How to tame frizzy hair: self-check and routine
10 min read Care know-how Updated 5 October 2026 By Anna Sophie Schulenburg
To tame frizzy hair, keep the outer cuticle lying flat with moisture in the lengths, a leave-in before drying and as little friction as possible while the hair is wet. At your next wash, that means pressing the towel against your hair instead of rubbing, working a hazelnut-sized amount of leave-in into the damp lengths and blow-drying with the nozzle pointing down the hair until no dampness is left. The next humid day shows you whether that is enough. If fewer hairs stand up at the crown and the lengths feel smoother, you have found the cause.
Why frizzy hair stands up and puffs out
Every hair sits inside a cuticle that overlaps the core like roof tiles. When the scales lie flat, the strand shines and falls as one piece. When they lift, neighbouring hairs catch on each other, the surface turns dull and single hairs break away from the strand. That is frizz.
Water plays the main part. Hair takes up moisture from the air, and as it does, hydrogen bonds inside the fibre break and re-form. If a strand swells unevenly because the ends are more porous than the roots, it twists and kinks. Dry and damaged hair absorbs the most water, which is why frizz hits it first.
In winter a second mechanism joins in. In dry, heated air, friction against hats, scarves and jumpers charges hair with static, so the hairs push each other away and cling to your face. It looks similar, yet the cause is charge rather than swelling, and what helps here is less friction plus a trace of product on the surface.
Which kind of frizz is it? The self-check
Look at your hair on a dry day and on a humid one. The row that fits tells you where to start.
| What you notice | Where it sits | Frizz type | Your first lever |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smooth on dry days, frizzy in rain, muggy weather or after exercise | All over the head, strongest at the crown | Humidity frizz | Blow-dry completely, then seal |
| Always rough and dull, the lengths soak up water fast when washed and dry strikingly quickly | Lengths and ends, often after bleaching, colouring or lots of heat | Damage frizz | Moisturising care in the lengths, less heat, trim the ends |
| Waves or curls dissolve into a fuzzy halo instead of falling as defined strands | Mainly on the outer surface of the curls | Structure frizz | Define instead of smoothing, hands off while drying |
| Hair flies about, clings to your face and clothes, crackles when you pull off a jumper | Mostly fine hair, in winter | Static | A trace of leave-in or oil, avoid friction from wool |
| Short hairs stick straight up along the parting | Parting, hairline, cowlick | Regrowth or broken hairs | Check the length: evenly short and smooth means new hair, uneven with a rough tip means breakage |
The last row starts at the roots, and care for the lengths does little about it. If the short hairs have frayed tips, look into what causes broken hairs at the crown. If you also notice thinning patches, or far more hair than usual comes out when you wash, have a dermatologist check it, because the scalp may then be the starting point. If two or more rows apply to you, the free hair analysis asks about thickness, structure and damage together.
The most common triggers and what to change
Usually several things work together. Check them in this order, because the first two cost nothing but a new habit.
| Trigger | How you recognise it | What to change |
|---|---|---|
| Friction while wet | You rub with a terry towel or brush wet hair from top to bottom | Press hair with a microfibre towel or cotton T-shirt, detangle wet hair only with a wide-tooth comb from the ends upwards |
| Leftover damp after blow-drying | Smooth in the morning, frizzy by lunchtime, especially at the back of the head | Dry completely, guide the nozzle from top to bottom along the strand, finish with 10 seconds on the cool setting |
| Conditioner skipped or too little | The lengths feel dull after washing and tangle | Conditioner from ear level down after every wash, left on for two to three minutes |
| Heat without protection | Straightener above 180 °C, dryer on the highest setting held close | Heat protectant before every styling session, dryer on medium at 15 cm |
| Bleaching or frequent colouring | The ends are clearly rougher than the roots | Moisture mask once a week, have only the roots treated at touch-ups |
| Touching while drying | Curls look defined when dripping wet and frizzy once dry | Keep your hands off after styling until the hair is completely dry |
How to tame frizz: the routine in four steps
The amounts are for shoulder-length hair of medium thickness. For chin-length hair use about half, for chest-length about double, a little less for fine hair and a little more for thick hair.
Step 1 — Wash. Shampoo goes on the scalp only, with lukewarm water. A hazelnut-sized amount is enough, and the lengths get cleaned as you rinse. If you lather the ends and rub them together, you roughen the very surface you want to smooth. If you use MONAT, the Smoothing Anti-Frizz™ Shampoo is the base of this routine.
Step 2 — Condition. Spread a walnut-sized amount of conditioner through lengths and ends from ear level down, leave it for two to three minutes and detangle with your fingers in the meantime. Rinse the last few seconds a little cooler. For fine to medium hair the Smoothing Anti-Frizz™ Deep Conditioner fits. If the lengths are dry, swap it once a week for a moisture mask left on for five minutes.
Step 3 — Prepare. Wrap your hair in a microfibre towel for ten minutes or press it out with a T-shirt. Then rub a hazelnut-sized amount of leave-in, a conditioner that stays in the hair, between your palms and work it in from ear level down, for example the Restore™ Leave-In Conditioner. If you blow-dry straight, add one to three sprays of Smoothing Anti-Frizz™ Blow Out Spray to the lengths, one for fine hair. Finally spray on a heat protectant that suits both dryer and straightener and distribute it with a wide-tooth comb.
Step 4 — Dry and seal. Dryer on medium, 15 cm away, nozzle always pointing from top to bottom along the strand. That lays the scales in their natural direction. Keep going until the back of your head feels dry too, and finish with 10 seconds of cool air. Then rub one or two drops of REJUVENIQE® between your palms and press them into the ends only. If the ends look stringy afterwards, it was too much, and next time one drop will do.
