Frizz, flyaway hair, split ends are among a set of terms often incorrectly thrown around interchangeably because the visual impact of them are often similar.  In reality though it’s important to understand the nature of each specific hair malady and how to successfully address them.  Unlike frizz and split ends, flyaway hair is caused by static electricity.  Although static electricity has been known to scientists since Thales of Miletus discovered it in 600 B.C.E. by rubbing animal fur with amber, how static electricity is generated wasn’t well understood until recently.[i]  A paper from Northwestern University published in 2019 provides a breakthrough explanation of how static electricity is generated with important implications for hair care. In this blog, we’ll provide you with some well-established best practices and treatments for preventing flyaways as well as summarize the underlying physics so you can better avoid generating undesirable static electricity.

1. Fly-away hair is not the same as frizzy hair

As the famed stylist Marc Anthony notes, “Flyaways are often mistaken for frizz and vice-versa, but flyaways are not frizz.”[ii]  Frizz is ultimately a mechanical phenomenon caused when disrupted hair cuticles allow moisture into the hair shaft.  This causes the hair shaft to swell generating stresses that bow and twist our hair in different random directions. (To learn more about hair frizz see our prior blog “Five Ways to Beat the Hair Frizz Blues”.)  Flyaway hair is caused by static electricity, when our hair is rubbed, brushed, or combed friction occurs and this friction creates positive electrical charges in our hair. As they taught us in high school science, two like-kind electrical charges naturally repel one another.  As a result, a light-weight individual hair shaft can be pushed away electrostatically appearing to “flyaway” from the bulk of your hair.

2. Keeping your hair properly moisturized is critical to preventing flyaway hair

Remember when you rubbed a balloon against your hair and you were able to stick it to a wall in your house?  Balloons are made of rubber which is an excellent insulator so when you rubbed a balloon against your hair it was obtaining and preserving a negative charge on the side of the balloon that rubbed against the hair.  Moisture in your hair is a good conductor, helping dissipate electrical charges before you get flyaways. When your hair dries out, it loses some of its conductivity allowing positive electrical charges to build in your hair shaft.  That is why flyaways are more prevalent in the winter months when the air is less humid and your hair tends to be more dried out.

3. Don’t fall for quick fixes like drier sheets or rubbing ice-cubes on your hair

While rubbing dryer sheets against your hair to tame flyaways may get you the look you’re hoping to achieve, dryer sheets are not intended for such direct and close contact with your skin and scalp.  In fact, they typically contain harsh chemicals that can cause significant skin irritation or even a rash. Rubbing ice cubes on your hair may provide a short-term fix as the melted cold water will stay on the hair longer than warm water, but it too will evaporate relatively quickly in a dry climate.  Much better is to use a leave-in conditioner such as Desert Botanicals Feather-weight Hair Serum that will coat the hair shaft with nourishing oils, vitamins and add a consistent protective coating.

4. Use a silicone-based conditioner to reduce hair friction

As Northwestern researchers discovered, at a microscopic level all materials and tissues have rough surfaces.  These tiny protrusions bend back-and-forth when they encounter friction leading to the generation of small electrical charges that accumulate with time (a phenomena known as “flexoelectricity”.) Even in the best circumstances, hair cuticles are prone to being shifted and if they’re already disrupted (as they are with frizz) then they’re especially vulnerable to generating flexoelectricity from friction. As Pradi Mirmirani MD, Assistant Professor of Dermatology at Case Western University says, if you’re just talking about flyaway hair when you “whip off your hat” there’s probably no problem with your hair health, “but if it’s sticking up most of the time, you’ve got cuticle damage…making it more susceptible to static.”[iii] Doctor Mirmirani recommends using a silicone based leave-in conditioner such as SonoranShine™ Featherweight Hair Glosser to coat the hair fiber preventing the ionization generated by the cuticle being pushed back-and-forth.

5. Never forget to always use hair maintenance best practices!

• If you have to blow-dry your hair, use an ionizing blow-dryer on low temperature with a diffuser.
• Never use a plastic comb or brush on your hair (plastic is an insulator so will exacerbate the static electricity effect), metal combs and brushes conduct electricity well but can cause mechanical damage leading to flexoelectricity generation.  Instead use a natural bristle brush (such as a boar-hair brush) which nicely balances conductivity with a gentle touch to the hair.[iv]
• Use micro-fiber towels instead of terrycloth to dry your hair.
• Don’t brush your hair after immediately coming in from the cold, the static effect is especially strong then.
• Limit use of heat tools and keep them to 400°F (204°C) or less.
• Use silk pillowcases instead of cotton ones.[v]
• Use a clarifying shampoo once a month to strip away build-up.
• Combat hat hair by parting your hair on the opposite side of normal when you’re used to wearing your hat. Then flip your hair to your usual part, you’ll avoid static and add volume. [vi]

While frizz can be a chronic hair condition, flyaway hair is typically a temporary nuisance.  Nevertheless, it is important to always look your best and following the above recommendations will help you avoid those pesky run-away hairs!

REFERENCES:
[i] Mike Renlund, “We Finally Know How Friction Causes Static Electricity”, Futurity, September 11, 2019.
[ii] “Tips and Trends:  Flyaway Facts”, Focus on Hair.
[iii] Valarie Monroe, “The Best (and Easiest) Way to Tame Flyaway Hair”, Oprah.com.
[iv] Sindhu Koganti, “How to Tame Flyaways in 7 Simple Ways”, Stylecraze.com, February 15, 2021.
[v] Jenny Tran, “How to Get Rid of Flyaway Hair”, Wikihow.com, February 6, 2021.
[vi] Jenn Sinrich and Sarah Jacoby, “12 Quick Fixes to Get Rid of Static Hair” Self, March 6, 2020.

PHOTO CREDITS:
Top photo by Alexander Krivitskiy on Unsplash
Bottom photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich from Pexels