We hope you love our recommendations! Some may have been sent as samples, but all were independently selected by our editors. Just FYI, BuzzFeed and its publishing partners may collect a share of sales and/or other compensation from the links on this page.
1. Hair Proud Glass Hair gives your 'do a serious sheen after spraying it on and then blow-drying. I just tried this out myself and was able to get my naturally curly roots super smooth with a round brush blow dryer like I've never been able to get them before.
2. SexyHair Healthy Gloss N' Glow Lightweight Acidic Conditioning Rinse is made to increase shine up to 23x and is only an eight-second commitment in the shower. Which really is too short of a time to even stand there and ponder anything like you normally do with your hair masks.
This is something I've also been using the past couple of times I've washed my hair. I really appreciate that there are measurements marked on the side of the bottle to help you figure out just the right amount to use. (I personally use two of the doses because I have long, thick hair.)
Get it from Amazon for $24.95.
3. BondiBoost Sonic Hair Blow Dryer gives you a verrrrrrry quiet blow-dry session without sacrificing speed so you can even have a convo, or listen to a podcast while you do the deed. (Am I the only person who wishes they could catch up on Books That Kill when I blow-dry my hair?)
I recently got a blowout with one of these (BTW, I have a MANE of naturally curly, thick hair) and I was shocked by how efficient *and* quiet this was for a straightened blowout!
It comes with a diffuser and concentrator, and works on straight, wavy, curly, and coily hair textures.
Promising review: "My arms usually get sooo sore/tired when I blow dry my hair but this one is so light! It was super easy to use and I love the attachments that it comes with. I also love how sleek the design is and that it’s not super bulky." —heyshaynamae6
Get it from Sephora for $199.
4. BondiBoost Prep and Protect Hair Primer goes on feeling weightless (but somehow you can still tell *where* you've applied it). And it works well with other heat protectants and styling products without making your hair feel sticky or stiff — at least until you've sprayed it down with freezing hairspray if you wanna.
I'm about halfway through a (rather large) tube of this stuff and am in love with it. I think it's my new go-to!
Promising review: "Such a great pre styling cream! Helps make my hair smoother as well!" —ryebread123
Get it from Sephora for $25.
5. Bellissima Italia Diffon Supreme Diffuser & Curly Hair Dryer is, perhaps, the largest at-home diffuser I've seen in case you love your curly texture but find the drying process very annoying. Sometimes you don't have hours to let it air dry!
6. Or if you'd prefer a cheaper hair-styling leap, this blow-dryer diffuser attachment transforms your typical dryer into something that'll give you the most gorgeous curls — all thanks to drying vents and a 360-degree airflow to evenly diffuse curls. Maybe it'll turn around your opinion on blow drying! Just maybe.
Promising review: "I've been using this for a few months now with my travel sized Conair dryer, and it works so well! I have wavy 2a—2b hair, and this works much better than the diffuser the dryer came with. I like using this when I want my waves to set coiled up and last longer. It has a really big basket compared to the one my Conair came with, so if you have quite a bit of hair or have difficulty with your hair flying out of your diffuser then this will likely work wonderfully for you. I think it is well worth the price." —Delaney O.
"I absolutely love this diffuser. I had been using a hooded hair dryer on wash days for years and was getting frustrated with the 45+ minute dry times along with 'triangle hair' and lack of volume due to the dryer blowing down on my hair. Not only do I get wonderful volume with this diffuser, but I’ve more than cut my dry time in half with only needing about 20 minutes. Mind you, I have very thick 3b—3c curls that are a couple inches past my shoulders. Works wonderfully." —SarahG
"Great diffuser! I’m happy with the definition. Took me two weeks to make a decision on the best one for my 4b—4c curly hair. This was my first time using one. The diffuser fit my dryer perfectly." —KJ
Get it from Amazon for $19.87.
7. Dyson Airwrap multistyler is more or less the stuff of legend at this point. If you've been on the internet since the Airwrap 2018 release, you've likely seen it demonstrated over and over again. But for great reason! It really is amazing what this multitool can do.
