If you have curly hair, you know that it’s not just rain that can ruin your freshly curled locks. Any humidity in the air can wreak havoc. Luckily, the best humidity-fighting hair products act like a liquid umbrella, protecting your hair from the moisture in the air and keeping your style and appearance looking its best.
In terms of hair care, it can feel like life is a never-ending battle to keep humidity from ruining the results of your best hair dryer and straightener. Think of the foggy days in the weather forecast, the thick air in the gym locker room, the steam room, the fog in the bathroom after a shower… Need I go on? However, it’s not always that bad, and your hair doesn’t have to be frizzy, as there are ways to prevent your hair from going back to its original state. “You need to create a barrier for your hair to protect it from humidity,” says hairstylist Michael Douglas, founder of mdlondon. “This is easily achieved with humidity-resistant styling products.”
For long-lasting results, you’ll need more than just a top-rated product, from your favorite shampoo and conditioner to your styling products. To help you get started, our Beauty Editor, who has thick, curly, and frizz-prone hair, shares her reviews of the nine best humidity-fighting products on the market for all hair types after testing them out.
We check these deals daily and will continue to do so to ensure that all items listed below are still in stock, still discounted, and most importantly, are the best deals currently available.
If you haven’t tried Color Wow’s popular Humidity & Heat Protection Spray, now’s the time to grab it while it’s 23% off. This spray protects against the elements, and its moisture-repellent “invisible cloak” prevents frizz and static, leaving hair silky smooth.
For hair that is easily affected by heat and humidity, Virtue Smoothing Spray is sure to meet your needs. This lightweight spray protects hair from UV rays and frizz while locking in moisture for up to 72 hours. Plus, it’s currently 40% off!
Right now, you can save 20% off the original price on Lee Stafford’s Anti-Frizz Treatment Spray, and we can’t sing its praises enough for its affordable price. This lightweight shine spray smooths and adds shine while protecting against the elements and creating a highlighted effect—perfect for those with very thick, curly, or dry hair.
My beef with Oribe is that their products aren’t cheap, but every time I try them I fall in love and don’t want to use anything else. Doesn’t it make sense that you can’t cook your friend’s birthday dinner just because you want to save money on hair products? I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about it.
The beauty of this formula is that it’s easy to apply after you’ve finished your daily makeup routine. Just spritz a little (expensive-smelling) mist after you’ve finished styling to keep your day from being ruined by irritating humidity. I’ve tested it in humid Miami and humid spring London, so I can say it works well in a variety of climates.
My hair, like my friend, is prone to fall out: it’s fickle and can go from sleek to frizzy with the merest glance at a raindrop. I’ve tried a lot of products over the years to keep my hair sleek, but Color Wow’s Dream Coat is the one I come back to again and again. I spray it on damp hair before blow-drying, and it instantly feels smoother and shinier.
It’s also handy for keeping my hair in place when I’m going out and don’t have frizz around my hairline. The only downside is that it’s a bit heavy – some of our beauty team with fine hair found it too heavy for their hair, so if you have the same, you may find it too heavy for them. That said, Beauty Editor Lucy Abberstein has fine to medium length hair, so she can easily layer it without it feeling heavy. My favourite thing is that you only need to use it every third wash, so one bottle lasts a long time (curl and strengthening formulas are also available). It’s frizz-free and budget-friendly, so what’s not to love?
A unique feature of the Virtue hair care range is the Alpha Keratin Complex 60Ku®. Keratin is the protein that makes up the bulk of our hair, and this smart ingredient is able to bind to damaged areas and help restore your hair to its former glory. The Anti-Frizz Smoothing Spray also contains a special humidity-fighting ingredient that prevents frizz and also acts as a heat protectant spray.
It smells nice and has a lightweight texture that doesn’t weigh your hair down (which is great for those with fine hair), but it’s still fluffy enough for thick hair like mine. However, since it’s heat-activated, it only works if you blow-dry or straighten your hair. If you don’t, you won’t get the results and your hair may end up sticky.
Living Proof makes some of the best hair care and styling products on the market. This small bottle of Living Proof Smoothing Serum is specially formulated to smooth and tame thick or coarse hair.
The product instructions recommend using two pumps at first, which seems pretty vague, but I guess it means you can add more later depending on the length and thickness of your hair. I have shoulder-length hair, so it’s the perfect amount; it doesn’t weigh my hair down or leave any residue from other products, so I’d even add a little more if I felt the need. I find that blow-drying my hair is quicker and less tiring (it leaves my hair feeling smooth and not weighed down at all), and the results last until my next wash.
I started using this humidity-blocking spray a few years ago to keep my hair from falling out of shape when I walked into a warm, crowded bar (I spent hours styling it). We’ve used it sporadically since then, but every time I use it, I’m reminded of how shiny and new it makes my hair look.
This anti-frizz conditioner isn’t subtle, but it does work to reduce frizz in my hair. Even though it’s a fine spray, it’s a little greasy, so it might appeal to those with thick, curly, or dry hair. If you have fine hair, I recommend spraying from a distance and using a small amount at first—you can always add more later if you feel like your strands need it and can handle it.
