One of the biggest impediments to beautiful, curly hair is an imbalance of moisture. You obviously don’t want your curls to go thirsty but drowning them isn’t an option either. To combat this we have something called anti-humectants.
Anti-humectants are essentially products with moisture blockers to prevent the hair from trying to absorb moisture from the environment. This, in turn, minimizes frizzing.
Humectants, on the other hand can pull moisture from the air and add it to the hair which can do an excellent job of moisturising curls.
So, this means that if humectants help provide moisture, the anti-humectants do the exact opposite. This is useful because if our hair is already hydrated, we won’t need the extra moisture from the air. This can lead to swelling and damage.
Anti-humectants can help prevent these issues as well as reduce the likelihood of frizz and puffiness in curly hair.
When To use an Anti-humectant
To know when to use an anti-humectant you must keep an eye out for the dew point. The dew point tells at what temperature the air became full of water.
A lower dew point signifies a lower concentration of moisture in the air but the reverse is true also. A higher dew point is indicative of a higher concentration of moisture.
This can dictate what kind of product you’ll need for the current climate to suit your curls best.
If the dew point is low then so too is the moisture content within the air. Your hair, much like a humectant, is hygroscopic which means it can absorb water molecules from the air. And vice versa.
In this event that the latter is taking effect, which means your hair would be releasing moisture into the air leaving it susceptible to things like broken hair strands, dryness and fly aways. To prevent this, use a anti-humectant to help seal in the moisture.
Clever Curl Anti-Humectant Gel: Curl Gel Humid Weather Clever
Why do we need Humectants?
The secretion glands of the scalp secrete a waxy substance called Sebum. Sebum serves as a nice barrier of protection for the scalp and hair, from external damage (liking drying out from seasonal changes).
Since the structure of our hair strands curls, this really slows down the sebum’s ability to spread all the way down to the ends of our hair. This means most of our strands will become dry and susceptible to breakage since the sebum is still trying to make its way down the individual curl strands.
This is why we need humectants and other products to help moisturise our hair, and most importantly help us lock in that newfound moisture for longer periods of time. Curly hair is naturally drier than straight hair because sebum can easily travel down straight strands much more quickly than it can get down the spirals of textured hair.
Humectants also help increase our hair’s natural moisture retention levels.
Humectants are also used in hair products because of its ability to volumize the hair by attracting moisture and binding it, which causes the hair shaft to expand.
Clever Curl Humectant Gel: Curl Gel Dry Weather Clever
What are some natural emollients?
- Coconut oil
- Castor oil
- Grapeseed oil
- Jojoba oil
- Olive oil
- Argan oil
- Shea Butter
- Sunflower oil
- Avocado oil
- Mango Butter
- Jojoba Butter
What anti-humectants should I look for?
- Shea butter (raw/unrefined)
- Hydrogenated Castor oil
- Mango butter
Extra virgin olive oil
All Clever Curl products are formulated with minimal ingredients to ensure that nothing gets in the way of beautiful natural curls.
Delivering moisture and the ability to hold a healthy hydrated curl are paramount functions across the range with the added benefits of Certified Organic Aloe Vera Juice and Rice Water Protein providing the perfect balance of nourishment and strength. Clever Curl products are Australian Made, Vegan Friendly, Cruelty-Free and made without sulphates, silicones or drying alcohols. The entire range of Clever Curl products are 100% CG (curly girl approved).
To learn more about Clever Curl please click here
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