These Hair Care Products Make Achieving Your Favorite Styles A Breeze

One simple way to reduce your plastic consumption this year is to switch to a shampoo bar. Made with upcycled patchouli, castor oil, and organic sage, this one provides an ultra-luxurious experience thanks to its rich foaming lather and refreshing scent. Perfectly balanced for fine hair, it gently cleanses without weighing it down or overly stripping it. “I'm always looking for shampoo bars that aren’t terrible, and this lovely bar fit the bill,” says BDG staffer Miranda Rake. “It immediately replaced the other shampoo I was using for a few reasons. First, it cleaned my hair well. Second, it has a lovely gentle sage scent that makes it nice to use.”

If you have fine hair, you know it can be a challenge to find a conditioner that deeply hydrates and nourishes without making your strands look limp or greasy. Thankfully, this formula from Nexxus exists to solve your conditioning woes. Made with proteins known for their role in hair health — keratin, biotin, and collagen — this conditioner strengthens fine and thin hair, helping to prevent breakage and giving it a boost in weightless body. “So many conditioners I've tried that claim to cater to fine hair have just weighed down my flat strands, but this is one of few that hydrates my hair enough to curb a next-day oil surge without sacrificing volume,” says BDG staffer Theresa Massony.

Dullness is done and dusted with this fast-acting, incredibly cool-looking hair mask. It’s made with silk extract to instantly soften hair and increase shine, as well as ingredients like amino acids, jojoba, and rice protein to repair breakage, strengthen, and deeply moisturize. It has a lightweight creamy consistency, so you don’t have to worry about it being too rich for fine hair, and works its magic in about 10 minutes. We recommend adding it to your weekly “everything shower.”

Styling product consistencies like oils and creams can sometimes overwhelm fine hair and leave it looking oily. Airy and lightweight, foam is usually a solid choice — and this one adds impressive volume, fullness, and beachy texture without any crunchy, sticky residue. It can be used on dry or wet hair and offers heat protection up to 450 degrees, so you can switch up how you work it into your routine. Another bonus is the formula’s hydrolyzed corn starch, which helps absorb oils so your style looks fresher longer.

A quality shampoo should add to your styling process, not take away from it. True to its name, this formula was designed to help you build the perfect foundation for whatever hairstyle you want. It tackles product build-up and helps to nourish the scalp with a blend of botanical ingredients. “My favorite thing about this shampoo is the scent: It's light, fresh, and not too strong. So many shampoos are almost overpowering with a tropical or herbaceous scent that I find harsh and unappealing, but not this one,” says BDG staffer Hayley Schueneman.

If you have thick hair and you haven’t tried Jennifer Aniston’s hair care line, now’s the time — this conditioner is made for you. Formulated with a vegan keratin complex and fruit extracts, it’s designed to hydrate and strengthen strands while amping up shine. “I don't wash my hair every day, but since I do hot yoga regularly, I like to rinse my hair with a conditioner,” says TZR Executive Editor Angela Melero. “This is great for softening and moisturizing my hair without making it feel super heavy and weighed down.”

Unlike many hair masks that have a cream or serum-like texture, this one holds a liquid consistency that quickly sinks into the hair shaft to strengthen, prevent future breakage, and moisturize. On top of offering bond-repair benefits, the formula’s conditioning oils help make detangling an easier and less painful experience while also imparting a long-lasting sheen. “I love everything about this mask,” says TZR Executive Editor Angela Melero. “Its five-minute setting time is perfect for a quick shower routine, and it even works nicely when followed by a hydrating conditioner. My hair looks and feels super silky and shiny for days.”

This styling spray is basically an insurance policy for your silky-smooth blowout. It’s activated via the heat of your hot tools and delicately covers your hair with a light veil of protection against heat damage up to 450 degrees, humidity, and frizz — for up to three whole days. Made with a blend of plant-based ingredients, it also helps shield hair from the drying, color-warping effects of UV exposure. “While my hair is naturally straight, it's very prone to frizz,” says TZR Deputy Beauty Director Erin Lukas. “This spray allowed for a smoother blowout that lasted a few days without making my strands feel like they're coated in product.”

Made for curly and coily hair, this bond-building cleansing bar is the equivalent of two 8.4oz bottles of liquid shampoo. On top of repairing the hair structure, the sulfate-free, color-safe formula works to deeply moisturize, define curls, combat frizz, and prevent breakage. It’s meant to be applied directly to the scalp and works up to a luxe, bubbly lather. Once you’re done with your wash, the brand recommends allowing the bar to dry fully and then stashing it away in a dry place. If you have ever used bar soap, you know they tend to break into tiny pieces. This one comes with a small “savior bag” so you can save up each little morsel and put them to good use.

This cleansing conditioner is formulated with coconut oil and Jamaican castor oil to define curls, coils, and waves and quench their thirst, all while providing a gentle, hydrating cleanse that’s perfect for in-between more intensive wash days. The co-wash also gives hair a little slip for easy, tug-free wet or damp detangling. According to the brand, when paired with the line’s leave-in cream, the fragrant formula offers up to 48 hours of moisture.

