It’s that time again, here in the northern hemisphere: When the days start to lengthen (incidentally, so does our hair, with all that shiny, new vitamin D we’re exposed to!), a little humidity returns, and the spring humidity finds its way back to my waves.
Finally, our long, cold, dry winter is coming to an end. And my hair is thirsty—and hungry, too! It’s time to start thinking about which favorites will make the cut to the front of my product cabinet. Here’s what I take into account, and why.
Hint: Glycerin and protein, coming right up!
GLYCERIN
I spent all winter avoiding glycerin in my last-step styler, choosing glycerin-free gels instead. Note: Glycerin in your cleansers, conditioners, foams and gels really doesn’t matter if you’re sealing it all with a glycerin-free gel. I’ve learned that even though formulators utilize glycerin as an emulsifier (to stabilize a formulation), it has a very interesting property that causes it to work against our hair in extreme weather—very dry or very humid—which is generally when dew points are below 35 degrees or above 55 degrees.
Here’s what it does: When it’s dry outside, glycerin-heavy products pull moisture from our hair and ‘give it’ to the air. This makes our hair become dry, straw-like, parched, lank, etc. In summer, it’s the opposite; when it’s super humid, glycerin-heavy products pull moisture from the air and ‘give it’ to our hair. This causes the hair cuticle to swell, or expand. In both cases, the end result is—you guessed it—FRIZZ.
Because of this, I often refer to glycerin as the great equalizer.
Dew points tell us how much moisture the air, at that particular moment, will be capable of holding. In a northern hemisphere spring, dew points are typically in the hair-happy ideal range of 35-55 degrees, although that “ideal” range can vary from person to person. For me, my low/medium-porosity hair benefits from glycerin in a dew point range of 25-65 degrees. In this range, there’s a fairly equal amount of moisture between the air and my hair, so my hair can absorb a little and benefit from it when I use glycerin-heavy stylers, as they draw moisture into my hair. This gives me soft, bouncy, hydrated waves, and maximum curl enhancement.
So YES, all those high-glycerin products are marching their way to the very front of my hair product cabinet! Low-glycerin products: You’re on the bench. Catch you later, in the dry heat of late summer!
As a reformed product junkie and professional hair stylist, I’ve tried a lotttt of products. These are my tried and true glycerin-based faves:
- Hairstory Hair Balm styling cream
- Hairstory Undressed texture spray
- Innersense I Create Curl Memory hard hold styling gel
- Innersense I Create Volume soft hold styling gel
- Bounce Curl Light Creme Gel
- Cult and King Jelly styling gel
And by the way, if you’re in the Dallas area, you can stop by to pick one of these up! I carry all of them at my salon space. Just email me to schedule a time for pickup.
PROTEIN
For me, springtime means finally living it up outdoors, enjoying the warm sunshine on my skin and hair. But heat and UV rays naturally weaken the keratin protein that makes up our hair, so it’s up to us to build it back up for maximum hair health (I’m looking at you, length and growth).
Protein also gives hair the added benefit of hydration, guarding against moisture loss even when the temps begin to soar. And of course, hydrated hair = curl retention, so now we have protein to thank for springier waves and curls. I’m sold.
You can find protein in all kinds of hair products. Most cleansing and conditioning products marketed as ‘strengthening’ usually contain small-molecule proteins (keratin, collagen, silk amino acids, for example), and many stylers like creams and gels contain larger proteins to lend a curl memory-type hold (such as hydrolyzed wheat, corn, quinoa, soy, and others) and frizz protection. So look for those on your ingredients labels to know whether you’re already getting some protein in your hair’s diet.
One word of caution: Just because some is good, doesn’t always mean more is better. If your hair ever starts feeling stiff or dry when you use a protein-containing product, those proteins may be a little too much for your strands. This is all part of learning to ‘read’ your hair, which you can learn more about on my podcast—but trust me, if you suspect you’ve used too much protein, you’ll definitely know.
But for my silky slippery strands, there’s almost never enough protein. In the heat of summer, I go so far as to serve up a protein-heavy gel cream like Hairstory Hair Balm under a protein-heavy gel like Bounce Curl Light Creme Gel on my washday, AND I also like to fold monthly protein treatments into my routine with a long-time fave like Curl Junkie Repair Me or Innersense Hydrating Hair Mask.
Using protein-containing cleansing/conditioning/styling products on your wash day may be enough for you, so a treatment might not be needed. But if your hair is lacking bounce, protein might be exactly what your hair needs.
Here are a couple easy ways to incorporate protein into your routine: Start using 1-2 protein-containing products each washday, OR start a habit of regular, monthly-ish protein treatments—either the store-bought kind or the DIY kind.
Let’s talk store-bought protein products first.
Some of my favorite products containing protein include:
- Hairstory Hair Balm styling cream
- Hairstory Undressed texture spray
- Innersense I Create Curl Memory hard hold styling gel
- Innersense I Create Volume soft hold styling gel
- Bounce Curl Light Creme Gel
- Cult and King Jelly styling gel (ok so the protein in here is minimal, so if you don’t need much, it’s a good option!)
- Curl Junkie Repair Me deep treatment
- Innersense Hydrating Hair Mask deep treatment
If you happened to notice my two lists of favorite products are basically the same, that’s not an accident! Yes, almost all of those contain both glycerin AND protein. Makes life so much easier to get all the good stuff in one bottle, amiright?
DIY Treatments
If DIY floats your boat and you know your hair needs a bigger boost, here are a few homemade options I’ve played with as well.
DIY Protein Filler
If you don’t want to buy new products but want a consistent washday protein boost, you can pick up a super inexpensive bottle of Colorful Neutral Protein Filler from Sally Beauty Supply. Just mix a small puddle of it in your hand along with your regular conditioner and apply to your hair. Let it sit for about 5 minutes, then rinse and style as usual. Boom! Easy, fast protein treatment you can use a couple times a week!
DIY Gelatin Protein Treatment
For an even more intense and even cheaper protein treatment, pick up an unflavored packet of Knox gelatine from the grocery store, mix with water and saturate you freshly shampooed hair with it, let it dry completely (WARNING: your hair will become super hard, and this is a totally normal part of the treatment process), and then rinse out and follow up with a good long 20-30 minute deep condition sesh to add softness back to your strands. Then rinse again, style with your favorite products, and your strong, bouncy hair will be revealed.
DIY Rice Water Rinse
This cult favorite protein treatment is surely one you’ve heard of. The rice water rinse trend totally consumed the curly internet back in 2018. Incredibly cheap and easy to do, it’s a protein treatment that’s also super gentle. To get started, choose your intensity: Soak about a cup of rice (any type is fine) in a few cups of water for 30-45 minutes OR boil it for a few minutes OR ferment the rice in water for a day or two. Then strain the rice out, and pour the room-temp water over your freshly washed hair. Allow it to sit on your hair for 10 minutes or so, then rinse, condition, and style as usual. To be honest, I never did and probably never will do this one, because it’s just too inconvenient for me. But I can’t discount it as an option. The results I’ve seen on social over the years sure do look dreamy.
Who else is excited about spring? What ingredients are your strands craving? And what products are you super excited to rotate back into your routine?
This post has been updated since its original publication in 2018. You can view the original, on BeautyCon, here.