Just when we’re laser focused on the matter and finally winning the battle against frizz, we glance up to notice something on the horizon.
Oh no, frizz is making a reappearance! But wait. It’s different. It’s…pretty! From the catwalks to the coasts, frizz is seriously trending. In a way, that means women with waves, curls and coils can let out a collective sigh of relief.
Nature’s Gift
“Curly and wavy hair textures tend to naturally be more frizzy,” says Davin Alan Testerman, artistic style manager at Kenra Professional. “The core bonds of the hair shaft are crooked and, even if healthy, have the tendency to appear frizzy.”
Furthermore, because of the structure of wavy, curly and coily hair, it’s harder for the scalp’s natural oils to move down the hair shaft. Less oil means less hydration, and less hydration means more frizz.
“Hair becomes frizzy when it lacks moisture, which can happen from styling methods, chemical services or natural occurrence,” says Jaritza Ortiz, education and testing coordinator at GK Hair. “When there is high humidity in the air, hair tends to pull in needed moisture, thereby causing frizz.”
Frizz as Fashion
Accepting their frizzy fate, curlies have learned to live with it or conquer it, but they haven’t glorified it in decades. This was one pendulum that was rarely predicted to swing back. But pendulums always do.
“Frizz is becoming more of a trend on the runway because, quite simply, it’s time,” says Testerman. “The looks on the silver screen, runways and magazine covers have been straight for so long that the avant-garde direction that sashays down the runway should seem to go to the extreme of curly-frizzy.”
Houston salon owner Efrain Leiva, an educator and international platform artist for Farouk, agrees. “This look is coming because the younger generation hasn’t tried it yet,” he observes.
“Now that they’re seeing it, they’ll want to try it.”
“Frizz is becoming more of a trend on the runway because, quite simply, it’s time,” says Testerman. “The looks on the silver screen, runways and magazine covers have been straight for so long that the avant-garde direction that sashays down the runway should seem to go to the extreme of curly-frizzy.”
“Runway fashion for this fall is showing military chic, with sleek lines and olive green and brass, along with the laminated look,”says Ortiz, who notes that hair silhouettes always balance clothing design. “Those masculine styles and hard finishes are complemented by a softer, frizzy, romantic style.”
On Main Street, Leiva sees the trend more as evolution than revolution.
“Right now only the trendiest clients are asking for frizz,” he says. “In New York and L.A., there are women from all over the world, so clients are more exposed to international looks. But here in Houston, we’re not seeing a lot of it. However, our clients are getting into wavy hair. Before we get them into frizzy hair, we have to move them into a nice wave — a softer look — and after that, it will slowly happen.”
That was Then
Perhaps women with textured hair have to first trust that this is not their mother’s, or grandmother’s, frizz.
“The last time we had the chance to see a true shift from sleek-straight trends was the transition from Cher’s parted-down-the-middle ’70s ’do to the over-processed and big hair of the ’80s,” says Testerman. While overprocessing may have been an appropriate vehicle at the time, it won’t fly today. But neither will the opposite — just letting hair have its way.
“In the ’80s, most of the frizz was natural,” says Leiva. “Today we make it happen with products, tools and even color techniques.”
Women looking to recreate the frizzy look will replace smoothing shampoos and conditioners with hydrating products. Instead of flat irons and curling irons, the heat tool of choice will be the blow dryer. And rather than drenching the hair in styling creams, they will rough up the cuticle with pomades and polishes.
“I love to see frizzy hair with shine in it,” Leiva says. “Use some spray to hold it, so it looks as though it’s been styled and didn’t just happen. This time around, we’re creating manageable frizz.”
Read More: 2012 NAHA Texture Stylist of the Year