You can read my in-depth review of the Dyson Airwrap's first model for all sorts of deets. Since the 2018 release, the company has improved upon the original and has longer tool attachments to make drying and styling even easier. TL;DR: Once you've practiced a few times, it's easy to use all the attachments and it leaves your hair looking shinier and feeling less dry than heat drying and then using flat irons or curling irons to achieve your desired look. Note that you do want to rough dry your hair a bit before going in with the attachments. It's, understandably, a huge financial undertaking but if you have the coin and put a LOT of time into heat styling your hair like I do, it can be worth it to you.
Get it from Sephora for $599.
8. And a more recent release: Dyson Airstrait dries *and* straightens your hair simultaneously WITHOUT hot plates like a regular straightener. As you can guess (if you're at all familiar with the Dyson brand's tech), it uses airflow to straighten without drying out. So if you've been blow drying and *then* flat ironing your hair, this'll sound like a total dream.
My colleague Heather Braga has and loves it:
"I've had the pleasure of testing out the Dyson Airstrait and, OMG, what an incredible piece of technology. Yes, I called this 'tech' instead of a beauty tool. While it is both of these things, I was amazed by the gadget-ness of it right off the bat. I literally had to select on an LCD screen what language MY STRAIGHTENER should be set to...wild. Anyways! The Airstrait has the ability to straighten both wet or dry hair — and does without the use of damaging hot plates. It uses directional airflow to smooth and straighten hair and, honestly, it is a pretty magical experience. The biggest learning curve for me was realizing the copper pieces (where the fan lives) need to face outward so you're not blowing your hair all over the place. The fan increases when you clamp the Airstrait around your hair (HOW DOES IT KNOW!?) and pauses entirely when you set it down (seen in the GIF to the left). Additionally, I have a toddler and am very limited on time. With this gadget, I was able to take my hair from directly-from-the-shower wet to natural-looking straight hair in only 10 minutes! This is going to be such a game-changer for my life!!! It's definitely worth the splurge. Add this to your holiday wish list or, you know, get it now."
Get it from Sephora for $499.
9. Redken Quick Blowout Heat Protection Spray is a total lifesaver when your normal drying routine doesn't seem to be getting your hair smooth and shiny like it used to.
Promising review: "This stuff is magic in a bottle. I split dye my hair and was having some issues with fading due to heat damage. The price tag scared me I’m not going to lie. But it’s worth it! It was super vibrant, no signs of fade like the last few hair dyes. And it made me hair feel so nice. It was a total life saver." —Martina Hayes
Get it from Amazon for $27 (suphate- and paraben-free).
10. COLAB Overnight Renew Dry Shampoo blasts your greasy roots with a formula that works for you while you sleep. It's a heavier duty spray than regular dry shampoo but soaks in overnight for an easier morning routine that means you might even get to skip a wash and dry!
I have this dry shampoo and it really does work so much harder than regular dry shampoo formulas. When you spray it on, it's more likely to look stark white (don't freak out about it like I did!), but you simply rub it in like you would a normal dry shampoo before you hit the hay. Waking up with de-greased roots definitely gives me a head start on trying to pull myself together these days when, tbh, I'm only (regular) washing my hair once a week. Because this stuff is so potent though, you should really only use it before bedtime. If you're curious about their regular dry shampoos, they're great!
Get it from Walmart for $10.37+ (available in two scents).
11. Color Wow Dream Coat Supernatural Spray works to stave off frizz and give you a glass-like sheen thanks to its anti-humidity powers. Even in the nastiest of weather. AND it's formulated for its effects to last through several washes. (Something to which I can attest.)
Promising review (for pic on the left): "LOVE this product sooooo much! I’m obsessed! I am of mixed race and have very curly frizzy hair naturally. Even with relaxer my hair has always had dry looking frizzy ends. I have tried so many different products but nothing else compares. Best by far!" —Amazon Customer
Promising review (for pic on the right): "I NEEDED to try this product after all the positive hype. It certainly did live up to my expectations. I went from balayage to a medium brown color with my hair. The bottom part of my hair was still very porous from the bleaching. After blow drying my hair where the blonde was it was never smooth. Not anymore! My hair is so smooth and healthy looking. I absolutely love this product and I highly recommend it. It has completely transformed my hair." —Lori
Get it from Amazon for $28 (sulfate-, gluten-, alcohol-, and paraben-free).
