The best curly hair products do more than style your strands. They help smooth, hydrate, and most importantly, define your curls. The spiraling shape of a coil makes it harder for moisture and styling products to reach the entire strand evenly, from root to tip. That’s why the perfect mix of creams, leave-ins, gels, and oils can be the difference between limp, stretched-out curls and juicy, defined ones.
Before overhauling your product lineup or jumping into a new curly hair routine, know that the key to maintaining and styling curly hair has less to do with your curl pattern and more with how porous and dry it is, says Michael Dueñas, celebrity hairstylist and co-founder of AROVE haircare. “More porosity is going to make it lose moisture faster. Wavy textures need lighter, faster-absorbing products to avoid weighing it down or flattening the curl, and tighter curl textures can handle richer oils and heavier/thicker conditioning.” Basically, if you have very tight curls, you need a thicker, heavier product packed with more oils and heavier conditioning agents to moisturize properly. Finer hair or looser waves need the same ingredients, just in smaller amounts. And if there’s one staple every curly-hair routine needs, it’s conditioner. “Even if you do nothing else—wash your hair and leave a bit of conditioner in—you’re already doing your curls a favor,” says Suzzette Boozer, a celebrity stylist. “It keeps them soft, defined, and way less frizzy. Simple, but major.”
To help build or refine your curl routine, we asked haircare experts for their favorite products across every category—from shampoos and conditioners to curl creams, mousses, gels, oils, and heat protectants. These are the absolute best curly hair products that actually deliver healthy, defined, hydrated curls.
The best curly hair products, at a glance
Ouidad Advanced Climate Control Heat & Humidity Gel
Jump to review
Curly hair requires particular attention, care, and a carefully tailored cocktail of products for specific curl patterns and porosity. To test the best hair products for curly hair, we started by asking curly hair experts who have worked with a wide range of clients with different curl patterns and who have many years of experience using different curly haircare products to share their product recommendations. From there, we had Glamour editors and contributors with curly hair test and share the curly hair products they use and love at home. The factors considered when compiling this list were ingredients and how moisturizing, frizz-reducing, and defining each formula was on a mix of curl types. The texture and format were also important, since some products apply more easily to finer curls than to thicker ringlets, and vice versa. Lastly, we looked at the results and efficacy of each product. We considered not only how defined, moisturized, and smooth curls looked right after applying the product, but also how well hair held up for two and three days. Once all of these factors were considered, we narrowed down the list to these top picks.
Best Shampoo: Nécessaire Rosemary Shampoo
-
-
Original photo from Jade Brito testing Necessaire Rosemary Shampoo
.png)
Nécessaire Rosemary Shampoo
This curly hair shampoo works as a two-in-one to de-gunk scalp and hair of product buildup. It’s infused with rosemary oil an antioxidant that supports scalp health for hair growth. The cleanser is sulfate-free, so it won’t strip the scalp of its natural oils. It’s also packed with proteins, which help strengthen strands. “It left my scalp feeling really clean without drying it out, and it performed as well as my usual salon shampoos,” Glamour tester Maura Benton previously shared.
Read the full article here
