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When it comes to overall hair care, leave-in conditioner sprays are largely considered the Swiss Army Knife of products, supplying hair with moisture, definition, and overall softer, shinier strands with mist-and-go ease.
The Best Leave-In Conditioners
- For Damaged Hair: K18 Leave-In Molecular Repair Hair Mask, $75
- For Fine Hair: Sachajuan Leave In Conditioner, $36
- For Detangling: Ouai Leave-in Conditioner, $30
- For Dry Hair: Aveda Nutriplenish Leave-in Conditioner, $41
- For Curly Hair: Pattern Leave In Conditioner, $25
- For Coily Hair: Design Essentials Chebe Anti-Breakage Leave In, $14
- For Multitasking: Mizani 25 Miracle Milk Heat Protectant Leave-In, $25
- For Frizz: Lolavie Perfecting Leave-In Conditioner, $29
- For Pre-Styling: Bumble and bumble Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil Primer, $32
- For Blonde Hair: Kérastase Blond Absolu Heat Protecting Leave-In, $45
“Regardless of your hair type, hydration is important for the health of your hair,” explains celebrity hairstylist Jen Atkin of a leave-in conditioner’s universal appeal for hair of all shapes, sizes, and textures. Plus, she adds, “It’s a perfect product to prep hair before heat styling, regardless of the type of styling tool.” When choosing your hero formula, the goal should be lightweight moisture, “so it won’t weigh down fine hair, which is especially important for anyone with fine, curly or coily hair types, but is still hydrating enough to be effective on thick hair,” the Ouai founder instructs.
In terms of best practices for applying a leave-in conditioner spray, Atkin recommends starting a few inches down from your roots and combing through your hair with a wide tooth comb, root to tip, when the hair is wet. “A wide tooth comb will aid in preventing breakage and help disperse product starting at the root, without having to apply too much product directly there.” From Ouai’s detangling formula to Swedish brand Sachajuan’s intensive repair elixir, shop the best leave-in conditioner sprays and treatments below.
Ouai Leave-In Conditioner
Ouai’s leave-in conditioner is laced with hair-happy ingredients, such as hydrating tamarind seed extract, a strengthening amino acid blend, and hydrolyzed proteins to keep hair hydrated and tangle-free. Not to mention, the formula is recommended by Miller, particularly for thick hair types.
Aveda Nutriplenish Leave-In Conditioner
Pro hairstylist Karen Miller highlights this Aveda formula for those with dry hair. Infused with botanical extracts and oils, the leave-in conditioner is designed to replenish moisture on wet or dry hair. There’s even a naturally-derived UV filter to protect against sun rays, as well as heat up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Pattern Leave-In Conditioner
Celebrity hairstylist Jeremy Tardo counts Pattern’s leave-in as a coily and curly hair salve as it “helps define curls, smooth frizz, and moisturize hair without making curls heavy.” The formula uses a blend of jojoba oil, honey, and biotin to promote soft-touch hydration.
Sachajuan Leave-In Conditioner
Kaia Gerber’s chosen treatment, Sachajuan’s leave-in conditioner, is a lightweight, oil-free wonder perfect for fine hair. Powered by the brand’s Ocean Silk Technology, this promises moisture, detangling, and luster without weighing hair down.
K18 Leave-In Molecular Repair Hair Mask
Damaged tresses don’t stand a chance against K18’s mask. “[This] restores strength and softness to damaged hair in minutes,” says Tardo of the buzzy formula known to combat signs of damage from chemicals, heat, color, and bleach by reviving hair’s broken bonds. Bond repair is, after all, the 2023 way to achieve stronger, healthier hair.
Lolavie Perfecting Leave-In Conditioner
Partial to Jennifer Aniston’s signature smooth yet undone mane? Consider incorporating this leave-in conditioner from the star’s hair-care line, Lolavie. Recommended by Miller to combat frizz, this formula utilizes a superfruit complex, the Rose of Jericho, bamboo extract, and chia seeds to hydrate, repair, and style.
Augustinus Bader The Leave-In Hair Treatment
Augustinus Bader’s treatment is a multitasking cream crafted to improve strength, shine, smoothness, and thickness. Alongside the brand’s patented TFC8 complex, superfoods and antioxidants (Neem extract, Shikakai extract, and Rambutan extract), biotin, argan, and castor oil come together to do just that.
Color Wow Dream Cocktail Coconut-Infused Hydrating Leave-In Treatment
Quench thirsty strands with Color Wow’s Dream cocktail. “This leave-in conditioner is super hydrating [and] results are noticeable immediately,” Tardo says. “Important to note, it’s heat activated, so, it will need to be blow-dried into the hair for maximum benefit.” Like its complementing Supercoat Spray, this promises a silky soft blowout.
