Chantelle FarrellIt’s everyone’s worst nightmare—a hot and steamy shower, followed by a brisk hair care routine that ends in frizzy locks.
Hair becomes frizzy after a shower for several reasons, and knowing what to do can help you groom smooth tresses and a healthy head of hair even after a shower.
Why Does My Hair Get Frizzy After I Shower
There are several reasons why hair gets frizzy after a shower. Knowing why your hair is frizzy will help you decide on a treatment plan, so let’s find out why your hair gets frizzy after taking a shower.
Heat Opens the Hair Follicles
When you shower, your hair is exposed to a different microclimate than what you are used to. For starters, it’s warm and humid, and this causes your hair follicles to open.
In case you don’t know, your hair shaft is lined with sheaves or follicles that rise up in response to heat, friction, and water. When these follicles don’t lie flat, your hair shaft is not sleek and your hair looks frizzy.
So a hot shower, despite your use of hair products, will result in frizzy hair.
Friction Lifts the Hair Follicles
When you shower, you may scrunch up your hair, or you may rub at it excessively while shampooing.
This can lead to excessive friction that lifts the hair follicles, leading to more frizzy hair post-shower.
Hot Water Lifts the Hair Follicles
When hair is exposed to hot water, the follicles also shift position, losing their sleekness, causing frizzy hair.
Using the Wrong Hair Products
Hair products contain chemicals like parabens, silicones, and other minerals. Some of these chemicals are dense in structure.
When your hair is exposed to chemicals in hair products, the hair follicles can’t settle back into place.
Water Dries Out Hair
As with water drying out your skin after a shower, it also dries out your hair strands. This is why using a good quality conditioner or oil treatment is so essential to lock moisture into your hair strands.
Dehydrated hair strands will be rough with follicles that have shed and shrunk so they no longer fit the hair shaft correctly. This leads to frizzy and damaged hair.
Tips to Prevent Hair From Frizzing After Washing
Now you know a few reasons for your hair frizzing in the shower, let’s consider how to avoid those conditions.
Avoid Excessive Water Exposure
When your hair is washed with water, your hair will dry out and become frizzy. Washing less frequently will help smooth your hair and lock in natural moisture for longer.
Try only washing your hair in the shower every other day or once a week even.
Don’t Rub Your Wet Hair Excessively
Hair breakage is one of the reasons why hair frizzes. Don’t towel your hair dry by rubbing your hands and the towel together over your hair.
Don’t Shower in Hot Water
Hot water releases the natural bonds of your hair follicles, so don’t shower in hot water as this causes frizzy hair. Use a cooler water setting to help rinse hair.
How To Get Rid Of Frizzy Hair After Shower
There are several ways to get rid of frizzy hair, especially after a shower. Here are 15 tips to help smooth your frizz.
Natural Anti-Frizz Treatments
1. Don’t towel dry your hair.
2. Use a wet t-shirt to wrap your wet hair instead of a towel.
3. Comb through your wet hair with your fingers instead of a comb or brush.
4. Only dry the roots of your hair, not the length or the tips.
5. Rinse with cool temperature water before you turn off the tap to improve shine and anti-frizz.
6. Gently massage your hair shampoo into the scalp when washing, but avoid putting too much shampoo on the length and ends of your hair.
7. Dry your hair on a low temperature setting.
8. Only brush your hair once your hair is dry to prevent breakage.
Treatment Products
9. Use a frizz-free shampoo that smoothes the hair follicles.
10. Use an anti-frizz conditioner to nourish the hair and prevent dryness.
11. When blowdrying your hair, use a protective serum or heat protecting spray that keeps the follicles sealed.
12. Install a hard water filter in your shower to prevent chemical deposits on your hair from lime in the tap water.
13. Use a rejuvenating hair mask once a week to rebuild your hair from heat and styling damage.
14. Avoid alcohol-based hair products.
15. Reduce the amount of hair styling products you apply as these leech moisture from the hair shaft.
How to Naturally Stop Frizzy Hair After Showering
There are several ways to stop your hair from frizzing after a shower.
Simply changing a few bad habits can naturally help your hair remain smoother for longer. Change your habits and follow these healthy hair practices.
- Rinse your hair in cold water.
- Avoid toweling your hair, wrapping it in a wet t-shirt instead.
- Use less shampoo.
- Apply conditioner each time you wash your hair.
- Air dry hair instead of heat styling.
- Brush wet hair with your fingers, letting it dry before brushing with a brush.
- Use a herbal rinse to settle the hair follicles after washing your hair in the shower.
Top tip: Herbal hair rinse recipe
Make a strong herbal extract by placing three rosemary sprigs in hot water. Allow to brew for five minutes.
After washing and rinsing your hair in the shower, slowly pour the herbal extract as a final rinse over your hair. Allow to soak, then lightly rinse with cool water.
Best Frizzy Hair Treatment Products
There are several hair treatment products on the market specially designed to treat and manage frizzy hair.
While these products aren’t a solution on their own, they can help tame frizzy hair when used in combination with healthy hair practices.
We love these frizzy hair treatment products:
10-in-1 Anti-Frizz Hydrating Heat Protectant Hair Cream
This leave-in treatment is also heat protecting, which makes it a great styling product when your hair tends to get wild from a blow dry.
With the pure oils of coconut and bamboo, your hair is nourished, smoothed, and detangled all in one.
John Frieda Frizz Ease Extra Strength Serum, Nourishing Hair Treatment for Dry, Damaged, Frizzy Hair
This is a hugely popular anti-frizz treatment and heat protector.
John Frieda’s Frizz Ease is also great for visits to the beach as it protects your hair follicles against humidity too.
As a bonus, it is also 100% safe to use on color treated hair.
Garnier Fructis Sleek and Shine Anti-Frizz Serum
With Garnier’s Fructis Sleek, you will enjoy smooth, nourished, and frizz-free hair.
Since this is a leave-in treatment, you can also use it as a styling aid to help smooth frizzy tresses.
With argan oil, this frizz-proofing hair treatment is a great smelling beauty routine staple.