Curly hair is usually more permeable than naturally straight hair, making it more prone to frizz. Oil helps retain moisture, but it can also weigh down your curls, making them feel heavy. Luckily, this conditioner from Bumble and Bumble comes in a gel form and has an overall lighter formula.
It’s a little sticky (which I think is usually what it takes to keep your hair in place), but I find that a small amount is all it takes. I applied it to damp hair, scrunched it up a bit, and let it air dry. Instead of my curls becoming frizzy, they retained all of their volume. They feel soft and shiny to the touch—more flexible and less frizzy.
Dehydrated hair can easily become frizzy because dehydrated hair will reach for the air in search of moisture. So when my hair is frizzy from frequent washing and styling, it’s no surprise that my frizz levels are high. Use this 10x Miracle Hydration Conditioner now!
This spray has a delicate texture, but it is a powerful product that locks in moisture and makes my hair look smoother and healthier than it already is. It also offers extra help in this regard, as it contains ingredients like panthenol and sunflower seed extract, which soften and moisturize hair that needs a rest (like mine). It only takes a few sprays to see visible results.
I don’t know about you, but my hair always gets frizzy when I’m on vacation. I think it’s the dehydration from the sun and warm weather, combined with the salt water, chlorine, and high humidity that has caused my hair to just not cooperate with me. If this sounds like you, this delicious jar of conditioner is definitely worth keeping in your suitcase (and in your hair care routine).
It protects hair from heat damage up to 230°C (great for styling and sun protection), protects hair from UV damage, and extends the life of your style. It may not replace the best heat protectant spray, but it’s a great all-rounder if you don’t want to put too much product on your hair (or don’t want to carry too much product in your bag). I decided to try this after I ran out of hairspray, and honestly, I wasn’t expecting it to hold my style that well. But the way it holds my wavy locks in place and prevents frizz all day long has made it my new favourite.
Want to reduce the need for heat styling? This is even more difficult with hair that tends to frizz, as nothing can smooth it out better than the best blow dryer brush or the best straightener for thick hair. However, this product can help solve this problem.
When I work from home, I try to keep my hair natural and unstyled, so I wash it before bed and then let it air dry overnight. The only problem is that my hair is so thick that it takes about two working days for it to dry completely naturally. By morning, my forehead and ends were dry, but the middle was still damp. The good news is that by the time my hair finally dried (around lunchtime), the product had defrizzed it so effectively that even after it got caught in the rain, it was still perfectly smooth when pulled back into a ponytail. Fabulous!
To maximize our testing of the best humidity-fighting hair products, we put them through their paces for a month in humid weather. Our editor, who has naturally curly hair, rated each product on how well it kept her hair from frizzing after being outside in humid weather. To give you a review robust enough to keep your umbrella at home, we made sure each product listed here performed well in the following areas.
Jess Beech is an experienced fashion and beauty editor with over eight years of publishing experience. She has written for woman&home, GoodtoKnow, Now, Woman, Woman’s Weekly, Woman’s Own and Chat magazines, and was deputy fashion and beauty editor at Future plc. With thick, curly hair, she has extensive experience testing products to create sleek, long-lasting styles that are resistant to humidity.
Michael Douglas is a hairdresser with over thirty years of experience, founder of the beauty salon mdlondon and the hairdressing tools brand of the same name. He shares his expertise in the field of effective hair protection from humidity and the best hair care products.
Robert Eaton is the creative director of Russell Eaton salons in Leeds and Barnsley and president of the British Hairdressing Association. He shares some top tips on how to choose the best humidity-fighting products for your hair type.
For those wondering why humidity makes your hair frizzy, we put the question to the experts. “When you style your hair, you’re actually heating it up and removing all the moisture,” explains Michael Douglas. “There are sulfur bonds inside the hair. These sulfur bonds are broken down when exposed to water and reformed when the water is removed. So once your hair is dried and styled (with a straightener, curling iron, or blow dryer), these sulfur bonds reform.”
“When there’s moisture in the hair, those bonds break down and the hair starts to go back to its original, unstyled structure,” he continues. “So if your hair is naturally curly or wavy, this is when it will start to frizz. If your hair is naturally straight, it usually won’t cause much of a problem.”
Robert Eaton, creative director of Russell Eaton salons in Leeds and Barnsley and chairman of the British Hairdressing Association, agrees that curly hair is more vulnerable to humidity, adding that it tends to be more sensitive and more prone to porosity. “Hair that is severely damaged, where the cuticle scales have been severely worn down in certain areas, also tends to become dry and frizzy,” he adds.
Still can’t decide which hair care products are best for humid environments? Still can’t find one that sounds perfect? ​​The following factors will help you decide which product will best suit your hair type and lifestyle.
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Jess Beech is an experienced fashion and beauty editor with over eight years of publishing experience. She has written for magazines including woman&home, GoodtoKnow, Now, Woman, Woman’s Weekly, Woman’s Own and Chat, and was deputy fashion and beauty editor at Future PLC. A beauty enthusiast, Jess has tried everything from cryotherapy to chemical peels (as well as trying to get her skin to turn red like Samantha from Sex and the City), and interviewed beauty experts such as Jo Malone and Trinny Woodall.
Dr Aamir Khan, a GP who regularly appears on ITV’s Lorraine, took to Instagram this week to share the symptoms he always thinks twice about.
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