Lucy Abbersteen
When your hair is any level of frizz prone, you know well that rain isn't the only enemy of a fresh hairstyle you want to last. Any moisture in the air can (and will) undo hours of styling faster than you can open a smartphone weather app. Thankfully, product formulation has come a long way in the past couple of decades; the best hair products for humidity will shield strands from moist air with an invisible "umbrella" to help a style last.
From a hair perspective, you may feel as though you constantly battle humidity, trying not to let it undo the work of your best hair dryer and best straighteners. Misty forecasts, steamy post-shower bathrooms, thick changing room air... need we go on? But fluffy frizz doesn't have to be inevitable, as there are ways to stop hair from springing out of shape in a moist environment. “A barrier needs to be created for hair to stop being attacked by humidity,” says hairdresser and mdlondon founder Michael Douglas. “This is easily [achieved by applying] styling products that repel moisture and keep it out."
For the longest-lasting results, you’ll need to optimise your entire routine, starting with your best shampoo and conditioner all the way through to styling and finishing products. To get you started – after much testing – here, two of our curly and frizz-prone-haired beauty editors have shared their reviews of the nine best anti-humidity hair products to suit various strand thicknesses.
Best anti-humidity hair product deals
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The best hair products for humidity, reviewed by our beauty experts
Reviewed by: Jess Beech
RRP: £45 for 200ml | Key features: Light hold and added texture
My issue with Oribe is that its products aren’t cheap – and every time I try one I love it so much that I don’t want to use anything else. Is it reasonable to say you can’t make your friend's birthday meal because you want to save money for a hair product? I’d be lying if I said it hadn't crossed my mind.
What’s great about the formula is that you can add it to your regime easily as an afterthought. Simply spritz some of the (very expensive-smelling) mist over your finished style and it will ensure that no pesky humidity ruins it as you go about your day.
This particular product also went through a very thorough test in more than one country; I road-tested it both in humid Miami and a very damp springtime week in London, so it’s fair to say that it goes the distance in different climates.
Pros
- Smells incredible
- Adds shine
- Reduces frizz
Cons
- High price point
Reviewed by: Jess Beech, Lucy Abbersteen
RRP: £27 for 200ml | Key features: Heat protection, lasts through multiple washes
My hair is like a flaky friend, going from sleek to frizzy if I so much as look at a drop of rain. I have tried many products to keep my frizzy hair smooth over the years, but Color Wow's Dream Coat is the one I return to time and time again. I spray it onto damp hair in sections before blow-drying and it's instantly smoother and shinier.
It also shows up when it counts and holds my hairstyle in place when I’m out and about without fluffy bits developing around my hairline. The only downside is it's quite weighty – some finer-haired members of our beauty team have found it sits too heavily in their hair, so if your strands are similar it may overwhelm them. That said, contributing beauty editor Lucy Abbersteen has slightly fine, medium thickness curls and layers it on without any stickiness – and the same for the Extra Strength Dream Coat. I love that it's designed to last through three washes, so a bottle lasts ages (a curly edition is also available). Frizz-free and economical; what’s not to love?
Pros
- Bottle lasts ages
- Smooths the hair well
- Effects last through multiple washes
Cons
- May be heavy on very fine hair
Reviewed by: Lucy Abbersteen
RRP: £28 for 200ml | Key features: Heat-activated; heat protection; non-sticky texture; great
Designed to lock in moisture and keep out frizz for up to 72 hours, this powerful newcomer to the Amika hairstyling portfolio is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to staving off humidity. As well as wrapping strands in a "silky shield", it's both heat activated and boasts heat protection up to 230ºC, meaning you're covered for any and all hot tool styling. We also love that it smells great, with an elegant fragrance that wafts after we apply it (and for hours afterwards).
For Abbersteen, it was love at first test. "After spritzing this through my hair post-wash while it was still very damp, it felt so much softer," she says. "Then after drying it smooth there was absolutely no residue in my hair afterwards, nor was it weighed down by the nourishment. It just felt lovely and soft. But the real wowing came after heading into central London. My hair stayed mostly smooth even after a brief drizzly spell on my way to Pret, something which almost never happens given that my hair is naturally curly and very frizz-prone. It's now one of my all-time favourite styling products for a smooth blow dry days; I will be replacing it when it's empty."
Reasons to buy: Leaves hair touchably soft post-wash; smells great
Reasons to avoid: Billed as suiting medium to thick hair, so may not be quite right for finer strands
Reviewed by: Jess Beech
RRP: £44 for 150ml | Key features: Heat protection, lasts for 72 hours, heat activated
The USP of Virtue's haircare line is its alpha keratin 60Ku® complex. Keratin is the protein that makes up most of our hair and this clever ingredient binds to damaged areas to help restore them to their former glory. Frizz Block Smoothing Spray also contains a special humidity blocker to take frizz off your list of worries – and it doubles as a heat protection spray.
