Eco-friendly products for curly hair

Why It's Good:

Ask any curly top if she suffers inordinately in the summer weather. Any attempt at styling, if it goes against the natural sway, will only result in tragically wayward hair (click here to download your local Frizz Forecast widget). Instead of fighting it, pare down your product arsenal to the just-right green products that nurture hair and help achieve a no-sweat style.

Why It's Green:

These eco-friendly curl products are free of sulfates, which are the sudsing and cleansing agents in shampoo that irritate scalps and do their job too well—stripping hair's natural oils. Parabens, or scary petroleum-based preservatives, are also absent.

Where To Get It:

To directly purchase any of the above products, click on the product name.

No-Frizz Summer Hair

As much as I've tried to divorce the state of my hair from emotion, it's still been a long, hard, frizzy journey.

Curly hair is often dry hair. Dry curly hair plus summer's humidity equals frizz. It's not karmic retribution, it's plain and simple biology and physics. As explained to me by dermatologists, the cuticle, or outside surface of hair (which is made of a protein called keratin), looks like fish scales. When hair is curly, these scales are less likely to lie flat and smooth. This slows distribution of natural scalp oils, leaving curls dry, especially at ends. Shine happens when light hits smooth, reflective surfaces—not curly-hair surfaces. The answer? Nourish your hair with cleansers that won't strip, natural hydrating butters and oils, and light leave-in stylers. Here's a three-step program to glossy, healthy, curly curls.—Maria Ricapito

  Step 1: Cleansing:

If you're like me, you wake up every morning with tangled curls that are trending toward dreads (or this special spider I found). When your hair is dry, the last thing you want to do is shampoo daily, yet you do want to get rid of grit and grime, sweat and styling product residue. Skip the shampoo step, wet hair and go straight to conditioner. Or try DevaCurl No-Poo Shampoo, $17.95, which contains no drying sulfates. The zero-lather formula may take a few tries to get used to, but the botanical moisturizers will help keep curls supple and clean.

  Step 2: Conditioning:

Healthier-looking hair is the result of a "glued" down rough cuticle, which comes from using conditioners with protein daily. Jason Natural Tall Grass High-Protein Conditioner, $5.95, contains wheat protein to fill in the holes in hair—at least until the next shampoo—as well as the natural botanical moisturizers I love and need.

  Step 3: Finishing:

Many of the becurled are addicted to silicone-based shine serums. These synthesized polymers used in everything from fabric softener to skyscraper construction can be hard to remove. Get a similar effect—a hint of gloss—with natural oils instead. Aveda Be Curly Curl Control ($17.50) contains tamanu oil, a botanical sourced in the South Pacific. Just dab a few drops on fingertips and glide over ends (to avoid flattening hair). If your bangs are dry, twist the very ends between fingers to define and hydrate.

For those with extremely curly or kinky hair, pomades and hair butters are the moisturizing way to go. Product, a styling aid, contains organic shea butter, aloe vera, naturally-derived vitamin E, organic beeswax and natural fragrance. Warm it between your fingertips and than run them over dry spots and ends.

Fine curls get the flats when you glop on heavy leave-ins. Instead, go the weightless route with a spritz of Curl Junkie Curly Boost Curl Enhancing Spray ($8). Wheat protein helps coat the cuticle, adding shine, and you get a shot of light moisture with veggie-based glycerin. Essential oils of jasmine absolute and lavender hydrate while smelling heavenly. Anyone can use it to refresh spirals on a day when washing hair isn't in the picture.