12. Verb Ghost Oil makes quick work of taming frizz and flyaways. This is THE BEST hair oil if you have coarse, thick hair like me. Reviewers with hair textures up to 4c rave about it! It'll make your hair look sleeker *and* feel softer — especially after the roughest blow-dry session of your life.
I got turned onto this stuff after some colleagues put it in stories and after trying just about every hair oil out there, I can assure that this is the good stuff. It's great for finishing off your look after heat styling (like with a curling iron or straightener) or helping your hair calm down post-blow-drying. I always keep a bottle in my medicine cabinet!
Get it from Amazon for $20 (sulfate-, gluten-, and paraben-free).
13. Olaplex Hair Perfector No 3 transforms damaged hair for a touchable, visible difference when you leave it on for at least 10 minutes because it helps relink broken bonds. There's a reason this stuff sounds familiar.
BTW, it's vegan, paraben-free, and sulfate-free. Use this *before* shampoo and conditioner.
Promising review: "Wow. I wish I would have taken a 'before' picture. I had severely brittle, bleached hair and terrible split ends. After using this once (kept in hair for about four hours), my hair was noticeably softer, less straw-like at the tips, and my split ends have disappeared. It seems like the Olaplex bonded them together. I heard that every time you use this, your hair just keeps getting better and healthier, and I'm looking forward to it. I plan to use once a week." —ecyphers
Get it from Amazon for $30 (cruelty-free).
Read our full review of Olaplex No. 3 for all the deets!
14. And Olaplex No.7 Bonding Oil has more than 36,000 5-star reviews and some very glam reviewer pics to reinforce that praise. This weightless styling oil not only adds shine and pumps up your color's vibrancy — it also adds heat protection for up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Promising review: "This is one of my holy grail products for a blowout. My hair is going on week two and still has shine and bounce." —Brianawit1N
Get it from Amazon for $30 (cruelty-free).
15. Elizavecca Collagen Coating Hair Protein Treatment goes on like a hair mask, except it'll give you even more dramatic results thanks to Ceramide 3 and collagen. Any time I use it, my hair looks and feels so much healthier, and is more easily styled. If you're looking for an Olaplex budget-friendly comp, here it is.
Promising review: "As soon as I put it on my hair it was amazing! It practically detangles itself. Will buy again. ♡" —bibi
Get it from Amazon for $8.41.
Read our review of Elizavecca CER-100 Collagen Coating Hair Protein Treatment to learn more about why one former BuzzFeeder calls it, "the miracle product I've been searching for."
16. On the flip side, K18 Leave-In Repair Hair Mask Treatment is a tried-and-true leave-in treatment ready to help rejuvenate bleached or chemically treated hair. This small but mighty bottle's patented peptide formula contains 50 uses. So you'll be good for awhile. BTW, it works for all hair types, and former Olaplex devotees (like my coworker below) have made the switch.
My colleague Melanie Aman swears by this stuff. Here's what she has to say:
"I bleach my dark brown-black Asian hair blonde every six to eight weeks, so I was immediately intrigued when I first heard some stylists at my salon raving about K18. And it turns out the rest of the world loves it too, because it was sold out at Sephora the first time I tried to buy it. I eventually snagged a mini bottle on Amazon and was gobsmacked at how much softer my hair was. Seriously. I spent the whole day touching my hair, and even my boyfriend agreed that my mane was noticeably silkier.
Olaplex was my go-to before I tried K18 and I still stand by it as a product, but I really love that K18 is a leave-in treatment rather than an in-shower mask. Having to let the Olaplex sit for 10 minutes felt like forever, especially when I wasn't taking an everything shower (you know, the ones where you exfoliate and shave). With K18, you let it sit in your hair for four minutes post shower to activate and then you can style your hair (or just let it air dry like I do).
