Utilizing the appropriate hair products is key to maintaining gorgeous locks; however, serums and oils may be unfamiliar terms for some.
Serums protect and shine, while oils nourish deeply to strengthen and support scalp health. Depending on your hair type and needs, one or both may be necessary.
Frizz Control Serum
An anti-frizz serum is your ideal solution if your locks tend to frizz easily. Its lightweight formula seals moisture into each hair strand, making it easier for you to tame frizz and flyaways throughout the day, and increases shine, leaving locks looking glossy and polished.
Serums formulated with nourishing oil blends like argan and jojoba offer deep hydration to revive damaged cuticles and repair damage to hair shafts, while helping restore the moisture balance, increasing elasticity, and strengthening overall.
Smoothing ingredients such as silicone enhance your natural shine for a lasting and radiant appearance, without damaging colored locks. They’re color-safe to prevent fading or stripping and suitable for colored locks alike. To use an anti-frizz serum effectively, start with clean and damp hair, pour a dime-sized amount into your palm and rub hands together to warm and distribute evenly before applying serum strand by strand focusing on mid-lengths and ends while avoiding roots as this could create an oily look.
Heat Protectant Serum
Heat protectant products are essential for anyone who regularly styles their hair with hot tools like flat irons or curling wands, such as flat irons and curling wands. These products form a barrier between your locks and these styling tools to seal in moisture, prevent frizzing and create glossy locks for an enviable glossy finish.
Heat protectant products with moisturising ingredients are designed to restore and replenish your strands with much-needed hydration, while silicone coating action detangles and makes the hair appear glossier and shinier.
Heat protectants come in different varieties to suit various hair textures, so choose wisely when selecting yours. For those with straight locks, Herstyler Marula Oil Serum combines argan oil and shea butter for smoothing effects while those with curly or wavy locks should try Obliphica Professional Seaberry Medium to Coarse Serum which contains natural oils to strengthen and moisturize strands while reducing frizz and static.
Dry Scalp Serum
Hair serums should be an integral part of your daily routine for both your strands and scalp. Just a few drops of these lightweight, fast-absorbing formulas can help smooth and tame frizz while adding shine or smoothing frizzy areas in no time at all! Plus they hydrate the scalp to support microbiome health for reduced flaking or dryness!
For those suffering from a particularly dry scalp, formulas with hero humectants like hyaluronic acid and panthenol may help attract moisture to the skin barrier to soothe inflammation and irritation. Other helpful ingredients to look out for include soothing shea butter and anti-dandruff tea tree oil as well as cooling aloe vera and scalp-soothing tsubaki seed oil (found in products like Crown Affair Calming Scalp Serum).
This soothing scalp treatment also contains niacinamide to balance your microbiome and prevent itchiness and flaking. Color safe and free from sulfates, parabens, phthalates and synthetic fragrances.
Super Shine + Strength Oil
Hair oil provides your strands with high-shine shine and pillow-level softness that lasts, and protects against heat damage. Furthermore, it helps tame frizz and flyaways without leaving an oily look behind. Allure’s Senior Director of Audience Development Lexi Herrick recommends Ouai Gisou Honey Infused Hair Oil which features shea and moringa oils for softness as well as argan, castor and olive oils to smooth and protect cuticles against breakage.
If you use hot tools regularly, add K18’s Molecular Repair Hair Oil as a heat protectant to your routine. It helps reverse structural damage caused by styling tools and salon treatments while protecting against further harm through its blend of sunflower and avocado oils – plus it’s lightweight enough for all hair types (though avoid applying near roots as that can contribute to greasiness!).