Please PLEASE help me with a styling product for my frizz (not Curly Girl)!!!

[YoureBreakingMyHeartCecilia]

I am so sick of the frizz, it’s really getting me down and NOTHING seems to work.

From Olaplex to Cantu, Curlsmith to Tigi. Expensive, cheap, it’s ALL USELESS.

I have medium-fine hair but MASSES of it, seriously loads and loads, shoulder blade length, some quite curly parts, some wavy.

I know treatments, shampoos and conditioners are all part of it but honestly my hair is pretty well moisturised, it’s soft to the touch. Unless there is some amazing frizzy reducing range I am missing (Aveda damage remedy?) I don’t think I need to spend any more time or money investigating those steps.

I feel like I CANNOT find the right product to put on it to reduce the frizz, either on damp or on dry hair. Nothing helps.

I know I KNOW CG works for many and I know you have to persist. For me (I tried for months) it left me with worse frizz or a kind of awful stringiness, especially when I used any gel. I tried products in sparing amounts but the ones that made me look greasy and stringy still made that effect in small amounts, just with worse frizz too.

I have kept the CG idea of microfibre towel. I use hairdryers sparingly but if I let it totally air dry the frizz is worse than ever. I only wash 2 times a week max. I use a silk pillow.

I have had no success at all with any gel, as I say, and not much luck with creams or balms. Would a serum work???!!! An oil?? Do I go old school and try Frizz Ease, even though I remember it from olden times and it was another one that used to have the dreaded stringy effect!!

Please, ANY styling products you can recommend for impossible frizz. I look ridiculous. I don’t mind some texture, I’m happy to have natural waves or curls, I just see other people with so so much less frizz and I hate the fact I can never seem to achieve that!!

(I recognise it’s a first world problem but this is S&B)

It is probably your technique. I follow a fair few curly accounts on Instagram and this has made the most difference to my very curly but fine hair. Manes by Mel or curlykiet are my favourite just now. I now only use 2 products on top of my leave in conditioner and my hair looks amazing. No one can tell you what will work unfortunately. Definitely check out styling with a Denman brush as this has hugely reduced my frizz.

Thank you!!

I haven’t yet found a leave in conditioner that works but I’m not averse to trying that before a styling product; can I ask which one works for you?

I found the worst thing about CG was using two (or more) different products to style, eg a gel and a cream, as I think that made the stringy effect worst. So I only use one product now, usually just a cream like the Cantu avocado one, which doesn’t make it stingy (yay) but also doesn’t seem to improve my frizz (boo)

I am HOPELESS (believe me) with using brushes etc to style my hair, I am apparently incapable of working a brush and a dryer🤯 I sometimes use Velcro rollers and dryer which sometimes seems to make it a bit smoother but isn’t that reliable…

Stringy not stingy… I may hate my hair but I can’t accuse it of being stingy…

I also have a lot of fine, very curly hair, and old fashioned Frizz Ease serum is the only thing that has ever really worked for me. I use Garnier banana hair food shampoo and conditioner, apply the Frizz Ease to wet hair, put it in a micro fibre towel for ten mins or so, then use a bit of KNS Curl Up when it's damp. It's taken me 20 years of trial and error to figure it out but it works for me

Thank you sticky bear!!

Which KMS curl up product do you use? Just looked online and it seems there is a range called that with different products in…?

And (sorry to badger you) do you then let it air dry…?

It's the Perfecting Lotion I use. When I go to the hairdresser they just use that and it's never enough to control the frizz, I definitely need the frizz ease too! It gives a nice finish though. And yes I just leave to air dry. If I have time I sometimes twist it and use a diffuser, but that's pretty rare these days

Is it actually curly though?
You really don't need to do all the Cg stuff to get it to be curly .
I've had curly hair all my life and it's really not difficult before someone designed all these rules ..

This is what I do , wash , shampoo with anything that is nearby .. on very wet hair use curl cream , scrunch and diffuse ..

My hair is absolutely minging without product but beautiful ( so
I'm told ) with ..

If I want my hair without frizz I just straighten it and use frizz ease spray serum to smooth it .

Could you need protein? My hair is v v fine and drinks protein!
What does your hair look like without product?
Here is mine without product and air dry, and with product and diffused

I sort of do CG in that I don't use shampoo at all and I just wash about twice a week in AsIAm Coconut Co-Wash.

I then hang my head over the bath and wash the Co-wash out into a bowl/bucket. Dunk my head in that and scrunch it back into the bowl. Repeat about 4 times. The last time I (sometimes) scrunch a tiny bit of Ecoslay Jello shot through soaking hair, dunk once more and scrunch out.

I wrap a T shirt round hair for about ten mins then just leave it to air dry. (It helps that I have an hour drive to work and it's dry by the time I arrive). The key to me is to NOT touch my hair again unless it's a very gentle scrunch as I get to work to make sure it's actually dry.

The more I touch it the more it frizzes.

@MrOllivander Your hair is gorgeous diffused!

(I had a pixie cut and got rid of the hairdryer). Now I've grown hair out to shoulder length I keep thinking about buying one with a decent diffuser again. I'm basically air drying my through lack of choice at the moment!

Coconut oil. Like the cooking stuff you get in a jar.