I've found that my hair is softest the next day, so don't be discouraged if your hair looks or feels the same the day you use it. One last thing: it is pretty pricey but a little goes a long way. The 15 mL tube I bought has lasted ~five washes, and eventually K18 can become a maintenance product so you won't need to use it every time you wash your hair."
Get it from Amazon for $29.
17. A satin-lined Hairbrella keeps your hair looking perfect and your blow dry intact, no matter the forecast.
Hairbrella is a Black-owned small business established in 2016 that specializes in hats combining fashion and function to protect against all types of weather. FYI, this is included in Prime Try Before You Buy so you can test it out before committing if you’re a Prime member!
Promising review: "I never carry an umbrella cause they’re too bulky, so when I saw the Hairbrella I was so excited. It keeps my hair dry and my curls nicely quaffed, rather than me looking like I stuck my fingers I a light socket. I’m telling everyone I know about it, it’s an amazing alternative to those wide-brimmed hats or a briefcase LOL! Truly it’s never going Read more about review stating Love it!!to leave my side from now on! I definitely recommend it." —Gina C.
Get it from Amazon for $44+ or Hairbrella for $29.99+ (available in two sizes and 12 colors).
18. Kenra Platinum Blow-Dry Spray seriously cuts down on your heat-styling time — like 50%! It also tames frizz and keeps your hair protected during said heat-styling. Oh, and it's all over TikTok.
Psst! The brand recommends using this spray on medium to coarse hair types. And for fine to medium hair, try the Kenra Platinum Blow-Dry Mist!
Promising review: "I LOVE the smell of this! Bought it due to frizzing from coloring my hair, but really didn't believe that it shortened drying time. I mean, how can something putting moisture on you hair shorten the drying time, right? I was shocked. I don't know if it cut it down by 50%, but I did notice blow-drying my hair took quite a bit less time. I am sold on this stuff. Makes my hair feel like silk, but not greasy (I was worried about it making my hair greasy) and it takes only a few sprays to get the results. I hold it about 15" from my head and spray the top, both sides, and the back once, then rub it in with my hands. Perfect!" —Janice C. Henderson
Get it from Amazon for $16 (available in three sizes and packs of two; cruelty-free).
19. Drybar Single Shot Blow-Dryer Brush helps you cut down on styling time *and* upper arm soreness so you don't have to finagle both a round brush and hair dryer. This is *quite* the game-changer.
Works well for straight, coily, curly, and wavy hair.
Promising review: "This review is written with the help of my girlfriend. I have naturally curly hair as you can see in the picture. I like to straighten it very often because it is more manageble. I usually use a round brush and a blow dryer. This blow-dry brush is nice because it is just one tool so it takes less time than when I use a round hairbrush and blow dryer combo. It delivers the same results, turning my wild hair into smooth, shiny straight hair. At the end I roll the tool inwards a couple of times in order to get a nice curl on the ends.The only complaint I have is the size of it, it is very large so it can get a bit heavy when you use it. Be aware of that if you don’t want to lift something that big to do your hair." —J & M
Get it from Amazon for $108.50.
20. If you're on the prowl for a cheaper option, Revlon hot air brush dries and styles your hair for a lot less effort than other techniques. Just rough dry a bit and then use the dryer brush to give yourself a blowout that'll make it look like you went to a dry bar.
Promising review: "First time review and it’s because I’m so happy with this dryer/styler! My hair is about shoulder length, very fine with a slight curl, and now it has some gray to it. It’s also frizzy, no matter what I use. I’m 61 years old so trust me, I’ve used a lot of products! Never have I been able to get my hair to look like it did after leaving the salon, EXCEPT after using this. I watched some YouTube videos first for some pointers, and then I gave it a try. It’s easy to use, even though it’s bigger than I thought it would be. My hair came out beautiful! Smooth, soft, no frizz and lots of volume. Hope this review helps you anyone out there that have similar hair!" —Anon anon
Get it from Amazon for $48.74+ (available in four styles and a variety of colors).
