7 Cost-Effective Tips to Manage Dry and Frizzy Hair

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I have had unmanageable, frizzy hair for as long as I can remember (don't get me started on the teenage pictures on my mother's wall!). Despite all the hype and marketing of anti-frizz products, nothing has ever worked! Little did I know I only needed to practice these 7 frizzy hair tips to manage my mane. The best part? They're cost-effective AND they actually work! #frizzyhair #frizzyhairtips #frizzyhairsolutions #dryhair #dryhairtips

I have a weakness for products that promise smooth, silky hair.

Despite my frugal nature, I race to purchase any new serum, spray, or cream that lands on store shelves, desperately hoping that my hay-like locks will turn into silky strands within a few days.

Thus, I’ve tested a lot of products, but sadly not all of them work.

At this point, I don’t know which is worse — my dry, lifeless head of hair, or the fact that I’ve spent so much money in vain! Can any of my frizzy-haired friends relate?

Over the past few weeks, I’ve read a lot about hair, and thankfully, I’ve learned that you don’t have to spend a ton of money on salon deep conditioning treatments or expensive products to get fantastic results. In fact, the more I practice healthy hair care, the better shape my tresses are in the long run. Oh how I wish I had learned this sooner!

Instead of mourning my mistakes, I’m sharing 7 of the best frizzy hair tips that have worked for me, so you can stop wasting all that money and finally fall in love with your hair again too.

1. Don’t Wash it Everyday

I know, I know, you’re probably thinking, “ewww, I could never do that!“, but the truth is, washing your hair every single day strips those strands of their natural oils, resulting in a dry, frizzy mess that is pretty hard to avoid.

Thankfully, my hair does just fine with an every other day washing regimen, but if yours still feels super oily the next day, you might want to try this Dry Shampoo from Living Proof. It can get you through a few more days without washes!

2. Lay Off the Heat

As a girl with wavy hair that doesn’t necessarily dry correctly (aka flips every which way!), I’m a big proponent of the blow dryer and the flat iron. I know … the constant heat is damaging my hair!

So when you have a day completely at home, let your hair air dry and just do it’s thing. It might scare the UPS man, but you’re sure to notice a big difference without applying so much heat and pressure to your hair.

If you do decide to give it some heat, make sure you use a protectant spray first (I love this one!) AND follow tip #3!

Cost-Effective Tips to Manage Dry and Frizzy Hair | Creative Savings

3. Fully Blow-Dry Your Hair

Have you ever blow-dried your hair, straightened it, then returned to the mirror a couple hours later to see your efforts completely wasted? It’s not solely a result of humidity — though that does play a part. It’s actually because you haven’t dried your hair fully during the initial blow-dry!

My hair is quite thick, and takes forever to get to a final dry, so I know I’m always skipping ahead to the next step and cutting corners when I can. But it is worth taking the extra effort to make sure your hair is completely dry without any hint of dampness before moving on. Your final style will be much better for it!

4. Switch Shampoos

I’ve tried just about as many shampoos as I have anti-frizz products, and I’m a big believer that no one shampoo will work exclusively forever. I really don’t have any science to back this up, I just know that for my hair, if I go too long with the same shampoo, my hair will start to dry out again, and almost become immune to that product.

I’ve used Dove Shampoo for Dry hair with Anti-Frizz Oil Therapy plus the matching conditioner. My hair felt so soft after just one wash, and it just goes to show that you don’t have to invest in expensive formulas to get the same, maybe even better results!

5. Get a Regular Trim

Because of the expense of salon appointments (at least the good ones!), I used to schedule them about every 6 months. However, my hair becomes even more damaged as a result of waiting so long.

Scheduling a regular trim every few months gets rid of all damage and releases a head of healthy hair. But if you can’t afford more frequent appointments, just make sure they do more than a trim when you go. Have your stylist cut a good 3, maybe 4 inches off so the split ends don’t have a chance to create even more problems.

6. Use a Moisturizing and Protective Oil

My hair always feels so smooth and silky after my hair appointments, so I finally asked my hair stylist why. She told me it was the oil she put on my hair before she styled it. I was confused at first, because I thought my hair would be too oily, but it’s really not!

I was excited to try it myself with Dove’s Pure Care Dry Oil Nourishing Treatment that works right along with shampoo and conditioner line. It’s the first time I’ve ever used one, but I’ve been so impressed! It absorbs really quickly and leaves my hair feeling silky, not weighed down.

