Of all the heat-related humiliation rituals that DC residents are forced to contend with every summer, the humidity’s assault on our city’s collective hair game is especially vicious. The uninitiated tourist might suspect we have all replaced our combs with electric hand mixers—until it happens to them. I hope everything in this paragraph is spelled correctly, because my bangs are stuck to my forehead and I can’t see what I’m typing.
The harsh reality: No matter how strong your styling routine is, Mother Nature is stronger. In this weather, we all have to surrender to a bit of frizz, sweat, and general dishevelment. But there are ways to maintain at least some of your hair’s dignity throughout the coming months. DC hairstylist Mercedes Ortiz-Olivieri, owner of Trim Hair Salon in Adams Morgan, has some expert advice.
Use the right products
The nitty-gritty mechanics of your personal frizz-fighting journey will be a conversation between you and your hairdresser. “Everybody’s natural texture is totally different, and there just isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach,” Ortiz-Olivieri says. But to get started, reach for anything with “hold”—gels, foams, and hairsprays. Also, consider products that contain water-soluble silicone: “It forms a seal around your hair shaft that helps keep anything from penetrating,” according to Ortiz-Olivieri. She recommends Davines’ OI shampoo, conditioner, and smoothing milk.
Rinse your hair on non-wash days
Most of us don’t need to shampoo every single day—but after a trudge through the hot-soup air, it’s certainly a temptation. In these desperate moments, Ortiz-Olivieri suggests substituting a full wash for a rinse; work the water through your hair and condition your ends. Dry shampoos can assist with grease between washes, but they don’t actually do any cleansing: “It’s impressive how many people don’t understand that all dry shampoo does is absorb the oil,” she says.
When wash-day does arrive, avoid scrubbing the length of your hair. That can over-dry your ends, Ortiz-Olivieri points out, “and that will make your frizz worse.” Focus on your scalp instead.
Commuters’ corner
In the summertime, I find myself diligently styling my hair before work—only to arrive at the office looking like I just crawled out of hell. As it turns out, the time we spend straightening, curling, and manipulating our hair in the morning might actually be counterproductive, especially if we immediately follow these routines up with some shoulder-to-shoulder action in a boiling Metro car. “The hairstyles that hold up the best in the humidity are hairstyles that keep it closest to your natural texture,” Ortiz-Olivieri says. “When you’re not totally altering what your hair naturally wants to do, it will just hold up better longer.”
Try letting your hair air-dry, setting it in the shape you want using creaseless clips. “I know people who wear them until they get to their jobs to keep their bangs in place, to set them perfectly—and then you pop them out, and then you’re set for the day,” Ortiz-Olivieri says. New workwear trend incoming?
Play the long game
This is the hard part. “When you damage your hair, you make it more vulnerable to the humidity and the frizz,” according to Ortiz-Olivieri. So, to fare better in the summertime, take proper care of your tresses year-round. Minimize styling with curling wands and flat irons—gentle blow-drying is fine and can actually help chase away excess moisture that might otherwise cause dandruff. Avoid harsh chemical treatments and coloring. When in doubt, turn to a professional for guidance—not social media. “There’s nothing that upsets me more than when people sit down in my chair and start telling me all the stuff that they’ve been literally influenced by, and I’m like, ‘Oh, now I have to undo all this misinformation,'” Ortiz-Olivieri says.
Now, for a seasonal pro-tip. Do any of your friends own a boat? (Read: Are you God’s favorite?) Before you hit the open waters, tie your hair back so it doesn’t whip around in the wind. “Your hair is a fiber,” Ortiz-Olivieri says. “You wouldn’t want to tatter the hell out of a silk top.”
Give up, but in a chic way
Ortiz-Olivieri thinks frizz gets a bad rap. “Without frizz, you also don’t have body and texture,” she says. “If you want a hairstyle that isn’t stick-straight or the most painfully defined, then you’re gonna have some fluff. And fluff can also be frizz.”
In other words, reframe your negative impressions of frizz: Think of it as extra volume. Use it to your advantage, and try some fun new styles. “We engage in this war with our hair, to really wrangle it and tame it and abuse it to try to behave in a certain way that it just doesn’t want to do,” Ortiz-Olivieri says. “You have to embrace it to some extent.”
So wear that puffy mess like a crown—you’re a Washingtonian, baby. (And if things get really hideous, throw it in a ponytail and call it a day.)
