Frizz is a special kind of beauty problem—the sort of “difficult to solve” kind with a mind of its own. It ignores the blowout you paid good money for, gets worse the second you step outside on a humid day and somehow always makes itself the star in your latest Instagram dump. Most of us write it off as the hair we were born with, but frizz isn’t always about hair type; more often, it’s a moisture problem. When strands are dry or damaged, the cuticle lifts and starts pulling water from the air, which is why the same head of hair can look glossy in January and become a halo of static by August.
Taming it is less about hunting down a miracle serum and more about the small stuff you’ve likely never thought twice about: how long your mask actually sits before you rinse, how you towel off, which way your blow dryer points, even what your pillowcase is made of. Once those become a habit, the right products can actually do their job.
Below, how to fix frizzy hair: a step-by-step routine for smoother, shinier strands, plus the formulas to give your style staying power.
Step 1: Wash with a sulphate-free shampoo
“Frizz management really does start in the shower,” says celebrity hairstylist, Clayton Hawkins. “If you’re stripping all the moisture out of the hair before you even start styling, you’re making your job so much harder.”
Sulphates are the usual suspect, though the ingredient isn’t creating the entire problem. “Sulphate-free formulas are often a good option, especially for dry, coarse or curly hair, although sulphate-free doesn’t automatically mean a shampoo is gentler,” says Dawn Queen, MD, dermatologist and expert in hair restoration. For dry or frizz-prone hair, she generally recommends a gentle shampoo that cleanses effectively without leaving the hair feeling stripped or dry. As for how often, there’s no universal schedule. “The goal is to cleanse the scalp often enough to remove oil, sweat and product buildup without leaving your hair feeling overly dry,” explains Iris Rubin, MD, dermatologist and founder of SEEN Hair Care.
K18 Damage Shield Protective Shampoo
K18’s biomimetic formula (meaning it imitates natural structures, processes or substances found in living organisms) was made to limit cuticle swelling during washing, which is exactly where frizz starts. K18’s patented peptide helps reduce the protein loss that comes with every wash. Because it’s plant-based, it’s gentle enough to use every time you shampoo.