Amika Vault Color-Lock Leave-In Conditioner
Per Tardo, those with color-treated hair should turn to Amika’s formula. “[An] easy spray in detangler that adds moisture and protects your hair color with UV filters,” this pairs antioxidants, amino acids, and a heat-activated complex to protect against color fading, while rejuvenating elasticity and shine.
Sexy Hair Healthy Sexy Soy Tri-Wheat Leave-In Conditioner
Tardo compares the Sexy Hair Healthy Sexy Soy Tri-Wheat Leave-In Conditioner to “a hair trim in a bottle.” Infused with mimosa flower extract, this “prevents breakage and split ends, protects from heat damage, adds smoothness, and controls frizz.”
Andrew Fitzsimons AF1 Restructuring 10-in-1 Leave-In Conditioner
The Andrew Fitzsimons leave-in conditioner is a reparative cream worthy of any hair-care arsenal. Fitzsimons, the celebrity hairstylist to the likes of the Kardashian sisters, Jennifer Lopez, and Megan Fox, formulated this elixir with passion fruit oil, castor oil, and bonding technology to reduce breakage and replenish dry, damaged hair.
Kérastase Blond Absolu Heat Protecting Leave-In Treatment for Blonde Hair
Tending to blonde hair? Look no further than this treatment by Kérastase. Incorporating hyaluronic acid and edelweiss flower, this leave-in protects against future heat damage, environmental stressors, and breakage to all blonde hues.
Briogeo Farewell Frizz Rosarco Milk Leave-In Conditioner
Designed to work on wet and dry hair, Briogeo’s milky leave-in conditioning spray features a robust blend of rosehip, argan, and coconut oils that smooth, detangle, and protect against humidity.
Bumble and bumble Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil Heat & UV Protective Primer
Think of Bumble and bumble’s treatment as a sort of little black dress for your hair-care lineup, as it effectively primes hair for your styling regimen. Infused with a six-oil blend and UV filters, the formula promises to promote soft, strong, smooth tresses.
Crown Affair The Leave-In Conditioner Cream for Hydrated Hair
As effective as it is chic, Crown Affair’s tsubaki and meadowfoam seed oil-enriched leave-in conditioner provides weightless hydration to fine, dry, and damaged hair types. Designed to be layered with other hair-care products, this can be used daily to tame flyaways and soften brittle strands.
Adwoa Beauty Melonberry Hair Milk Leave-In Conditioner
A proprietary blend of Kalahari melon, red raspberry, and strawberry seed oils power Adwoa Beauty’s leave-in conditioner. Formulated with fine hair types in mind, this is designed to soften, detangle, and reduce frizz without weighing hair down.
Mizani 25 Miracle Milk Heat Protectant Leave-In Conditioner
A true multitasking formula, Mizani’s Miracle Milk targets 25 different concerns—from heat damage to unruly frizz. Just spritz on its lightweight blend to experience its protective and reparative properties powered by coconut and fennel seed oil.
Innersense Sweet Spirit Leave-In Conditioner
Innersense’s leave-in conditioner is rich in botanical oils, herb and plant extracts, flower essences, and even bee-friendly honey to give hair a touch of weightless moisture. Because it’s so lightweight, it excellently primes hair for whatever style lies ahead.
Design Essentials Chebe Anti-Breakage Moisturizing Leave-In Conditioner
This recently-launched leave-in conditioner by Design Essentials is a moisture surge for dry, coily hair types. Harnessing the power of the strengthening properties of chebe powder, shea butter, and African extract, this rich cream looks to quickly replenish moisture levels, improve hair health, and reduce damage from detangling.
Philip Kingsley Daily Damage Defence Spray
To combat the damage that can come from daily styling with a hot tool, look no further than Philip Kingsley’s protective formula which features strand-strengthening almond extract, moisture-retaining glycerin, and hydrolyzed elastin, which clings to hair’s surface to improve body and add shine.
Act+Acre Cold Processed Leave-In Conditioner
Pairing a snow mushroom blend, meadowfoam seed oil, and a squalane blend, Act+Acre's leave-in conditioner should improve moisture levels and reduce frizz across a range of hair and scalp types. What’s more, it also protects against heat damage up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Rahua Hydration Detangler UV Barrier
Rahua’s rich leave-in treatment not only supercharges the hair with morete, rahua, and sacha inchi oils, but also detangles and protects strands against UV damage and other environmental aggressors.
R+Co Sun Catcher Power C Boosting Leave-in Conditioner
A beach hair favorite of celebrity hairstylist Jillian Halouska, R+Co’s Sun Catcher leave-in treatment offers just the right amount of hold. On top of that, the antioxidant-packed powers of Vitamin C protect hair from the elements while hyaluronic acid locks in moisture and vegetable collagen helps restore hair health.