These customizable drops are meant to give your go-to styling products an extra dose (or two) of hair benefits. Formulated with bond-building technology, vegan collagen, hyaluronic acid, and rice protein, they can help your curl cream or leave-in spray better define your curls, repair damage, prevent breakage, add shine, and moisturize. You can also apply them directly on your strands if you prefer not to play mixologist with your hair care. They’re also fragrance-free, so you don’t have to worry about them clashing with your favorite stylers’ scents.

You get a ton of bang for your buck with this multitasking leave-in cream — and at less than $15 a bottle, it’s already super budget-friendly. In just one use, it's said to fight up to a year of damage and visibly seals up to 84% of split ends. The formula is also ideal for enhancing shine, defining curls, fighting frizz, and detangling. Another bonus is its eco-conscious packaging that uses 78% less plastic.

Prepare to run your fingers through your hair — over and over and over again. Featuring ingredients like ceramides, watermelon hydro-glycerin, and finger lime, this conditioner perfectly hydrates, noticeably softens hair, and makes working through frustrating tangles and knots so much easier. Its minimalist pink-and-black packaging makes it all the more worthy of a space in your shower.

If you don’t feel like your shampoo is totally rinsing off product build-up and oil, it’s time to call on a clarifying formula. This one efficiently and gently removes leftover product, dirt, and grime while prioritizing scalp health with peppermint oil to promote circulation and moisturizing vitamin E. This one is meant to be used once a week or every few days and before your regular shampoo.

This treatment can be used before your regular shampoo or in-between wash days for a quick and powerful scalp pick-me-up. The ultra-clarifying yet gentle formula uses lemon peel oil, pink clay, and Australian tea tree oil to unclog pores and soak up dirt, oil, and product build-up, leaving you with a refreshed and balanced scalp. The packaging is a thoughtful touch, as the pointed nozzle makes precise application and product distribution a breeze. “Not only did my tight scalp feel soft and refreshed after using this treatment, but so did my client’s scalp, and I used it on her every couple of days. A winner all around,” says guest judge, celebrity hairstylist Takisha Sturdivant-Drew.

On top of defining curls and coils, offering protection from UV damage and pollution, and providing a light, non-crunchy hold, this innovative styling gel can be customized with up to three different “Hair Goal Booster Shots” to target your personal hair needs. Add in the Deep Conditioning pod for extra moisture and TLC or the Anti-Frizz pod to ward off flyaways and frizz. “The peachy scent of this is divine,” says TZR staffer Jessica Fields. “The texture is also ideal for styling or detangling. It’s lightweight and has a nice slip. It was also very hydrating and softened even my coarsest curls.”

It’s been a while since we’ve been really impressed with a dry shampoo, but Olaplex knocked our socks off with this one. Made with the brand’s famous patented bond-building technology, the No. 4D Clean Volume Detox Dry Shampoo absorbs oils and boosts volume without a visible powdery residue and that overly gritty or coated feeling — closely mimicking the effects of a fresh wash. According to Olapex, it’s been clinically proven not to clog follicles — a bonus for anyone who feels like dry shampoo causes their scalp to break out. “The smell is lovely and not overpowering, goes on dry with no white powder marks, and the hair feels great afterwards,” confirms guest judge hair colorist and stylist Reece Walker.

Thanks to peppermint oil, the trichologist-developed serum offers an instant cooling effect to soothe dry, flaky, itchy scalps. The benefits don’t stop there — the daily treatment helps to support a healthy and balanced microbiome with amino acids and other botanicals in order to help prevent irritation and scalp conditions like dandruff in the long term. You can use it on dry scalps whenever you need a little relief or after shampooing. The brand says the serum should fully absorb into your scalp with a quick massage, so you don’t have to worry about your roots looking oily.

Sure, this helmet gives off astronaut vibes, but if hair growth is a concern, it’s an accessory that may be worth adding to your ensemble. According to CurrentBody, the device’s LED lights help stimulate the flow of oxygen and nutrients to the hair follicles, which therefore influences it to move into the growth phase. To see results, the brand recommends 16 weeks of use, for at least 10 minutes a day. Besides the promise of thicker, fuller hair, the coolest thing about this helmet is that it's made with a Bluetooth speaker, so you can listen to music or watch TV while you treat your scalp.

Normally, straightening wet hair with a flat iron is a major hairstyling no-go, but the Dyson Airstrait isn’t your average hair tool. In fact, it doesn’t even use hot plates to get the job done. Instead, the flat iron/hair-dryer hybrid relies on high-pressure airflow to simultaneously dry and straighten hair while reducing damage. With three pre-set temperatures, it can also be used on dry hair to quickly refresh your look without putting your strands under more stress. The tool enters auto-standby after five minutes of inactivity when the arms are left open and three minutes if the arms are locked — an appealing feature for anyone who’s always questioning whether or not they left their straighter on.