If your hair is prone to frizz, you’ll know it’s not just rain that is an enemy of freshly styled strands – any moisture in the air can wreak havoc. Thankfully, the best hair products for humidity can act as a liquid umbrella for your hair, working to shield it from moisture in the air and preserve the shape and finish of your style.
From a hair perspective, you may find life feels like a constant battle to prevent humidity undoing the hard work of your best hair dryer and best straighteners. Think forecasts of mist, the thick air of a gym changing room, steam rooms, foggy post-shower bathrooms... need we go on? It’s not all doom, gloom and inevitable fluffiness, though, as there are ways to stop hair from reverting to its original state.
“A barrier needs to be created for hair to stop being attacked by humidity,” says hairdresser Michael Douglas, founder of mdlondon. “This is easily [achieved with] styling products that repel moisture and keep it out." For long-lasting results, you’ll need to go beyond one hero product, though, starting with your best shampoo and conditioner through to styling products. “Identifying [your] hair texture, working on the condition and being consistent with your haircare regime will all contribute towards eliminating frizz and flyaways," notes Robert Eaton, creative director of Russell Eaton's Leeds & Barnsley salons and president of the Fellowship for British Hairdressing.
The best hair products for humidity, reviewed by our beauty editor
Why you can trust Woman & Home Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
The issue I have 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 to save your 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. I road-tested it both in humid Miami and a very damp springtime week in London, so it’s fair to say it goes the distance in different climates.
Reasons to buy: Smells incredible, feels luxe, adds shine, reduces frizz
Reasons to avoid: Higher price point
My hair is as unreliable as 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 smooth and shield my frizzy hair over the years, but Color Wow 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 shows up when it counts, too, holding my style in place when I’m out and about without fluffy bits developing around my hairline. The only downside is it's quite weighty; 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. The thing I like most about this spray is that, with lasting results, you only need to use it every three washes. Therefore, one bottle lasts for ages (there are also curly and extra strength formulations available). Frizz-free and economical, what’s not to love?
Reasons to buy: Lasts ages, smooths well
Reasons to avoid: May be heavy on fine hair
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.
Reasons to buy: C Hotection, boosts shine
Reasons to avoid: Heat activated
Living Proof makes some of the best haircare and styling products on the market. This little bottle of 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 out with minimal persuasion) and the results stayed polished until my next wash.
Reasons to buy: Speeds up drying time, leaves hair sleek, smells fresh & clean
Reasons to avoid: Not for all hair types
I don’t know about you, but my hair is always at its frizziest on holiday. I think it’s the combination of dehydration from sunshine and warmer weather, salt water and chlorine, mixed with the added humidity in the air that causes it to completely misbehave. If this sounds familiar, this can of joy will more than earn its keep in your suitcase (and haircare regime).
It shields hair from temperatures of up to 230°C (good for styling and sunshine), protects it from UV rays and extends the life of your hairstyle. It may not quite replace the best heat protection sprays, but if you don't want to layer too many products on your hair (or pack them in your case), it's a brilliant all-rounder. I used it on a wing and a prayer when I’d run out of hairspray and, to be honest, didn’t expect much from the hold. But it held tight to my wave all day and kept frizz at bay, making it a new favourite.
Reasons to buy: Holds hair, heat protection, aesthetically pleasing packaging
Reasons to avoid: None, we love it
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, which makes the formula lighter overall.
It is a bit sticky (which I think is often needed with curl products to provide hold), but I found a little 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 stayed completely under control. They felt soft and shiny – more bouncy and less bushy.
Reasons to buy: Lovely texture, doesn't drag down curls, works with air drying
Reasons to avoid: Takes trial and error to find the best amount to apply
Trying to cut down on heat styling? Having frizz-prone hair makes it harder to do so, as nothing will smooth hair quite as well as tools like the best hairdryer brush or a pair of the best straighteners for thick hair. However, this product can help to bridge the gap.
I tend to leave my hair in its natural state when working from home to give it a bit of a break, 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 dry completely. By the morning, the front and ends are dry, but there’s still a damp no-mans land somewhere in the middle. The good news is that, by the time it had finally dried (around lunchtime), this product had smoothed my hair so effectively that it stayed perfectly sleek in a ponytail – even after getting caught out without a brolly when out and about. Impressive!
Reasons to buy: Smells great, smooths well, easy to use
Reasons to avoid: Must be used sparingly
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.
Reasons to buy: Nourishes, easy to use, lightweight, suitable for most hair types
Reasons to avoid: Might not be sufficient for very dry hair
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 the degree to which my hair steps out of line. Although the mist is fine, it has an oiliness 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 hair needs and can handle it.
Reasons to buy: Adds shine, staves off frizz, affordable
Reasons to avoid: May be too oily for some
How we tested the best hair products for humidity
To make things as difficult as possible for our best hair products for humidity, we tested them during a month seriously wet weather. Our naturally curly-haired beauty editor judged each product based on how well it stopped her hair becoming a big fuzzy ball of frizz after stepping outside on such a damp day. To bring you a round-up reliable enough to consider risking leaving your umbrella at home, we ensured each one of the products included here performed in the following areas.
- Keeping frizz at bay: It may sound obvious, but if fluffy hairs still made an appearance after applying a product, then it didn’t make the list.
- Not weighing the hair down: As they are often designed with thick hair in mind, some of the best hair products for humidity can be on the heavy side. Ideally, a lack of frizz won’t come at the cost of having your hair slicked against your head.
- Holding hairstyles in place: 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 your efforts to fall to nothing when you step out of the house. A good humidity product will stop moisture from getting in and ruining your style.
Why does hair get frizzy when it's humid?
For those wondering why our hair responds to humidity by developing frizz, we put this to an expert, too. “When you style your hair you essentially heat it up and remove all the moisture,” Michael Douglas explains. “Inside the 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 reform at that point.
“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 agrees that curly hair types tend to be most susceptible to the effects of humidity, adding that they often have more sensitivity and can be more porous. “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 a few of the best hair products for humidity, or 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.
- Your hair type and length: “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 bothers you? 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 current 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. In other words, choose a product you’re likely to use as part of your usual styling routine – and that fits into it easily.
- Streamlining where possible: 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.
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