21. A Mane Club One Hit Wonder 10-in-1 Leave-In Spray spritzes on damp hair and takes care of basically every styling need for blowouts except finishing hairspray. It'll give you a super smooth blowout without filling up your medicine cabinet with products.
I have a very thick head of naturally curly hair and have put it through just about everything, including all kinds of hot tools, at-home dye kits, the gamut of shampoo and conditioner types, basically every dry shampoo and hair oil in existence, and just about anything else to try for a story for you dear readers. Lots of products have either straight-up failed, been meh enough for me to not recommend, or fantastic but so costly that I feel guilty recommending them. Basically, a lot of stuff ends up in the trash or pawned off on my (grateful) friends when it isn't a fit for me. But THIS STUFF. This stuff has become my go-to for spraying on my wet hair and then blow drying. Normally I'd apply a heat protector and an oil treatment or leave-in conditioner before blow-drying. But this 10-in-1 treatment takes the cake! Most of the time when I use it, I don't even need to finish off my hair with hair oil (I've been doing that as an essential hair step for years now). It's really that good! Here, I have freshly blow-dried hair with just this post-shower using this Amika blow-dryer brush. This brush is fantastic on its own but this spray-on treatment has more or less doubled this brush's effectiveness. My hair comes out feeling softer, looking shinier and healthier, and stays looking good for days — which is especially great news because I wash my hair about every four days. 'Tis time for me to unload a bunch of hair products I now no longer need to my friends.
Get it from Amazon for $9.95 (cruelty-free, vegan).
22. Redken One United All-In-One Leave-in Conditioner protects hair in heat styling and delivers sleek, moisturized results — which is especially great if you're looking for a product that can pull off multiple uses without weighing down your hair.
Promising review: "I started out looking for a heat protection for my frizzy damaged hair. Read many of the over good reviews and came to realize this product is more then a protectant. Leave in conditioner too! One less step in the shower and I love the smell. My hair blows out beautifully and holds curl when I want curls without the flyaway frizz I had before. Truly amazing in my eyes. I immediately let my best girlfriends in on the great find! Will definitely be buying again." —SoozeeQ
Get it from Amazon for $13+ (available in three sizes; sulfate- and paraben-free).
23. HerStyler Hair Repair Serum with hydrating argan oil, aloe vera, and vitamin E helps you tame flyaways and get on with the rest of your life. Or at least your day.
Promising review: "Tried this product after reading an article on Facebook about how to deal with naturally curly hair. I put it in my hair when it's wet. Let it air dry and it makes it amazingly curly. It also smells good. I get compliments regularly about how I smell good. And it's this serum. This took my hair from being frizzy and unmanageable to perfectly curly and EASY! Wish I would have found it sooner." —J. Miller
Get it from Amazon for $9.99.
24. A pomade hair wax stick keeps any stray hairs where you want 'em if you're going for a sleek look in between hair washes. It really is the perfect hack!
Promising review: "I saw this on YouTube and immediately wanted to try it. I have curly hair which I love but sometime I just want to put it in a pony tail and go on with my day. This is a time saver for all those little hairs that tend to stick up or don’t want to stay in place. I’m not a fan of hair spray and this even smells nice. I believe it’s a lite coconut smell. Overall satisfied and you don’t need to use much. I took it with me on vacation and it saved me time in the evening from having to deal with bad hair days." —Blanca Perez
Get it from Amazon for $7.58.
25. Plus, BestLan Hair Finishing Stick looks just like a mascara wand, but its shaping cream will tame your flyaways on those days when air drying and throwing your hair up in a bun or ponytail is all you can muster.
Promising review: "I’m in love with this product! I have a super curly hair that loves to frizz and now I can let it air dry, put it in a bun With no more flyaways thank God! It really isn’t crunchy at all and surprisingly it’s not greasy at all which is perfect for me with the curly hair! You won’t be sad you bought this!" —Karissa Chavez
Get it from Amazon for $5.59.
Reviews have been edited for length and/or clarity.