Two mistakes undo the routine:
- Oil on wet hair without conditioning first → conditioner and leave-in first, oil only as the last step on dry or almost dry hair.
- Straightener on damp hair → blow-dry completely first, then straighten, pulling each strand through only once.
How heavy your smoothing care should be depends on the thickness of a single hair. Fine hair lies flat at the roots under heavy care, while strong hair puffs up further with care that is too light. Roll a shed hair between thumb and forefinger, and you can choose between Smoothing System I and II.
Curls and waves: define them instead of straightening
With waves and curls a little frizz belongs to the pattern, and a smoothing routine works against the curl. Put a walnut-sized amount of cream into dripping-wet hair with a little gel on top, scrunch both in from the ends upwards and let the hair air-dry or use a diffuser on low, without touching it. Tight curls take more cream than loose waves, which turn stringy under too much product. Amounts for each curl pattern and how to refresh on day two belong to caring for curls and waves.
Humid days, winter air and second-day hair
On muggy days, what you did beforehand protects you: conditioned lengths, blow-dried completely and finished with a drop of oil, take up less water from the air than rough ones. A loose plait with a spiral hair tie also keeps the lengths away from your collar.
Against static, a trace of product helps. Rub half a drop of oil or a little leave-in between your palms and smooth it over the surface. A wooden comb or a natural-bristle brush charges the hair less than plastic. Hats, scarves and heated air are the main reasons for flyaway hair in winter, and a silk scarf under your woolly hat cuts the friction.
On the second day you can skip the wash. With straight hair, dampen the frizzy sections with a few drops of water, add one spray of Blow Out Spray and briefly blow-dry those sections. For curls, mist on the Curl Perfection™ Refresh Spray, reshape each curl in your hand and let it dry.
Home remedies and frizz myths: what works?
| Home remedy or myth | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Coconut oil and other kitchen oils | Useful as a finish, too heavy as a treatment on fine hair | One drop on the ends smooths the surface. As a treatment, coconut oil in your hair weighs fine lengths down, washes out poorly and leaves the roots greasy by the next day. |
| Apple cider vinegar rinse, one tablespoon to a litre of water | Little extra benefit if you already use conditioner | The acid can make the surface feel smoother after washing. Most conditioners, though, are already slightly acidic. On an irritated scalp, vinegar can sting. |
| Egg, beer or mayonnaise as a treatment | Does no harm, adds nothing against frizz | An ordinary conditioner gives the lengths fats and proteins in a form that rinses out cleanly and leaves no smell. |
| Hairspray on a toothbrush | Helps with single hairs along the parting | Spray onto a clean toothbrush and smooth the stray hairs down. Sprayed all over, a lot of hairspray leaves the lengths stiff and dull. |
| Glass-of-water porosity test | Says little about your hair | Whether a strand floats or sinks depends more on sebum and product residue than on porosity. More telling is how quickly the lengths get wet when you wash them and how quickly they dry again. |
| Straightening every day so the frizz disappears | Makes it worse over time | The heat roughens the cuticle further, and the lengths then absorb water even faster. |
What you see after one wash, four weeks and three months
After the first wash with the new routine, check two things: whether the comb glides through the lengths more easily and whether fewer hairs stand up by evening than usual. If frizz still comes through on a rainy day, humidity plays a part for you, and drying completely needs more time.
After four weeks, compare. Photograph your hair by the window on a humid day at the start and repeat the photo four weeks later in similar weather. If roots and lengths look calmer while the ends are still rough and pale, the rest of the frizz sits in the damaged hair.
After three months, at roughly one centimetre a month, your hair has grown about three centimetres. Ask your hairdresser to trim the rough ends, usually one to two centimetres. With every cut less damaged hair remains, as long as the new length grows in with heat protection and care.
Fine to medium hair
Core routine
- SMOOTHING ANTI-FRIZZ™ SHAMPOO
- SMOOTHING ANTI-FRIZZ™ DEEP CONDITIONER
Optional
- Thermal Protect Shield
Medium to thick hair
Core routine
- SMOOTHING ANTI-FRIZZ™ SYSTEM II
Optional
- Smoothing Anti-Frizz Blow-Dry Spray
Waves & curls
Core routine
- MONAT CURL PERFECTION™ REFRESH SPRAY
Optional
- REJUVENIQE® OIL INTENSIVE
Light moisture rather than heavy smoothing; a small amount of oil only as a finish.
Right away
Right after use, hair lies smoother, looks more defined and is easier to tame.
With continued use
With regular care, the lengths stay suppler over a few weeks and react less to humidity and friction.
What it can't do
The natural structure of waves and curls isn't permanently changed, and some frizz can remain in damp weather.
Quick questions
Can I get rid of frizz for good?
No, not completely. Curls and waves keep some fuzz because it belongs to their structure, and every head of hair reacts to high humidity. Frizz from damage lessens once the rough hair has been cut off and the new length grows in well cared for.
Does a keratin treatment at the salon help with frizz?
Yes, for a few weeks to a few months. The product is worked into the hair with a straightener at high temperature. Ask the salon about the ingredients, because some of these products release formaldehyde when heated.
Does hard water make frizz worse?
Yes, it can. Limescale settles on the hair surface, so the lengths feel rough and take up care less well. A clarifying shampoo every two to four weeks removes the build-up. Many shower filters mainly hold back chlorine, so one is only worth buying if it explicitly binds limescale.
Do silicones help with frizz?
Yes, in the short term. Silicones wrap the hair in a smooth film that slows the exchange of water with the air and smooths the surface. With fine hair and frequent use the film can build up, and then a clarifying shampoo now and then helps.
The free hair analysis sorts out from your answers whether your frizz comes mainly from humidity, damage or curl structure.