Why Your Hair Fights New Jersey Weather (And How We Win)

Ever have one of those days? You spend an hour styling your hair, it looks perfect, and then you step outside into that thick July air. Instantly, it's a cloud of frizz. Or how about in January, when the air is so dry your hair feels brittle and full of static, no matter how much conditioner you use?

If you're nodding along, welcome to the club of managing hair in Northern New Jersey.

I'm Jess LaFerrara, and I've been doing hair at The Warehouse Salon in Fairfield for six years now. I spend my days talking to clients who are fighting this exact battle against our climate. It's not your fault, and you're not using the wrong products. It's our weather. But the good news is, we have solutions that actually work, year-round.

The Real Reason Your Hair Struggles Here

Our climate is a tale of two extremes. Beautiful seasons, but brutal on hair.

Summer humidity is the obvious villain. That muggy air we get from June through August is packed with moisture. Think of each hair strand as being covered in tiny overlapping scales, called the cuticle. In high humidity, these scales lift up to let moisture in. For hair that's porous, color-treated, or naturally wavy, this is what creates that uncontrollable frizz. Your hair is literally reaching out for moisture in the air.

Winter dryness is the sneaky problem. The cold air outside holds very little moisture. Then we escape indoors where heating systems blast dry air, stripping even more hydration from our hair. The cuticle becomes rough and brittle, leading to static, dullness, and breakage. It's a constant struggle to keep hair hydrated when the environment is actively working against you.

I didn't fully understand the seasonal pattern until my third year at the salon. I kept wondering why certain clients looked amazing in October but came back in July completely frustrated, or vice versa. It finally clicked that I needed completely different strategies depending on the time of year.

Summer: When Brazilian Blowouts Changed Everything

My client Linnea came to me in July 2022, completely defeated. She has thick, wavy hair that's naturally gorgeous in moderate weather. But every summer, the humidity turned it into what she called "a triangle of frizz." She'd tried every anti-frizz product at the drugstore. Nothing worked for more than an hour.

I suggested a Brazilian Blowout. She was hesitant. "Won't that make my hair flat and lifeless?"

This is the biggest misconception about smoothing treatments. A Brazilian Blowout doesn't permanently straighten your hair the way a relaxer does. It infuses a protective protein layer around each strand, sealing those cuticle scales down so humidity can't get in and cause frizz. But you can customize how much smoothing happens.

For Linnea, we did a lighter application that removed the frizz but kept her natural wave pattern. When she came back three weeks later for a trim, her hair still looked incredible despite the fact that we'd had rain for five days straight. She kept touching it, almost surprised. "I forgot what it feels like to not worry about the weather."

That treatment lasted her four months. She got it done again in June 2023, and now it's just part of her routine. She books it every spring before humidity season hits.

My client Saskia had the opposite concern. She wanted her hair completely smooth and sleek. We did a full application with more processing time, and her naturally frizzy hair came out glass-smooth. She can still curl it if she wants, but left natural, it dries straight and shiny even in August humidity.

Then there's my client Marlowe, who has fine hair that gets frizzy but also gets weighed down easily by heavy products. She was nervous that a Brazilian Blowout would make her hair look flat. We did an ultra-light application, just enough to seal the cuticle without adding weight. She walked out with hair that had volume and movement but zero frizz. She sent me a photo two months later from an outdoor wedding in July. It was 85 degrees with 90% humidity, and her hair still looked perfect in every picture.

The key is the consultation. I need to understand what you want and what your hair does naturally. A Brazilian Blowout for someone who wants to keep their curls looks completely different than one for someone who wants stick-straight hair.

The Treatment I Got Wrong (And What I Learned)

Not every smoothing treatment works for everyone, and I learned this the hard way.

I had a client named Reverie who came in asking for a keratin treatment in summer 2021. She had fine, color-treated hair that was prone to frizz. I did a standard keratin treatment on her, the same one I'd been doing successfully on other clients.

Two weeks later, she texted me. Her hair felt dry and straw-like. It looked smooth but had this weird brittle texture that she hated.

When she came back in, I realized the problem immediately. Keratin treatments are heavy on protein, which is great for strengthening hair. But her fine, blonde hair was already protein-sensitive, and I'd overloaded it. Her hair needed moisture, not more protein.

We did a series of deep conditioning treatments to rebalance everything, then switched her to a lighter Brazilian Blowout formula instead of a traditional keratin treatment. That worked perfectly. Her hair stayed smooth but felt soft and healthy.

That experience taught me to really assess each client's hair porosity and protein sensitivity before recommending a treatment. Now I do strand tests on anyone with fine or heavily processed hair. It takes an extra ten minutes, but it prevents situations like Reverie's.

Winter: The Season Nobody Talks About

Everyone focuses on summer frizz, but winter does just as much damage. It's just quieter about it.