It smells lovely and is lightweight enough that it doesn’t sit heavily on the hair (which will appeal to those with finer strands) but it still has enough "oomph" to work on thick hair like mine. However, as it's heat-activated, it only works when blow-drying or straightening your hair. If you don’t, you won’t get the results and it’s likely to leave your hair feeling tacky.
Pros
- Patented hair-identical protein
- Heat protection
- Boosts shine
Cons
- Heat activated; won't work without styling
Reviewed by: Jess Beech
RRP: £31 for 45ml | Key features: Heat protection, smooths with just one use, 96 hour frizz control
Living Proof makes some of the best haircare and styling products on the market. This little bottle of Living Proof Smooth Styling Serum is designed to create a smooth and soft finish in thick and/or coarse hair, specifically.
The product instructions recommend starting with two pumps, which felt quite vague, but I assumed meant you should then add more from there, depending on the length and thickness of your hair. Mine is shoulder-length and this amount was to be spot on; my hair didn’t feel weighed down and I couldn’t see any product in it, so I think I could even apply more if I felt my hair needed. It made blow-drying a faster and generally less painful process for me (my hair smoothed with minimal persuasion) and the results stayed polished until my next wash.
Pros: Speeds up drying time, leaves hair sleek, smells fresh & clean
Cons: Not for all hair types
Reviewed by: Jess Beech
RRP: £9.99 for 200ml | Key features: Styling polymers, invisible finish
I started using this anti-humidity spray years ago in a bid to stop my hair from pinging out of its style (which I’d spent hours wrestling it into) the moment I walked into a warm and busy bar. We've had an on-and-off relationship since then, but whenever I return to it I’m always reminded of its glossy-looking results in my hair.
The frizz protection here isn’t entirely impermeable, but it definitely reduces how much my hair steps out of line. Although the mist is fine, it does have an oily quality that those with thick, curly and dry hair will probably enjoy. If your hair is finer, I’d recommend spraying it from a good distance and using it sparingly to start with – you can always add more later if you think your strands need and can handle it.
Pros
- Adds shine
- Staves off frizz
- Reasonable price tag
Cons
- May be too oily for some
Reviewed by: Jess Beech
RRP: £28 for 150ml | Key features: UV filters
Curly hair is often more porous than naturally straight hair, which makes it a prime candidate for frizz. Oil can help to seal in moisture, but can also drag and weigh down curls. Lucky for us, this Bumble and bumble buy is blended into a gel, making the formula lighter overall.
I will say that it is a bit sticky (which I think is often needed when styling curly to hair to give it lasting hold), but I found that a little bit of the product goes a long way. I smoothed it into damp hair, gave it a little scrunch and left it to dry. Instead of expanding into fluffy territory, my curls kept their shape and definition beautifully. They felt soft and shiny – more bouncy and less "bushy".
Pros
- Lovely texture
- Doesn't weigh down curls
- Works well with air drying
Cons
- Takes trial and error to find the best amount to apply
Reviewed by: Jess Beech
RRP: £19.99 for 180ml | Key features: Heat protection, heat activated
Frizz is common in dehydrated hair as the thirsty strands reach out into the atmosphere in search of the moisture they're lacking. It’s no surprise, then, that my hair is at its frizziest when it's a bit frazzled from over-washing and styling. Enter, It’s A 10 Miracle Blow Dry H₂O Shield.
A fine-but-mighty mist, this is designed to locks out humidity, which meant I got my hair to look far more convincingly smooth and healthy than it actually is. It does offer extra help on that front, too, with ingredients like panthenol and sunflower seed extract to soften and moisturise hair that’s in need of a break (like mine). Just a few spritzes are enough to make a noticeable difference.
Pros
- Nourishes
- Easy to use
- Lightweight
- Suits most hair types
Cons
- Unlikely to be sufficient moisture for very dry hair
Reviewed by: Jess Beech
RRP: £24 for 147ml | Key features: Smooths and defines; lightweight hold
Trying to cut down on heat styling? Having frizz-prone hair makes this harder as nothing will smooth hair quite as well as tools like the best hair dryer brush or a pair of the best straighteners for thick hair. However, this product can help to bridge the gap if you want to leave your hair to air dry with as smooth a finish as possible.
I often leave my hair natural when working from home to give it a bit of a break from styling, so I’ll wash it before I go to bed and leave it to dry overnight. The only problem is that my hair is so thick that it takes around two working days to air dry completely. By morning, the front and ends are dry, but it's still damp through the midsection. But by the time it had finally dried (around lunchtime), this product had smoothed it so effectively that it stayed perfectly sleek in a ponytail – even after getting caught in the rain. Impressive stuff, no?
