The Best Hair Products from the 2021 Beauty Crush Awards
Each product we feature has been independently selected and reviewed by our editorial team. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission.
No two heads of hair are the same, so we understand the importance of finding products that treat your specific needs with the utmost care. Whether you're trying to control frizz, embrace your natural hair texture, or repair your over-bleached hair, we hand-picked the best hair care and hair styling products that will make every day an I-woke-up-like-this damn good hair day.
Best Shampoo & Conditioner
Best Dry Shampoo
OGX Purifying Charcoal + Detox Dry Shampoo
Best Drugstore Dry Shampoo
"Though it took some time to work the product/powder residue into my roots, once I did, my hair looked much less damp, oily, and weighed down," said one tester. "The charcoal definitely helps sop up oil—if you have very oily hair as I do, this is one of the best dry shampoos out there."
Playa Pure Dry Shampoo
Best Luxe Dry ShampooÂ
Greasy hair won't stand a chance against this dry shampoo, which is formulated with wild rose to absorb oil, sunflower extract to protect your scalp from dryness, and star anise, an antiseptic and antimicrobial, to support the hair's natural balance. "It absorbs oil, gives me lift at the crown, and doesn't cause buildup," one tester said. As a bonus, the brand also has some great initiatives worth supporting, like donating profits to a fund that supports a network of Black women leaders and a project that works to end the incarceration of children and young adults.
Best Scalp Treatment & Scrub
Best Curl Reactivator
Pantene Curl Affair Curl (Re)shaping Cream
Best Drugstore Curl Reactivator
Between washes, curls sometimes need a little boost to keep their shape and shine. This curl reshaping cream adds moisture back to curls with ingredients like Argan oil, omega-9, and pro-vitamin B5. It gives you shiny and defined curls without making you start your routine all over again. Simply scrunch or twist the cream through dry or damp hair and diffuse or air-dry for shiny, refreshed curls.
Bumble & Bumble Curl Reactivator Spray
Best Luxe Curl Reactivator
This spray is formulated with a blend of avocado, coconut, and jojoba seed oils to refresh curls with lightweight moisture, taking them from limp and lifeless to bouncy and defined. "I'm amazed at how easy this product is to use and how much of a difference it makes on my second and third-day waves," one tester said. "I spray it all over my hair in sections, scrunch it with a microfiber towel, and my waves look as good as day one."
Best Texturizing Spray & Shine Spray
Best Hairspray
Eva NYC Shapeshifter Texturizing Hairspray
Best Drugstore Hairspray
Doubling as a texturizer, this hairspray is a great choice for anyone with straight hair who's looking for volume and all-day hold at the same time. It's formulated with Argan oil and plant protein to strengthen and hydrate your strands, so you don't have to compromise hair health to get the full-body, textured look. "This spray is super lightweight on my hair," one tester said. "It didn't make my hair feel crunchy—I love that I can run my fingers through my hair without it feeling sticky or tangly." The hairspray also passed the longevity test, as one straight-haired tester noted that her blowout lasted overnight.
Alterna My Hair My Canvas City Slay Shielding Hairspray
Best Luxe Hairspray
Give your hair long-lasting hold that you can feel good about with this hairspray from a clean, vegan, and sustainable product line. It's infused with white charcoal that absorbs excess oil and protects hair from toxins and irritants. We found that it protected hair from humidity, too—weather can't mess with our shine.
Best Volumizer & Anti-Frizz Product
Best Hair Dye
Schwarzkopf Keratin Color Intensive Caring Color
Best Permanent Hair Dye
If you're looking to dye your hair at home but don't want to damage it, this product is the way to go. The box dye comes with a pre-color serum that conditions the hair to ensure an even color distribution, a color creme with keratin-complex which works to repair brittle hair, and a post-color conditioner that coats the hair's surface. Studies prove that keratin has a significant impact on strengthening and smoothing hair, so it's a great ingredient to have in your hair coloring products.
Garnier Nutrisse Color Reviver
Best Temporary Hair Dye
Whether you're going for a temporary look or want to boost your existing shade, this product is a great choice. Apply the five-minute mask—which comes in six different shades—onto damp hair after shampooing and rinse it out for vibrant and ultra-conditioned hair. The product is formulated with avocado oil to restore softness, shine, and smoothness to damaged and dry hair. Studies show that the minerals in avocado oil can help seal cuticle cells, helping to prevent hair from breaking.
