're still sporting a humidity afro, you can't go wrong with a giant sun hat! Not only will the right hat disguise any imperfections, but if you pair it with some classic sunglasses and the right lipstick you'll instantly feel like a fashion icon!
Even though we're all still desperately waiting for the arrival of that crisp Fall air, at least there are options out there to battle those bad hair days like an expert.
