I have bad hair. As socially debilitating genes go, it ranks right up there with my alcoholism and my fat-corpse-in-a-wood-chipper snoring.I'm talking about midwinter static here. Really, really bad hair static. Just when I'm finally finished dealing with the heartbreak of summer humidity, arid winter arrives and makes me look as though I spent the morning trying to pry a Pop-Tart out of a live toaster. (I did, but what's your point?) When I take off my scarf at work, half of my hair clings to my face in an unholy hulihee* while the rest of it spazzes out into electrically charged liberty spikes.
I know that blow-drying and straightening make this worse, but I have coarse, wavy hair -- think a crimped horse's tail caught in a jet engine -- and I can't air dry it. I'm also half-Greek, which means I'm naturally oilier than a tin of sardines. If I try to add any kind of product in the morning, my hair is limp, and my forehead is shiny by noon.
Lemondrop editor and possessor of Really Great Hair Erin Scottberg suggested that I keep dryer sheets in my purse and rub them on my head when I get a case of the Beetlejuices. It's an old trick she read about when she was "like twelve." I'm going to give it a whirl, but I figured if Erin had a quick fix, maybe our readers did too.
How do you get rid of hair static? Leave your tips in the comments, hit us up on our Facebook page, or reply via Twitter.
HIGHLY DEMONSTRATIVE VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP.
* It's a type of beard, my dawgs, look it up!
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Tuesday 12 January
By Mel
I have the exact same problem! I hope the dryer sheets work!
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Tuesday 12 January
By kitten9414
I have the same problem, every winter is like rubbing 1,000 balloons on my head. I swear by dryer sheets, they're easy, cheap, don't make my hair greasy and make my hair smell like fresh laundry. Make sure you get anti-static ones instead of ones that just soften. I totally recommend them.
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Wednesday 13 January
By Alex
Same problem here. I used to use this wax-pomade type thing that worked wonders but didn't smell very good. Now I've been trying various Fructis-type hydrating gel stuff to moderate success. Otherwise, I just put some hand lotion in it-totally works..at least for a while.
The most effective thing? I got my hair dyed darker and haven't needed any help.
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Wednesday 13 January
By Brooklyn Sea Hag
Does your head smell like lemons and babies now? PS. Please stop complaining about your hair. It is offensive to those of us who ACTUALLY have bad hair. Thank you.
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Sunday 17 January
By debbiechartier
Ummm lady those people were talking about actual hair problems!!! Did you actually read their comments??Sounded like they had real issues to me ...They were not saying oh my hair is just way too soft or my hair is too perfect...shesh pay attention before YOU insult them!!!
Sunday 17 January
By Krista
I too have rediculously staticy hair! I loathe it when I see girls in winter hats (sure if i want to look like i got struck by lighting i could wear one too) however...ive found 3 products i find to be fantastic that help, and DO NOT make my hair oily (i also have particularly fine hair...which means any heavy product makes me look like my hair is greased down to my forehead) that being said I use a dime sized dollop of sexy straight hair's power straight, and the big one that really does the trip is Redken Extreme Anti-Snap (2-3 pumps for shoulder length hair). Never leaves my hair weighed down...and is great for every day use...basically its like a leave in condtioner type thing that strengthens the hair, but really reduces static. A girl @ my salon told me about it and she was right on! Lastly, if im going out on the weekends and i want to have stronger hold or i want to use a curling iron and throw in some waves, i switch to paul mitchell sculpting foam...its a very light flexible hold mousse that i find similar results with. the most important thing is to find light products that will do the trick!
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Monday 18 January
By Amanda Reece
I have had the same problem!! My hair clings to the side of my face all day at work and nothing seems to help? My hair has been extremely oily as well and it seems like I have tried everything from baby powder to shampoo from salons and nothing has worked so far? Any suggestions?
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Monday 18 January
By Kristina
I swear by dryer sheets - this winter's been particularly brutal for my hair, in regard to the fly-aways (my hair is halfway down my back, and after a day or two gets to the horrific "top part oily-bottom part static-y" situation). I'd tried adding in a small bit of conditioner to my hair while it was still wet, or applying a little hand moisturizer if it was dry, but it didn't do a thing (not to mention my scarf is microfleece, as well as a few of my shirts for work, which is the WORST possible thing to wear regarding static).
So I tried a coworkers advice (from "when she had hair") - dryer sheet swipes, especially over the freehanging lengths of hair that don't get natural oils from the scalp. It was AMAZING. I ran it through my hair (fine hair could probably use a light touch, but my hair is on the coarse/thick side, so I applied it a few times), and suddenly - no static, no clinging, no crackling. For the entire day! Never had to reapply. I never wouldve believed it if I hadn't done it on myself. For the recod, I use Snuggle Jojoba, but I'm sure any one will do.
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