3 Products To Avoid During the Summer and The Great Alternatives You Can Try Instead

Every summer in California is the same: Hot. And still, every summer, I scramble to change my hair regimen like I’ve never done this before. It’s a vicious cycle, but what can I say? I can’t stop procrastinating!

However, if it’s one thing I DO know, it’s that certain products are never going to work for my hair while it’s so hot outside. I may love these products during the colder seasons, but they aren’t the best options while it’s over 90 degrees and ridiculously humid outside–No.

While these products aren’t the best for the season, they may still serve a purpose in your hair regimen. You can either get rid of them completely or find a great alternative; whatever you do, always make sure you find a replacement that suits your needs!

Below are a few products you should avoid during the summer, and a few things you can try instead.

 Edge Control

Slick edges are one of the major keys to making any hairstyle look great. There’s an array of products we can use to achieve our desired look, but one of the most popular products is edge control. Edge control comes in all different consistencies–pomades, gels, waxes, jellies- and usually effectively tames frizzy edges. But let’s be real, edge control has the tendency to lift.

It starts off great; your edges are smoothed out and not budging for at least 30 minutes, then you see you little fly always start to pop out. By the end of the hour, whatever little edge control you thought was working–is gone.

Don’t get me wrong, some edge controls do work, but most of them don’t do well under summer heat. Your hair either lifts, it starts getting sticky, or worse: it melts and starts dripping down the side of your face.

Sure, you can reinforce the edge control with a max-hold hair gel, or you can cut out the middle man and just use gel. Hair gel is the best thing to use during the summer because your edges will stay down despite heat and humidity.

If you’re afraid of the gel drying out your hair or forming flakes, try mixing a small amount of your favorite oil and wetting your edges before applying. One of my favorites mix is Kinky* Curly Custard Gel with a dime size amount of grapeseed oil*.

Hair Spray 

Whether or not hair spray is good for natural hair in general is up for debate, but it definitely is not the best choice during the summer. Personally, I am a fan of hairspray but there are a lot more cons than pros, so I find myself holding off on it more often than not.

Hairspray can hold styles in place for hours, but that doesn’t mean a thing when most of them contain harsh alcohols that can dry out your hair to the point it is stiff and brittle. Not only that, but it’ll make your hair start to poof up if you’re rocking a straight hairstyle, and make your hair crunchy when it’s curly!

Severe dryness mixed with humidity? Disaster! You don’t need to get rid of hairspray completely but it would be in your best interest to find alternatives or invest in high end products. My favorite method is rubbing lightweight styling pomade over my kinks or curls; or simply spraying Aveda Air Control hairspray into the palms of my hands and fluffing my hair with it.

High-end hairspray goes for about $30 a can, but it does not make your hair hard, flaky, or stiff and lasts for months; so in my opinion, it is worth it.

If you don’t like applying anything to your hair after styling, make sure you use maximum hold and anti-humidity products during your styling process.

Heavy Creams

Hair creams like leave-in conditioners and moisturizers help make hair more manageable, moisturize/hydrate, soften, and some of them even help with humidity. But just like any other product, when the formula is too heavy, it can weigh down your hair.

When your hair is weighed down, it won’t be able to fully benefit from moisture, pores can clog, and it’ll leave your hair looking lifeless, greasy, undefined, and a number of other things. This is particularly awful in the summer because excess sweat on your scalp plus a heavy cream equals a buildup nightmare. And in some cases, dandruff!

Instead, opt for a moisturizing spritz or lightweight cream. If you aren’t a big fan of light sprays, add a tablespoon of your favorite cream and 6 oz of water into a bottle, shake well, and spritz on your hair. Most times you don’t have to buy a whole new product, you can just make the best of what you have.

If you are going to use something like shea or cocoa butter*, make sure you add an emulsifier into the mix so that the water doesn’t seperate from the solids.