Cost-Effective Tips to Manage Dry and Frizzy Hair | Creative Savings

7. Be Careful with that Towel

Towels do nothing but stir up trouble for dry and frizzy hair, especially if you wrap them all turban-like or rub your hair dry. I know my hair always holds a ton of water, but I try to gently squeeze as much as I can out in the shower, and then lightly pat my hair with the towel to dry it a little bit more.

Then it’s my Microfiber Turban Wraps to the rescue!

I twist my freshly-washed, still-wet hair up into the turban and leave it on for about 30-40 minutes. By that time, the turban has wicked enough of the moisture away so my hair doesn’t take an hour to blow-dry (no joke). It’s so nice to get my wet hair off my back AND the microfiber is gentler on my hair than a rough towel.

These wraps are really affordable for a set of two and available on Amazon!

I did a test to see if practicing these tips gave me less frizzy, less dry, and an overall healthy head of hair. I think they worked!

Here’s my transformation after 4 weeks {and yes, I did get a trim too}:

Cost-Effective Tips to Manage Dry and Frizzy Hair | Creative Savings

Not a HUGE difference, but my hair definitely feels a lot healthier, and I notice it does look a little bit smoother too. Overall, I’m very happy with the change!

I’d love to hear what sort of tips you use to prevent and manage dry and frizzy hair. Have you tried any home remedies, new shampoos, or moisturizing oils?

How do you manage your frizzy hair?

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Don’t miss even more hair-saving tips:

6 Smart Ways to Save Money on Hair Care

Tips for choosing a good stylist, preventing damage, and more!

Give yourself a top-notch quality and style experience with these 6 budget beauty basics, and finally save money on hair care!

Disclosure: Some of the links in the post above are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. Read my full disclosure policy here.

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45 Comments

  1. This is really informational and since i know that hot water makes my hair frizzy, It try to wash my hair with cold water even in winter(sounds crazy) But this worked for me

  2. I use cheap paper towels to get excess water out my hair. I don’t rub, i just scrunch my stands eith the paper towel and it works great

  3. I’ve had a problem with frizzy hair for awhile now, but it never used to be that bad. I’m also told diet has a big impact on your hair. I might have to give Dove a try!

  4. A t-shirt works great for drying hair because it doesn’t have the loops that terry cloth has, which catch in your hair and cause frizz. You can put it on like a turban by bending over and putting your head inside the bottoms opening of the shirt, bring the hem of the shirt to the back of your neck and twist the rest of the shirt in front of you, then bring it over the top of your head and tuck it in the back. I went a step further and cut off the sleeves (to reduce bulk) of one of my husbands old t-shirts and also sewed an elastic loop onto the back hem of the shirt to put the twist into, it stays better than tucking. Just be sure to hang it where it will dry well. I learned a lot of great tips from “The Curly Girl handbook” by Lorainne Massey, available on Amazon. I have dry naturally curly hair and I only shampoo about once a week. In between I get my hair wet in the shower and scrunch in some conditioner which I don’t rinse out. Scrunch gel into your hair, let dry without touching it, and then “crunch the scrunch”. Over-washing hair can actually cause it t be more oily.

    1. That’s interesting. I wonder how the T-Shirt is supposed to help. Different fabric maybe? Now I’m going to have to do some experimenting!

  5. I have long naturally curly hair. I wash it once a week. (Unless I get UBER sweaty) I rinse and condition it EVERY DAY. I absolutely never use a blow dryer and rarely use any other kind of heat on it. It will still get frizzy when it’s humid outside, but that is just a side effect of being curly!

    Kalyn, the trim made the biggest difference in your hair. It was already smooth, shiny, and lovely! I do agree 100% though that the oil in hair makes it feel like silk, I love that stuff!

    1. Aww, thank you Jill! I agree, getting a regular trim makes such a huge difference in keeping your hair healthy!

  6. I have extremely curly hair with frizz galore and I noticed a huge decrease in frizz when I started dying my hair with a soft t-shirt. I will never use a towel again to dry my hair!

  7. I have long, curly, thick hair and get this- I dont like using product! So to help manage it, i dont wash it everyday and i definitely try to avoid the heat. One thing I do is I will wear my hair in a low pony and curl my (longer) bangs so it looks like I styled my hair LOL. Great tips!

