How to care for hair based on humidity.

Humidity  measures how much water vapor or moisture  is in the atmosphere, you may be wondering what does this have to do with hair care? Hair is extremely responsive to humidity and knowing how to handle your hair in different humidity levels  can help preserve your hairstyle and overall hair health.  

 

What we commonly refer to as humidity is relative humidity, when you view the weather app for your phone the humidity is often expressed as a percentage. This is the percentage of the maximum amount of moisture that the air can hold at a given temperature. This can be a bit confusing and misleading if you're trying to preserve a hairstyle based on the moisture levels in the atmosphere.  There is, however, absolute humidity, which is the actual amount of moisture in the air, usually measured in grams of water vapor per cubic meter of air.  This seems like the ideal way to track moisture levels in the air for hair care, however, absolute humidity changes as the air temperature, pressure, and volume also changes. So it can be even more difficult for our purpose. This is where dew points come in, it is the temperature at which the moisture in the air begins to condense and form dew. It is a direct measure of the amount of moisture in the air, which is why we are going to focus on dew points in this article as it's much easier and more reliable to use as a guide than relative and absolute humidity.

When caring for your hair, especially styling knowing the dew point can help you make better product choices, use the right amount of product and help keep your style longer. Below is a look at different dew points and how they affect your hair along with the use of certain ingredients: 

 

Dew Points: Above 60° F

If you live in a climate where the dew point is above 60° F the air is said to be damp/wet, as there is a lot of moisture vapor in the air. If you pre-poo, wash, deep condition, and then style your hair with all humectant-filled products, you are going to end up with poofy frizzy hair. Humectants are so good at their job, that they will simply draw in all that water vapor into the hair, swelling the cuticle even more, and causing more and more frizz.
 

When styling hair with leave-ins, definers, and gels: 

Ingredients to avoid: Humectants (Glycerin, propylene glycol, and sorbitol).

Ingredients to embrace: Anti-Humectants (Polyquaternium-(4, 10, 11, 69), Polyacrylate acid, PVA/VP Copolymer, Acrylates Copolymer), and depending on hair texture certain butters and oils. 

 

Dew Points: 60° F - 35° F 

In this climate, the air is said to be comfortable and is actually the best climate to keep hair looking smooth and frizz-free. If you have curly hair you will find your curls to be defined easily, your wash-and-go's last longer, and you just have better hair days in general. In this climate, it is okay to use humectants as there isn't that much water vapor in the air nor is it dry enough to suck all the moisture out of your hair. 

 

When styling hair with leave-ins, definers, and gels: 

There is a lot of flexibility in this climate, you mainly want to keep a stronger focus on your hair texture, density, and porosity in mind when choosing your products as the climate is pretty hair friendly. 

 

Dew Points: Below 35° F 

This climate is a vampire for your hair, the air is said to be dry and on the hunt for moisture from anything and anyone. There isn't any water vapor in the air, it's important to add moisture to your hair and do everything possible to avoid the air from sucking it out of your hair. Humectants won't be much benefit as there isn't much water vapor  in the air for them to draw and bind to the hair, so it will draw it out of the hair itself instead. Film-forming humectants however are useful as they not only moisturize the hair but prevent moisture loss by forming a film around the hair. 
 

When styling hair with leave-ins, definers, and gels: 

Ingredients to avoid: Humectants (Glycerin, propylene glycol, and sorbitol).

Ingredients to embrace: Film-forming humectants (Pectin, Marshmallow Root, Slippery Elm, Flaxseed, Okra, Aloe Vera, Hydroxyethylcellulose) and depending on hair texture certain butters and oils. 

 

Overall, humidity can have a significant impact on hair health and appearance, knowing its effect on your hair can be the key you need to get out of that length retention plateau. By understanding how these factors affect the hair and taking steps to protect and care for your hair accordingly, you can keep your locks looking and feeling their best no matter the climate. The best way to keep track of humidity is to use the weather app on your smartphone or do a quick Google search, if you click on humidity they usually provide the dew point as well.