thick hair,natural hair: My hair is thick and gets frizy. What can I do with it?

*How to Tame Frizzy Hair Quickly*

Here's how to deal with frizzy hair.

Steps

1.Wash your hair, and make sure to use a conditioner. Conditioners and shampoos made for frizzy hair don't seem to work that much better than regular shampoos.

2.Applying a leave in conditioner will often help tame your frizz, without weighing it down too much or leaving it feeling greasy. Some suggested leave in conditioners: Aveda Brilliant Damage Control or Aussie Hair Insurance. Similar, and often cheaper products, are sprays made to control synthetic or natural extension or braids. Some examples are Control Wing 3 in OneFormula, or Mane 'n Tail Braid Sheen Spray. Evenly distribute through hair.

3.Apply a styling product, depending what you want to do with your hair. If you want to air dry your hair, then a light gel, mousse, or pomade will work. Don't use too much - too much gel leaves your hair stiff, too much mousse leaves your hair dry and crunchy, and too much pomade leaves your hair oily. A great product for air drying your hair is Aveda Brilliant Pomades- they come with a humectant for letting your hair dry curly, or anti-humectant if you want your hair to hang straight. Aveda Phomollient styling foam is good for letting your hair dry curly as well (its a mousse), but only if your hair is not very dry.

4.If you're going to blow dry your hair and you want it curly, use a diffuser on the end of your blowdryer. Flip your head over and scruch your hair, but not too much. Dry until your hair is almost dry, and then let air dry the last bit. This prevents frizziness. Use a mousse or pomade for this.

5.If you want to blow dry your hair and you want it straight, use a product that helps with this - Avedea Brilliant Anti-Humectant Pomade is a good one for this. Use a big round brush and blow dry your hair in sections, following the brush down through your hair. Don't use a diffuser attachement on your hair dryer for this. If you have frizzy hair, this usually makes your hair even more frizzy, so its best to always follow up by flat ironing your hair, and then locking it in with a spray shine. No need to buy the expensive spray shines; the cheap ones for ethnic hair that come in the huge bottles are just as effective as the expensive brands.

6.If you'd like to style your hair, it's best to use a product that give you a little hold. A styling lotion is great for this, because it give you light hold without making your hair stiff or dry. Two great ones: Aveda Brilliant Universal Styling Creme, and (aweseome for hot rollers) Isoplus Hot Hot Hot Curler Roller Set Lotion. You could also use a light gel spray for this step as well. Curl your hair in any way you like - if you are using hot rollers wait for them to cool before removing so that the curls will set. Sometimes, when just curling the ends of your hair, you may want to flat iron the top part of your hair to completely remove any frizz from the sections not curled. When finished, set with a hair spray or spray gel.

Tips

璺疘f you're in a hurry and don't have time to do anything to your hair after the shower, you can often let your hair partially air dry, and then put it up in a bun. After an hour or two your hair will be mostly dry, and will have dried into some fairly frizz free waves.

璺疘f you are shopping in a store that has tester bottles of lotion and notice your hair is frizzy, get a squirt of the tester lotion and apply it to your hands and hair.

璺疘f you have gel, but you're in a hurry and have a minimum of 30 minutes in the car: Use gel in your hair and if you want, scrunch or squeeze your hair with your towel (a teeshirt works as well).

璺疘f you have some time to lounge around, a great way to air dry your hair is to lay with your head over the edge of a bed- that way it allows air to reach all layers of your hair evenly.

璺疘ts a good idea to deep condition your hair at least once a week- a lot of frizz comes from damage to your hair.

璺疐ind a good hairdresser than understands your hair. He or she can help you find a haircut that will flatter your face, and help to tame frizz. Remember to be realistic, however, dont get a haircut that requires a lot of maintence if you like to throw your hair in a ponytail most of the time.

璺疘f you're completely out of product, you can use a little bit of your conditioner as a leave in conditioner to help you tame your hair. Don't do this too often though, it will eventually leave your hair with a "film" that weights is down and makes it dull.

璺疭ome good gels are Aveda Phomollient, which is a styling foam that many people like, L'Oreal Crystal Wax, which is a gel that hardens on hair, which some people don't like, and Herbal Essences carries lots of good gels.

Warnings

璺疍on't use too much product - it will leave your hair looking oily or wet.

璺疢ake sure you evenly distribute any product you use - otherwise you could end up with patches that vary from oily to frizzy. A good way to do this is to always apply product to wet hair when possible - then roll your hair between your hands to evenly distribute, and then finally comb through.

璺痵ome products that don't work very well for some: Alberta VO5 Smoothing Souffle, Pro Vitamin Intensives Curl Therapy, and Loreal Vive Smooth Intense Anti -Frizz Serum.