  8. I am really bad with waiting too long between hair appointments! I am picky about who cuts my hair, and I notice that when it is cut right, you CAN go longer between appointments….However, I totally agree with you on point number 5! I typically get my hair cut 2, maybe 3, times a year and the split ends go nuts. 🙂 I used to over-buy hair products too, but I’ve found a few simple and inexpensive things to help…

    I only wash my hair every 2 to 3 days. Otherwise it is way too dry. I don’t have a problem with oily hair at all, so waiting this long isn’t a problem for me. I have found that the best thing that works on my dry hair is coconut oil. I rub some in my hands to melt it and finger comb it through my hair when dry to get it all saturated. I pin it up and let it sit on my hair for 15-30 minutes before getting in the shower and shampooing/conditioning as normal. (I don’t use expensive shampoo/conditioner.) I apply the coconut oil about twice a month but could do it more often. You notice a major difference afterwards and coconut oil does not leave the hair oily after washing, just soft and shiny. (I also use coconut oil as my moisterizer and as my make-up remover/face cleanser.) I also put Biolage serum on my hair before heat styling it to control frizz, and when I blow dry, I make sure to go in sections. I pin up most of my hair and blow dry the bottom layer with a round, boar bristle brush (this cuts down on frizz), then unpin and let another section down to blow dry, and finish up with the top section last. This helps to get all my hair dry and the brush tames the flyaways.

    Another great thing I do for dry skin in the winter months is to mix some coconut oil and brown sugar in a small container and bring into the shower with me. The heat from the shower will melt the oil and it is a perfect, easy sugar scrub that exfoliates and leaves your skin silky smooth afterwards. Coconut oil has also worked really great for me with shaving….close

    1. I am VERY picky about who cuts my hair too. A few bad haircuts later and I’d rather spend the money on someone I know will do it right! I also love your coconut oil idea. I recently bought a big tub of it to experiment with and am definitely going to try this next! I will have to look into getting a boar bristle brush as well.

  9. I’ve been going no ‘poo for a little over a year now, and I also make my own organic soap/shampoo which my husband loves – I love how healthy, yummy, and cost-effective it is!

    1. I’ve heard good experiences from a lot people who have gone with the “no poo” method — glad you found something that works!

  10. Not washing your hair everyday is so unthinkable to some people and yet, it is what all the stylists will tell you too! Our hair is too fragile to wash every day. ALong with all the other good tips! Great!

  11. Thanks for the tips. I use more heat on my hair in the winter than in the summer when natural waves are more acceptable. I definitely needed some tips on keeping it healthy.

  12. That’s quite a difference – your hair looks awesome 🙂 I had no idea toweling it too much could cause some damage – will need to just pat it from now on.

  13. You’ve given me some great ideas. Now that the weather is getting colder where I am the heat is always on and that means everything is dry. Thanks.

  14. I’m lucky in the frizz department, but that means I have to wash everyday! Wish I was more like my daughters who have hair that just gets thicker every day they don’t wish it. But they have the frizz!

  15. This is great! I’ve always fought with dry, frizzy hair– I’m actually going to post what I’ve done to help that next week on my blog…but I’m going to have to try the dry shampoo!

    Hannah
    throughthelens-blog.com

  16. Great tips! I’m a big believer in #1 especially, it really helps me! PS: Your trim is adorable, you’re even more beautiful! 🙂

  17. I have curly hair, so a microfiber towel is a must (although a few tshirts will do in a pinch). I think the other trick is to squeeze the water out, instead of drying your hair like you would the dog.

    1. Her;s a secret i learned many years ago. Adding fabric softener wehn yo wash towels actaully make shtem less able to absorb wter. so wash all toelwes separately in their own laudnry cycle and do NOT add fabric softner. to that load. andhten if you can, let them air dry. They wont be as soft as you’re used to, but they will abosrb that extra water in your hair. (and dry your dihes better too)

  18. I think we are hair twins! #3 is something I just learned last week! I finally took the time to fully blow dry my hair now that I have a shorter cut and it looked so much better than usual. I kept telling my husband to check out my hair, but he couldn’t tell the difference. Figures! I also like to spray the ends of my hair with some leave-in conditioner before I blow dry.

    1. Haha – too funny! I like your idea to spray the ends with leave-in conditioner though. That’s something I’m definitely going to try!

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