My client Thessaly came in one January looking exhausted. "My hair has so much static, I look like I stuck my finger in an electrical socket every morning." She worked in an office with aggressive heating, and by mid-afternoon, her hair would be standing on end from static.

We started her on a deep conditioning treatment in the salon, the kind that actually penetrates the hair shaft instead of just coating the surface. Then I sent her home with a leave-in conditioner and told her to sleep on a silk pillowcase.

She thought I was joking about the pillowcase. "That's a real thing?"

It absolutely is. Cotton pillowcases create friction that strips moisture from your hair while you sleep. Silk doesn't. It sounds like one of those too-simple-to-work solutions, but Thessaly texted me three days later: "The static is like 80% better. I can't believe a pillowcase made that much difference."

My client Odette has a different winter problem. Her hair gets so dry that it tangles constantly and breaks when she tries to brush it. We do monthly deep conditioning treatments through December, January, and February. In between appointments, she uses a heavy leave-in conditioner and barely washes her hair (twice a week max).

This year was her second winter following that routine, and the difference is dramatic. Last year at this time, she'd had to cut off three inches because of breakage. This year, her hair is the longest it's been in five years. When I measured it at her last appointment, she actually got teary. "I didn't think I'd ever be able to grow it past my shoulders again." She'd been dealing with winter breakage for so long that she'd just accepted short hair as her reality. Seeing it healthy and long felt like getting something back that she'd lost.

When the Weather Beats the Treatment

I need to be honest about something: sometimes our climate wins, even with the best treatments.

My client Azura got a Brazilian Blowout in May last year, right before a family vacation to Florida. The treatment was perfect when she left the salon. But she spent a week in Florida's intense heat and humidity, swimming in the ocean every day, and by the time she came home, the treatment had broken down significantly. What should have lasted four months lasted six weeks.

Salt water and chlorine are brutal on any smoothing treatment, and the extreme humidity accelerated the breakdown. When she came back, I was upfront with her: "If you're going somewhere tropical, get the treatment after you come back, not before."

She appreciated the honesty. This year, she waited until after her vacation to book the blowout, and it lasted its full four months.

That's the thing about working with New Jersey weather and travel. I can give you a treatment that will handle our local climate beautifully, but if you're spending a week in the Caribbean or visiting family in Arizona, we might need to adjust the timing or the aftercare plan.

Your At-Home Strategy Actually Matters

The treatments I do in the salon only work if you maintain them properly at home. This is where a lot of people lose the benefits they paid for.

For humid summers, you need a sulfate-free shampoo and conditioner. Sulfates strip the protective layer we just spent hours infusing into your hair. I also recommend a lightweight anti-humidity serum on damp hair before styling. Not the heavy, greasy kind. A light spray or serum (usually around $22 to $28) that creates a barrier without weighing your hair down.

For dry winters, a leave-in conditioner is essential. The good ones run about $24 to $32 and last two to three months. They provide moisture throughout the day as the indoor heating tries to suck it all out. And seriously, get the silk pillowcase. They're about thirty dollars and make a noticeable difference.

Year-round maintenance means regular trims. Split ends travel up the hair shaft and cause breakage. Getting a trim every eight to ten weeks keeps your hair healthy and more resilient to weather stress.

The Questions I Get Asked Constantly

"Why is my hair still frizzy after a smoothing treatment?"

This usually comes down to two things. Either you're using products with sulfates that are stripping the treatment, or your hair needed a different formula. My client Eponine came back four weeks after her first Brazilian Blowout frustrated that she still had frizz. I asked what shampoo she was using. Turned out it was loaded with sulfates. We switched her to a sulfate-free formula, and the frizz disappeared within a week.

"Can I still curl my hair after a Brazilian Blowout?"

Yes. That's one of the best parts. Because it doesn't permanently break the bonds in your hair like a relaxer does, you can still style it however you want. It will just be shinier, frizz-free, and hold the style better. My client Linnea curls her hair for special events even with her blowout, and it looks incredible.

"How much do these treatments cost?"

Brazilian Blowouts at our salon typically run between $300 and $450 depending on your hair length and thickness. That might sound like a lot, but when you factor in that it lasts three to five months and eliminates the need for constant frizz products and salon visits to fix humidity damage, most of my clients find it's worth the investment. Deep conditioning treatments for winter are usually around $50 to $75 and can be done monthly.

Stop Planning Your Life Around the Weather

You shouldn't have to check the forecast before committing to plans. With the right strategy for your hair and our climate, you can feel confident no matter what the weather does.

If you're tired of fighting the seasonal struggle, let's talk about what will actually work for your specific hair. Come see us at The Warehouse Salon, 1275 Bloomfield Ave in Fairfield. We have plenty of free parking.

Give us a call at 973-500-4536 or book your consultation online. Let's figure out a plan that makes every season a good hair season.