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Ladies, your curly hair can be just as fabulous as the next girl's. Don't worry too much about the frizz and don't blame the weather. There are lots of products on the market made just for you. They'll ease up your frizz and leave your curls looking bouncy and as fierce as ever. You just have to know what to look for.
Gels
Providing curls with moisture is uber important. Salon Lofts Building stylist Natalie Clark, in St. Louis, Missouri, highly recommends Deva Curl Angel. She says that it delivers pure moisture and does not flake or build up. She also says that it has the ultimate hold without stiffness. Alan Gold of the Haig & Co. Salon in Philadelphia recommends using gels, creams and pomades over mousse. Veronica Penzone of Beauty by Veronica Salon in Scottsdale, Arizona, says that runny, more watery gel works because it coats the hair more evenly and goes a lot further than a mousse. Her favorite gel is Framesi Forming Glaze because it doesn't leave the hair crispy or crunchy. Penzone says that the best part is that you can go two or three days before you have to wash or redo your hair.
Mousses
Paige Lewis of Hairs to You Salon in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, loves Paul Mitchell's Awapuhi Wild Ginger Hydrocream Whip. Yep, a whipped cream for your locks. She says that whips are like mousses but more hydrating. "This whip hydrates and smooths you curls with moisturizing awapuhi, while still feeling weightless and looking voluminous," says Lewis. Ashley Hanna, stylist at Mizu New York, doesn't usually recommend mousse unless it's super light and dries without leaving a crunch to the hair.
Drugstore Favorites
Hair products can become pretty expensive, so sometimes, running to the drugstore and getting what's there is your best bet. Hanna loves Twisted Sista Curl Activator and 30 Second Curl Spray. Gold says that drugstore brands like John Frieda's Frizz Ease can work as well as higher-end brands. Eli Mancha, artistic director at Lock & Loaded salon in Chicago and hairstylist of the year finalist for the 2011 North American Hairstyling Awards, says that for naturally curly and frizz hair, Bumble and Bumble Curl Cautious is a great line.
Ingredients
There are some ingredients that can be very damaging to curly, frizzy hair. Clark recommends staying away from all silicone and petroleum-based products because they dry the hair out, leaving you with more frizz than when you first started. Yikes! Gold says that alcohol and sulfates deconstruct curly hair. He says that they dry curly hair, even though curly hair is already drier than straight hair. He says to look for products that nourish and add moisture.
