Like most women with curly hair, I don’t need a barometer to know what the weather’s like outside. The slightest amount of humidity in the air, and my curls turn instantly into a mop of undefined frizz.

Which means that this weird warm, wet weather has seen me frequently looking like Art Garfunkel after he’s been dragged through a hedge backwards.

I’ve been at war with my hair since I was 12 when hormones caused my once sleek waves to turn almost overnight into tight curls. Pregnancy hormones relaxed my hair, and menopause and frequent colouring have since made it drier and less bountiful. It also grows outwards and upwards before it grows downwards. You could say I don’t have hair so much as candy floss.

I’ve spent thousands on products that have promised to turn my uncontrollable mane into perfect ringlets. Many of them blatantly lied, while others worked briefly. That’s the other problem with curly hair – it has a mind of its own.

I’ve learned a bit through trial and error – but at 55, I still haven’t found the ultimate product or technique to conquer my frizz monster. Despairing, I put myself in the hands of curly hair guru Ricky Walters, whose celebrity clients include Laura Whitmore and Nicola Roberts.

I’ll admit I’m nervous. In my experience, the majority of hairdressers have no idea at all how to work with my hair, meaning I’ve left many a salon in tears looking like a human Brillo pad.

‘I’ve been at war with my hair since I was 12,’ writes Hilary Freeman, ‘My curly hair has a mind of its own’. Now aged 55, she decided to consult guru hairdresser Ricky Walters for some tips

Ricky, I’m reassured to discover when I walk into his Salon64 in London’s Soho, has very curly hair himself. He gets the struggle. He tells me curls are back in fashion and that many of his clients are rediscovering their natural style after a lifetime of straight blow-drys.

The top stylist says it’s disturbance that causes frizz: ‘Wind, rain, pollution and brushing all agitate curls, and so does messing with them as they dry.’

When he examines my hair (which I’ve left as my ‘bedhead’ in its natural, untamed state), he concludes that it’s ‘fine and soft, but there’s a lot of it’ – which is why most products don’t work for me. My curls are fine, which means products made with creams and oils designed to smooth and control just sit on the surface, coating it and weighing it down. That in turn makes it lank and, ultimately, even more frizzy.

Curly hair isn’t homogenous: there are tight and loose curls, waves and Afro-textured hair. Curl type isn’t the same as hair type.

‘There’s a scale of curly hair,’ explains Ricky. ‘At one end is hair that’s too soft; at the other is hair that’s dry, thick and coarse. Everyone is using products to pull their hair towards the perfect middle, which almost nobody naturally has. Soft hair like yours needs structure. Dry hair needs moisture. Two women with curly hair can need different products.’

Ricky washes my hair with a collagen-based moisturising shampoo, Moisture On, from his new range, launching in December. This is followed by his moisturising conditioner.

Ricky washed her hair with a collagen-based moisturising shampoo and conditioner, designed especially for dry locks

A diffuser was used to dry Hilary’s hair, and Ricky recommended flipping her head upside down to help the roots defy gravity and gain volume

Curly hair isn’t homogenous: there are tight and loose curls, waves and Afro-textured hair. In Hilary’s case, her hair was soft and fine, so Ricky applied his Full On Textured Styling Spray

Before Hilary’s visit to Salon64 she said her hair looked lank, frizzy like a ‘bedhead’. But afterwards, right, she was very pleased with her voluminous and defined head of curls

He dries my hair by squeezing out the excess water rather than rubbing it, because the friction would cause frizz.

Next, he works through the knots with his fingers and applies a spritz of Full On Textured Styling Spray, to add volume and stop my hair from being too soft.

Instead of curl creams, he says, I need mousse (now more fashionably known as ‘foam’), which is much lighter and will tame without flattening. He applies a large pump of Moroccanoil Curl Control Mousse all over.

Leaving my hair to dry naturally takes hours, and often means it’s flat on top, so he advises using a diffuser on my hair dryer – he favours one with a large and deep bowl attachment to scoop up my curls. ‘Always set it to slow speed and hot heat,’ he advises. ‘Drying too fast creates static. And the other golden rule is: be hands off. The more you mess with curls while they dry, the frizzier they get.’

Halfway through, he tells me to flip my head upside down, which will help my roots defy gravity. Once my hair is dry, he gives it another spritz of texture spray. His theory is, if you treat hair when it’s wet and again when it’s dry, that double layer will protect it against drizzle.

The result is a voluminous but defined head of curls which appear far more polished than my former pelmet of frizz but, unlike uniform ringlets, still look natural. The next morning, I awake with trepidation but am delighted to see my curls are still intact. I chuck out my gel and add a can of hair mousse (sorry foam!) to my shopping list.