I have hugely thick waist length hair and about a table spoon is enough - just melt between palms and smooth on the ends

I use a 5p size cantu curl cream on soaking wet hair. Brush it through with the Denman upside down. Scrunch the curls. Add 50p size of gel with praying hands, scrunch it in. Scrunch with a muslin towel to get excess water out. Scrunch in some mousse. Usually just air dry and fluff it up and Scrunch out the gel. I don't religiously follow curly girl but this is simple. Will blast it with hair dryer when I'm In a hurry. The avocado is probably too heavy. The stringy hair is over loaded.

Scrunch in gel upside down when damp. Then plop using a T-shirt for 1/2 an hour. Then diffuse till you get a gel cast and it’s completely dry. Scrunch out the crunch. Diffusing and gel when used properly saved my hair. Check out manes by mell

Gosh MrOllivander yours is stunning in that second pic!

I have never really got the hang of the protein vs moisture thing. What products add protein?

What product have you used to get that glorious mane in pic 2?!?

Thanks too gunnersgold, which curl cream do you use?

Diffusing is NOT (currently) a good effect for me, it seems to really make my hair look dry and sort of papery…

Thanks for that KMS recc, sticky bear, I will have a look for a small bottle to try… it’s SO expensive trying (and failing) with different products

I use this as a protein treatment
https://www.lookfantastic.com/joico-k-pak-deep-penetrating-reconstructor-150ml/10793095.html?affil=thggpsad&switchcurrency=GBP&shippingcountry=GB&shoppingpid=BF17joico&thgppccampaign=71700000088329927&adtype=&productid=10793095&gclid=CjwKCAjwi6WSBhA-EiwA6Niok2it-ie02uMy7KHG5ctBdRK5pCE49SjOBuNG1lRhjXoCcUP-SqibAxoCgGIQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

For styling I use Giovanni natural mousse (it's more a foam) and then aveda gel. The gel is really runny and light so it doesn't weigh my hair down but I still get a cast which I scrunch out

I'm not full CG as I shampoo!

@YoureBreakingMyHeartCecilia mostly boots curl cream £1.99.... I hate cantu because it's sticky and I have very thick hair !

I also use only curls but it's expensive and boots it's really just as good..

I do put it on my hands and add water and sort of emulsify it by rubbing my hands together a bit so not sure if that will help you .

Wow more replies thank you all!!!

For those saying use gel: which gels are you using??

I think maybe, looking at eg that pic of Ollivanders, I am mis-describing my hair type. It’s probably much more wavy than it is curly (hence why gel is working for all of you but not me?!?) and bushy too.

Diffusing just bulks out the bushiness and doesn’t seem to define any curl pattern, as well as making it look harsh and dry.

I am happy to try gel again if there’s a winner out there…

The cantu avocado lotion isn’t the thing that makes me stringy, it’s gel that makes it look stringy… cantu on its own doesn’t make it stringy at all but equally it doesn’t have much effect on frizz. Unless I pile LOADS on. And then it IS stringy

Can you get to Bristol for a cut and style with Nuala Morey? She's an absolute curl genius. A specialist curly salon. They will talk you through products and how to apply and actually show you how to do it. Check out their Instagram at least! Women travel across the country to get to her.

A curly cut is a good idea - they twist the hair to cut it and leave it to dry naturally. Makes a huge difference.

Mine is similar to yours, if I want it curly I twist sections and pin it while wet and leave to dry naturally, like they did in the bolden days - looks good

I agree with curly cuts - I don’t have curly hair but know a curly hair hairdresser and she’s very good. Also women I know with curly hair swear by Frizz Ease, all of it.

Keratin blow dry maybe?

I’ve got over processed hair which is wavy (I prefer straight/wavy) and it looks much better if I either use a keratin leave in conditioner (now discontinued thanks a lot L’Oreal!) or a keratin rinse out one and notice the difference if I don’t use it.

Another one here who worships at the shrine of Blessed St John of Frieda, patron saint of the wild and curly, blessings upon him.

MrOllivander
I have serious hair envy!!
Your hair is absolutely beautiful in that second pic!
OK, you need to walk me through exactly what you do to get that glorious mane!!
Pretty please!!

@Amithatbad1

MrOllivander I have serious hair envy!! Your hair is absolutely beautiful in that second pic! OK, you need to walk me through exactly what you do to get that glorious mane!! Pretty please!!

I don't do anything technical! Every thing done upside down and it's been a LOT of trial and error

Wash with shampoo and conditioner - I like bounce curl shampoo, and innersense conditioner as it has protein. Detangle with paddle brush
Squeeze as much water out as I can. Rake the mousse through with my fingers
Squish it a bit
Rake a bit of gel through, then brush through with paddle brush. Glaze more gel, squish, flip head to each side and repeat, flip head upright and glaze top section
Diffuse, then scrunch out the crunch when dry

Right I’m off to boots tomorrow to get my Frizz Ease

Do those who swear by it have any tips to prevent too much build up?

I used to get keratin blow dries but I look back now at photos of me then and it looks awfully flat. I don’t really want to go down that route again, despite my whinging about bushiness

Would a leave in conditioner plus frizz ease be overkill/the wrong combo, do you think? Is serum best on naked hair?

My hairdresser is the best I’ve found for my hair type and his wife has hair similar to mine so I feel in decent hands but could always try a curly specialist. I’m very much a 2b pattern with a few 2c patches (get me with my new found lingo!!)

Huge thanks to everyone!

I have the same hair OP. Boots curl crème is fantastic but I agree technique is important too xx