Fighting los angeles climate hair frizz? You’re not doing anything wrong. Frizz comes from water moving in and out of each strand, so keeping the cuticle healthy and your hair moisturised is the answer.
This page sits within the wider guide to hair extensions in los angeles, where frizz is one of several climate questions.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Layers a strand can have | 3 (medulla, cortex, cuticle) |
| Bond that water and heat break | Hydrogen bond |
| Layer that guards the cortex | Cuticle, the outermost layer |
| Most common cause of cuticle damage | Heat from styling tools |
| Effect of too much water in the hair | Swells and can crack the cuticle |
The figures above come from Scientific American and CBS News Minnesota. Hair science explanations can be refined over time, so check the sources before you rely on them.
Why does humidity make hair frizzy?
Hair is built from keratin proteins, and the bonds between them give it shape and strength. A hydrogen bond is the kind humidity affects, and it is weaker than the disulfide bond and breaks when hair gets wet, according to CBS News Minnesota.
Water is one of the best molecules at hydrogen bonding, so when the air is humid more of it gets into your hair. Too much water can swell and crack the cuticle, making hair look frizzy, as chemist Tara S. Carpenter explains in Scientific American.
Dry hair is the thirstiest. It soaks up water from the air and forms more of the bonds that make hair curl, while hair that is already moisturised does not need to build those connectors, per the CBS News Minnesota report.
How a strand is built, and where frizz starts
Each hair can have three layers, and you can picture the strand as a tiny tree trunk, according to Scientific American. The layers work like this:
- Medulla: the core, which holds moisture. Only thick or coarse hairs contain it, so thin or blond hair typically lacks it.
- Cortex: most of the hair, made of spring-shaped proteins lying in parallel rows.
- Cuticle: the outer layer, like bark, which protects the cortex but is easily damaged.
When the cuticle is damaged, the proteins of the cortex find it harder to lie smoothly together. The strand can then lose moisture, gain moisture, fray like a rope and even break.
What a damaged cuticle does to frizz
A damaged cuticle leaves the cortex more open to water creeping in or out. One source on curly hair care notes that more porous hair takes up and loses water faster, so it tends to frizz and revert more in humidity, as The Mestiza Muse puts it.
The usual causes of cuticle damage are:
- Heat from styling tools, the most common culprit
- Chemical treatments
- Brushing
- Sun
- Wind
That list comes from Scientific American, which adds that some exposure, such as sun, can’t be avoided. Sun is a good place to start protecting, so this guide on how to protect hair from sun and chlorine is a useful next read.
What your water leaves behind is a separate topic from humidity. You can read about it in this guide to los angeles hard water hair care.
Habits that keep the cuticle healthy
The good news from Scientific American is that a healthy cuticle helps keep the right moisture in the cortex. That makes hair less sensitive to changes in the weather.
- Cut back on heat styling. It is the most common reason cuticles get damaged.
- Moisturise. Moisturizing products help maintain cuticle health, and oils and moisturizing treatments can even restore damaged cuticles.
- Look after your scalp. A clean, healthy scalp leads to healthy hair cuticles.
- Add hold. A styler that forms a film and holds the curl slows how fast water reaches the surface, according to The Mestiza Muse.
None of these steps needs a special product. Start with the habits you already have and adjust one thing at a time, so you can see what your hair responds to.
Do humectants and anti-humectants matter?
Humectants are water-binding ingredients that hold onto water molecules, and glycerin is the most familiar one. The Mestiza Muse says you don’t need to fear glycerin or hunt for humectant-free products.
The same page calls anti-humectant a nickname for occlusive and film-forming ingredients, such as oils, butters, silicones and styling polymers. Its advice is that hold and healthy hair matter more than the label, so watch how your hair behaves and adjust.
When you move between humid and dry air
Humidity isn’t the only trigger. Styling your hair in high humidity and then entering a less humid environment can also cause problems, because water molecules leaving the cortex change how hair behaves, per Scientific American.
If your day swings between damp and dry settings, this is worth knowing. A healthy cuticle and moisturised strands help in both directions, since they limit how much water moves in and out.
Frequently asked questions
Does only humidity cause frizz?
Show answer
No. High humidity can swell and crack the cuticle, but moving from a humid setting to a less humid one can also change how hair behaves, according to Scientific American’s explanation of the chemistry.
Can moisturising really reduce frizz?
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It can help. Hair that is already moisturised doesn’t need to build extra hydrogen bonds with water in the air, according to the experts quoted by CBS News Minnesota.
Should I avoid glycerin in humid weather?
Show answer
Not necessarily. The Mestiza Muse says humectants like glycerin are water-binding ingredients, not the villain of humid-weather frizz, and advises finding out by trying a product rather than reading the label.
Can oils fix a damaged cuticle?
Show answer
Scientific American says oils and moisturizing treatments can even restore damaged cuticles. Avoiding heat, chemicals and rough brushing helps prevent further damage.