Beat the Frizzies: Tried and True Hair Products We Swear By

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There are some girls who are just naturally blessed with lush, frizz-free coils and some even genetically-bequeathed with gleaming, poker straight tresses. But then there are some of us who have been struggling our whole lives with underweight, perma-frizzy hair, rendering us inescapably dependent on hair products. Now that we've spent decades and copious amounts of moolah on road testing various hair styling agents, we figured we'd make it easier for you by sharing some of our more successful experiences.

1) Phytodefrisant Botanical Hair Relaxing Balm, PHYTO, $26 for 3.3 oz: This clear, light gel is a plant-based and gourmet-sounding mixture of ferula, horseradish, and sage. Sounds tasty, but all we care about is that it tames the frizzies for a natural-look 'do. We've found that it works best on freshly cleaned hair and it's light enough to layer under molding paste or pomade (or whatever strikes your fancy really), if you're working toward a more stylized look. We've also used it as a finisher to tame any strays on a free-flowing hairstyle.

2) No Frizz Wave, Curl Styling Cream for medium to thick hair, Living Proof, $26 for 4 oz: Now don't feel limited by the label pigeonholing this product into the curly and thick hair categories. Our hair isn't even medium on a good day and we like to switch up our styles quite regularly, but we found this light cream to work just fabulously any way we want it. The No Frizz line of humidity-blocking products was developed by MIT scientists—clearly channeling their expertise and talent into a much needed area. The complete line of products basically fit all category needs: Straight, curly, spray, cream, mousse, shampoo, etc. We've tried the spray for straight, thin hair, but found that the curl cream did the trick without being too drying. You can blow it out, air dry, diffuse, it's all good. If you'd like to try out what works best for you, each product comes in various sizes, including a 2 oz of this cream for $15.

3) Heat Protective Silk Straightening Cream, Kiehl's, $17 for 5 oz: This product is fantastic for a straight, frizz-free look with help from a blow dryer on high heat and a large round brush. The cream is infused with a healthful sounding trail mix of extracts—soy beans, sesame seeds and sunflower seeds—which all block out humidity, but still keep the moisture locked into the hair. We've been using this product for years to achieve a straight, silky and tamed, but natural coif and the magic lasts for days. A teeny dab also works great on dry hair as a finishing agent.

4) Brilliant Anti-Humectant Pomade, Aveda, $19 for 2.6 oz: A friend recommended this aloe and castor-oil infused pomade to us back in the day and had the best experience using it as a post-blow dry finisher for a loose natural style—even though the label touts it as a before and after styling agent. There is a bit of an herbally fragrance to the pomade, so just a warning. Also, don't make the mistake we did once by purchasing the similarly packaged humectant (as opposed to the anti-humectant). It wasn't pretty.

5) Smoothing Shampoo and Deep Smoothing Conditioner, smooththérapie Matrix-Biolage, $39.99 for a liter set: All frizz-free styles need a base and after numerous shampoo and conditioner pairings from mass to prestige, we were blessedly introduced to this duo. Granted, it's a bit of an investment, but a little dab will do you, so the bottles and tubes will sit in your shower for longer than expected. This formula of camellia flowers fortifies against high-levels of humidity and we found that the combo left our hair feeling soft, silky and still hydrated—whereas some anti-frizz shampoos and conditioners really dry out our 'do.

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