By THÉRÈSE MARGOLIS

We iron, we spray, we douse our hair with conditioner, and no matter what, those pesky little fly-aways refuse to comply, turning into a web of incontrollable frizz the moment we step outside or when the humidity level goes above 55 percent.

There is a range of options for dealing with untamed hair, starting with professional keratin treatments that have to be applied at a salon and can set you back over $50.

But those salon treatments can be harsh and cause serious damage to your tresses, leading to even more frizz attacks further down the road.

There are also those hair-sizzling (and not in a good way) flat irons, and any number of hair driers for blowouts, which tend to do wonders for the front of your hair, but are hard to get to function correctly in the back (unless you have your own in-house stylist to do the job).

Supermarkets and beauty salons are packed with products that promise to do the job, and they come in spray, cream and liquid form.

But until I discovered the Peruvian haircare line Kativa, unless I was willing to apply on an inch-thick layer of hairspray, most of the time my options for public appearances consisted of pulling my entire mane back into a tight ponytail, braiding my locks into a long side plait or surrendering to Mother Nature and looking like a Mangalica hog on a bad hair day.

Kativa, now available in Mexico, has developed the first-ever keratin treatment that not only does not contain aggressive chemical ingredients, but is also actually made with nourishing natural oils (organic argon, shea butter and Brazilian keratin) and amino acids that are good for your hair (meaning, they will not lead to breakage or damage).

Applied at home to clean, dry hair and activated with a hair dryer and/or flat iron, the Kativa Alisado Brasileño straightener offers salon-style results (at a fraction of the price) and lasts up to 12 weeks.

And as if all that were not enough, Kativa Alisado Brasileño helps to strengthen hair and leave it shiny and manageable, even on days with high humidity.

As an added bonus, Kativa offers an Alisado Brasileño complementary line of Keratina Shampoo, Keratina Conditioner and Keratina Intensive Treatment Mask that helps extend the effects of the at-home straightening treatment.

And for those superhumid days when even the likes of Cher gets frizz, there is a Kativa Keratina Liquid Keratin Oil that will smooth out hair in a flash.

Full disclosure: The in-home Kativa treatment is, overall, as effective as any salon treatment, and will produce significant results in turning industrial-strength frizz into human-looking hair, but results will vary depending on your specific hair type, how frizzy it is and how damaged your hair is to begin with.

There are a few extra tips that might help prevent frizz in the first place: Avoiding using very hot water when you shampoo, limiting your use of heat-based styling tools and sleeping with a silk pillowcase (which also is good for your skin).

In the end, no product is 100 percent effective in all cases and under all circumstances, so if you are planning a weekend in Acapulco, be sure to bring a scrunchie to pull your hair back into that ever-reliable ponytail.