Turn your unruly frizz into sleek curls

We check out the best products to turn dry tresses into lovely, glossy ringlets

THERE is a huge array of products that claim to make styling curly hair effortless and, more importantly, banish frizz. But do they work? Our writer tested some on her mop of thick, curly hair...

BAN THE HAIRDRYER

John Frieda Frizz Ease Dream Curls Air-Dry Waves Styling Foam, 150ml (€9.79, Boots) USUALLY, I avoid hairdryers like the plague — they make any frizz much worse. So I’m all in favour of a foam that you put on wet hair and leave to dry.

This product f elt too runny coming out of the bottle, which was off-putting.

While it was non-sticky and left my hair looking reasonably glossy, it didn’t give me the wonderful ringlets I desired, leaving my hair somewhat shapeless. 3/5

ARGAN OIL TO THE RESCUE

Amargan Ultimate Curl, 250ml (€22.26, amargan.co.uk) HAVING heard a lot about the wonders of argan oil, I was keen to try this. The cream felt and smelled luxurious, and did a good job of gi v i ng defi ni t i on t o my curls without leaving a sticky or gloopy feeling.

It offered a strong enough hold to keep my hair away from my face, though it went slightly hard at my hairline.

My hair looked shiny, the curls were well- defined and there was next to no frizz. It would possibly be too heavy for very fine hair — but it suited me well. 4/5

BEDHEAD BEAUTY

Tigi Bed Head Foxy Curls Hi-Def Curl Spray, 200ml (€12.80, beautybay.com) I WASN’T convinced that something as light as a spray would keep my unruly curly hair in check.

The spray was a little fiddly to use as the liquid comes out in short spurts, rather than a large, plume-like traditional hair spray, but it had a lovely smell — just like sweets! — and was easy to spread through my hair. I was expecting a mass of frizz an hour later, but, in fact, it lived up to i ts promise of ‘highly defined, separate, frizz- free curls’, giving my hair a lovely casual, just-back-from-the-beach-look. 5/5

DOUBLE HELPING

L’Oréal Professionnel TECNI Art Dual Styler Bouncy and Tender, 150ml (€17.85, Brown Sugar) THIS dual-action product comes i n an unusual ‘ t ube within a tube’ packaging.

You have to press the tube in the correct place to get the right mix of the two products — as I discovered when the first attempt left me with just a handful of somewhat sticky f eeling yellow gel. I was torn between finding the concept a little gimmicky and thinking that it was a brilliant idea.

After all, I often use two products at once on my hair, and imagine others do, too.

I really liked the outcome. It gave me defined curls with just the right amount of weight and next to no frizz. 4/5

RACY RINGLETS

Redken Curvaceous (Ringlet) 180ml (€17.70, beautyfeatures.ie) AVAILABLE in a ‘full swirl’ and ‘ ringlet’ version, I opted f or the latter. This is exactly the look that I wanted — and this is exactly what the cream delivered.

The product went on easily and was non- sticky without any hard clumping.

However, by the end of the day, there was a little more frizz than with some of the other products.

For me, this would possibly work better along with a serum. 3/5

COOL CREME

Lee Stafford Here Come The Curls Control Creme, 75ml (€5.79, Boots) APPARENTLY, hair expert Lee Stafford has i dentified t wo different types of curly hair — ‘ l ank, f rizzy, f i ner curls’ and ‘mad, thick, frizzy, unruly curls’ — and has developed separate products for each hair type.

This makes perfect sense because, as I know well, not all curly hair is the same.

I tried out the heavier creme, which has a sweet smell and comes in a tub rather than i n the traditional tube.

As I applied it, the product felt quite weighty, so I was expecting quite a firm hold.

However, though this control creme did help to define my curls a little, my hair looked a little frizzy and shapeless — almost as if I had not used any product at all. 2/5