How To Manage Winter Frizz—Because It’s Not the Same as Summer Frizz

The sticky days of summer are long gone, which means we’re free from humidity inflating our hair and messing up our styles. But even on dry winter days, you can still experience frizz. According to cosmetic chemist Joseph Cincotta, PhD, who was behind the creation of John Frieda’s iconic Frizz Ease line, winter frizz is totally different from summer frizz and must be treated as such.

“Frizz is a misalignment of hair fibers. When hair fibers are aligned properly, you won’t see any frizz. When hair fibers separate and go in different directions or misalign with each other, that’s what frizz is,” says Dr. Cincotta, who is now the chief chemist at Color Wow. “We know how high humidity affects effects frizz, but if you live in [a dry area], what happens is you get a lot of static charge on your hair.”

This static is caused by a movement of electrons between your hair and other objects. For example, “when you’re brushing and the hair is very dry because of low humidity, you get these electrons moving back and forth from brush to the hair to the brush.” When this electrostatic charge happens, all of your hairs take on the same charge (either positive or negative) and begin to repel each other, creating frizz.

The fix? Neutralize the static charge with a conditioner. Conditioners are “positively charged molecules that stay on the surface of your hair and neutralize any negative charge,” says Dr. Cincotta. “Make sure you’re using a good conditioner or a mask that’ll neutralize any static charge.” Additionally, using conditioning styling products will keep static frizz under control. Below, shop four winter frizz products that will leave your strands sleek and controlled.

4 winter frizz products to keep your strands sleek

Ouai Finishing Crème — $24.00

This lightweight cream conditions hair, smoothing dry ends and taming frizz while providing shine. Plus, it protects hair from heat styling. The conditioning and heat-protective properties work on all hair types, but for fine-to-medium hair, expect to also get that tousled, lived-in look.

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