Pros
- Smells great
- Smooths well
- Easy to use
Cons
- Easy to over-use; use sparingly
How we tested the best hair products for humidity
To truly put the contenders through their paces when refining the list of the best hair products for humidity, we tested them during periods of both seriously wet and humid weather. Our naturally curly-haired beauty editors judged each product based on how well it stopped their hair from developing a big halo of frizz after time outside on a damp or humid day.
Each one was tested at least once and, to ensure our round-up reliable enough to step outside without compromising the finish of your hair, we assessed how each one performed in the following areas.
- Design: Packaging is important in terms of how easy a hair product is to dispense. Though the most important factors are the product itself and having an easy user experience, an aesthetically pleasing design is a bonus.
- How it felt on strands: Often designed with thick hair in mind, some of the best hair products for humidity can be on the heavy side or feel a little sticky, particularly on finer textures. Ideally, a lack of frizz won’t come at the cost of having your hair slicked against your head. We looked at how the products felt on the hair both after the initial application and through the day.
- How well hairstyles lasted: Few things are more frustrating than creating a bouncy blow dry with your best curling irons, or after mastering how to use the Dyson Airwrap, only for it to fall to nothing when you step out of the house. A good anti-humidity product will stop moisture from getting in and ruining your style.
- If any frizz developed: It may sound obvious, but if lots of fluffy hair still made an appearance after applying a product, it didn’t make the list.
- Price: Affordability and value for money are important, so if a product sits at a higher price point, the results needed to be impressive to justify the bigger expense.
Why does hair get frizzy when it's humid?
“When you style hair, you essentially heat it up and remove all the moisture,” Douglas explains. “Inside hair strands there are sulphur bonds; these break down in water and re-form when the water is removed. So, once the hair has dried and been styled – with straighteners, curling tongs or your hair dryer – those bonds are reformed.
“If any moisture gets into the hair, there is a breakdown of those bonds and the hair starts to go back to its original, un-styled structure,” he continues. “So, if your hair is naturally curly or wavy, this is when it will start to go frizzy. If your hair is naturally very straight, it tends not to make a massive difference."
Robert Eaton, creative director of Russell Eaton's Leeds & Barnsley salons and president of the Fellowship for British Hairdressing, agrees that curly hair types are usually more susceptible to humidity, and can be more porous, too. “Hair that is heavily damaged – where the cuticle scales are already quite worn and torn in areas – is also prone to being dry and frizzy," he adds.
How to choose the best hair products for humidity
Torn between some of the best hair products for humidity on the market, or simply can't land on one that sounds like it's your perfect fit? The following factors will help you to decide which one(s) are right for your hair and lifestyle.
- Hair type and length: Robert notes that knowing your hair's texture and working on its condition with a consistent regime are also key to reducing frizz and flyaways. “If you’ve got naturally frizzy or porous hair, or naturally wavy hair that [you find] quite difficult to control, my advice is to invest in a smoothing cream, which is best applied to your hair before you blow dry,” advises Robert. “The weight in the cream helps to control flyaway hairs. Then I would always perfect afterwards with a lightweight oil to lock in shine and moisture.”
- Price: Is your hair occasionally frizzy, but not really often enough that it makes a big visible difference? Start with a cheaper hair product for humidity – maybe something travel-sized you can take on humid holidays. You can always upgrade to a pricier product or bigger size if your hair becomes frizzier over time.
- Your wider routine: Forget to apply products before blow drying, or simply prefer to let your hair air dry over using a hair dryer? A heat-activated humidity shielding spray will probably just gather dust in your drawer. Choose a product you’re likely to use as part of your usual styling routine – and that fits into it easily.
- Streamline: If you don’t want to apply a cocktail of hair products, try to find a humidity solution that does more than simply repel water – it could have added heat protection or nourish the hair, too.
Our expert panel
Jess Beech is an experienced fashion and beauty editor, with more than eight years experience in the publishing industry. She has written for woman&home, GoodtoKnow, Now, Woman, Woman’s Weekly, Woman’s Own and Chat, and is a former Deputy Fashion & Beauty Editor at Future plc. With very thick and curly hair, she has a lot of experience in testing products that create a lasting smooth finish and stave off humidity.
Lucy Abbersteen is a freelance beauty editor and one of woman&home's contributing beauty editors. With close to a decade of experience in the industry – and with hair as one of her specialisms – she's tested a lot of hair tools and product on her curly hair during her career. With hair that's very frizz-prone and susceptible to the effects of humidity, she is very well placed to trial and review the best hair products for humidity.
Michael Douglas is a hairdresser with a career spanning more than three decades, and is the founder of both the mdlondon hair salon and hair tool brand of the same name. He's shared his expert insights into how best to shield hair from humidity and choose the right products for the job.
Robert Eaton is creative director of Russell Eaton's Leeds & Barnsley salons and president of the Fellowship for British Hairdressing. Having used a lot of brilliant ones during his career, he's shared some key advice on choosing the best anti-humidity hair products for your hair type.