L'Oréal Paris Magic Erase Root Rescue 10 Minute Root Hair Coloring Kit
Best Root Touch-Up
This kit is one of the easiest ways to maintain hair color, whether you're in between salon visits or your color is DIY,. The applicator brush distributes product evenly on roots without creating a mess and locks in pigment in just 10 minutes. The product is low in ammonia to prevent excess damage to the hair cuticle and supplemented with conditioning ingredients, like glycerin, to moisturize the hair and keep it from drying out after coloring.
Best Hair Treatment & Hair Mask
Best Heat Protectant
It's A 10 Miracle Blow Dry H20 Shield
Best Drugstore Heat Protectant
Shield your hair from heat with nourishing ingredients like sunflower seed, green tea, and aloe vera extracts, which coat strands and lock in moisture and shine. "It reduced the blowout time and my hair felt silky and smooth after just one use," one tester said, reporting that after a few hours her hair was still frizz-free.Â
Oribe Invisible Defense Universal Protection Spray
Best Luxe Heat Protectant
This protection spray keeps hair safe from thermal damage up to 450°F and shields it from harmful UV rays and pollution. The product is packed with nourishing ingredients, like rosemary leaf extract to protect hair from free radical damage, glycerin to hydrate and soften hair, a vitamin B blend to condition and strengthen it against breakage, and caffeine to rejuvenate hair follicles and energize the scalp.
Best Styling Tool
Best Hair Oil
Herbal Essences bio:renew Argan Oil & Aloe Hair Oil Mist
Best Drugstore Hair Oil
Argan oil and sustainably sourced aloe come together to deliver rich hydration with a lightweight feel. Aloe vera hydrates the hair while strengthening strands with vitamins A, C, and E, and Argan oil locks in moisture and protects hair against damage caused by free radicals. Spray evenly on dry or damp hair for smooth hair and well-defined, frizz-free curls.
BREAD Beauty Supply Hair Oil
Best Luxe Hair Oil
Kakadu plum is the secret to this hair oil. The power ingredient supports moisturization and hydration in the hair by maintaining the level of collagen and elastin. "The oil is great for sealing in moisture before styling," one tester with naturally textured hair said. "It also made my ends feel soft and hydrated when applied to my dry hair." She added that her "hair feels soft and manageable even after taking down a protective style."
Best Leave-In
Kristin Ess Curl-Leave-In Conditioner
Best Drugstore Leave-In
Maintain your curl pattern and improve your hair's health with this creamy leave-in. With ultra-moisturizing coconut oil and sweet almond oil, this product is also safe for color- and keratin-treated hair. For best results, use on damp hair for super-shiny, hydrated, and frizz-free curls.
Joico Hydra Replenishing Leave-In Hydrator
Best Luxe Leave-In
With hydrating coconut water, nourishing sea kelp, reparative rosehip, and strengthening keratin make this ultra-moisturizing leave-in extremely effective. Testers loved how hydrated and soft their hair felt after using, and noted how lightweight the product was, too.
Dark & Lovely For Protective Styles Detangling Cream
Best Detangling Cream
This medium-weight cream is infused with aloe to hydrate hair, peppermint oil to stimulate hair follicles, and avocado oil to soften strands. One tester said the product made her hair much more workable and softer after taking down a two-week-old protective style. "When you wear protective styles you're not combing your hair for weeks, so you need to detangle and remove loose hair before you wash and this is the first product I've experienced that is made specifically for that," she said. After using this product, she added, "I could comb through my hair before applying shampoo or conditioner."
L'Oréal Paris Elvive 8 Second Wonder Water
Best Rinse-Out Treatment
In our opinion, any hair treatment that takes under a minute to work its magic is a star, and this product gets the job done in just eight seconds. The rinse-out treatment uses innovative lamellar water technology—which penetrates the hair cuticle and targets damaged areas—to smooth and repair broken strands and leave behind silky, shiny hair. "[This product] turns my lifeless hair into a shiny unicorn—after just one use," one tester said. "Not only did it make my strands bounce with shine, but also made my hair soft."
Hero Image Credits | Art Director: Jenna Brillhart, Illustrations/Animation: Sarah Maiden
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Click here to see all 187 winners of Hellogiggles' 2021 Beauty Crush Awards.