Heat protectants are the SPF of haircare: Professionals tell us that you absolutely need to use one every day, or, in this case, every time you use a hot tool, to avoid causing irreparable damage. As celebrity stylist and curly hair aficionado, Nai’vasha Johnson says, “a heat protectant serves as our hair’s health insurance insurance.” da Gama RM, França-Stefoni SA, Sá-Dias TC, Bedin V, Baby AR, Velasco MVR. Protective effect of conditioner agents on hair treated with oxidative hair dye. J Cosmet Dermatol. 2018;17(6):1090-1095. doi:10.1111/jocd.12484 Sometimes we still needed to apply an additional serum to our ends as they still looked a little dry after using the primer, but considering how well it worked otherwise, we’re more forgiving of this con. Iudina also suggests looking for formulas with protein, like spirulina protein, which “works great for frizz control and smoothness,” she says. We’re fans of the Kérastase Résistance Ciment Thermique Blow Dry Primer in this regard because its formula has proteins and amino acids galore that strengthened our hair and boosted elasticity. Oh JY, Park MA, Kim YC. Peppermint Oil Promotes Hair Growth without Toxic Signs. Toxicol Res. 2014;30(4):297-304. doi:10.5487/TR.2014.30.4.297

In a few words, (and for even fewer dollars) Verb created an affordable product that gave us everything we wanted in a great heat protectant: Just a single spritz made our strands feel softer, look fuller and bouncier, and prevented our ends from looking dried out and frazzled. Additionally, UV absorbers which boast similar benefits and work alongside vitamin E act as an iron curtain against heat damage, both man-made in our hot tools and nature’s UV rays. We also appreciate the inclusion of lavender and peppermint extracts that may help spur hair growth. We hope to see the fruits of that with continued use, but in the meantime, we’ll just be enjoying the calming herbal scent of a ritzy spa. What We Love: Our strands soaked up the nutrient-rich formula of proteins and ceramides to become shinier and stronger. What We Love: Damaged hair will thrive again—and this time, the antioxidant-rich ingredients in Olaplex’s patented bond-building system ensure it will be better protected from heat and environmental factors. Please note that Royal Mail currently classes perfumes, nail polishes, flammable liquids and aerosols as "hazardous materials" and will only accept a limited number of these per parcel.Jin M, Chen YL, He X, Hou Y, Chan Z, Zeng R. Amelioration of Androgenetic Alopecia by Algal Oligosaccharides Prepared by Deep-Sea Bacterium Biodegradation. Front Microbiol. 2020;11:567060. Published 2020 Sep 29. doi:10.3389/fmicb.2020.567060 What We Don’t Love: It leaves behind a light residue that lasts until you blow dry or brush out your hair Take, for example, its inclusion of ceramides, a lipid that helps hair retain moisture by acting as a laminator between your strands and anything that can cause brittleness, like the heat from our hot tools. Split ends? Those are left in the past along with dullness, static, and breakage. Seriously, our hair looked healthier after just a few uses, and gave us so much shine, likely due to the addition of rose water. This super hydrator often flies under the radar, but it’s brimming with vitamins and antioxidants to soothe the scalp and protect our color-treated hair. With the addition of salicylic acid, a natural surfactant, the formula naturally mitigates oil production. If you’re using it on wet hair before you blow dry, Nai’vasha recommends applying it directly after towel drying the hair. “If it’s a spray, delicately and thoroughly mist from roots to ends, then, paddle brush throughout for even distribution,” she says.

By softening our hair with a brilliant concoction of relaxing plant-based ingredients, like beetroot and artichoke extract, and emollients like glycerin, Living Proof’s Perfecting Spray calmed our tender, reactive scalps from the pain caused by raking combs through tangled strands. Additionally, you should think of heat protectants as a way to mitigate damage, not fully prevent it. There are other steps you can take to maintain the health of your hair like not setting hot tools above 300 degrees if possible, wearing a hat if you’re in the sun for a long time, and incorporating conditioning hair masks into your weekly hair care routine.

Shatalebi MA, Safaeian L, Baradaran A, Alamdarian M. Preparation and evaluation of a hair wax containing propolis and Eruca sativa seed oil for hair growth. Adv Biomed Res. 2016;5:182. Published 2016 Nov 28. doi:10.4103/2277-9175.190985 Sharifi N, Hamedeyazdan S, Shokri J, Monajjemzadeh F. Argan oil as a pretreatment of human hair before exposure to oxidative damage: Attenuated total reflectance and protein loss studies. J Cosmet Dermatol. 2022;21(10):5010-5017. doi:10.1111/jocd.14885.

What We Love: This formula only consists of nourishing ingredients that feel weightless on our strands, but it still includes everything to protect them from damage. What We Love: Luxuriously moisturizing, the spray left our curls feeling well-nourished and looking bouncier and better defined. We think of the primer a little like the same kind you apply before makeup: It prepped the hair before we styled it and helped better hold our styles—our hair even looked soft and bouncy after an intense gym session.

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We're proud to announce that our mailing bags are made from recycled polythene and are also recyclable, and our bubble wrap is made from recycled plastic and is completely recyclable. Basically, we only have nice things to say here, but we should note that the serum has a floral aroma that lasted all day, but we’re fans of peonies, so we loved catching a waft here and there. To further combat that crunchy feeling some curl-enhancing products supply, the mist flowed in a wide, even steam—and never once jammed or clogged, a true feat—to help curb our inclination to keep on spraying, and instead of overdoing it, we swathed our hair in protection, root to tip. The same can be said for creams—separate your hair into even sections and apply it liberally. Be sure you wait for it to fully absorb into your strands before going over it with your hot tool. You can usually tell by touching your hand to your hair and noticing if there’s a significant amount of residue. Though it only offers protection up to 425 degrees (a relatively lower threshold than others on the market), it provides a serious amount of value for the price.

Together with nourishing emollient panthenol and shine-boosting citric acid, the serum coated our hair in a lustrous vibrancy we’ve only ever seen in shampoo commercials. Despite relying on many rich oils to deliver gorgeous results, an even bigger surprise was that the cream felt weightless on our hair and absorbed in under 20 seconds. We’ve turned dpHue before when we wanted to keep our blonde hues bright and strands glossy in-between visits. Similar to those two color-centric formulas, this protective spray is free of gloss-stripping additives, like sulfates. Instead, the base of the formula is tocopherol, also known as vitamin E, to gently hydrate our hair and supply it with the nutrients it needs to be strong and healthy. And, in turn, our color-treated hair lasts longer and looks richer. Simply put, a heat protectant shields “your hair from heat, which may burn your hair, cause split ends, make your hair dry and lifeless,” says Iudina. Additionally, she adds, it can help your color-treated hair last longer. Without this safety net, hot tools strip your hair of its natural protein, making it weaker over time, disrupting natural curl patterns, and causing increased breakage.

Along with honey, glycol helps the hair cuticle retain moisture, in turn giving our strands extra radiance that make us just want to touch and tousle it. Meanwhile, propolis, a material that bees use to build hives, is another key ingredient that has anti-inflammatory and hair-strengthening benefits. As a bonus, we felt better leaving the house without a hat since the formula has a UV filter for an extra layer of safety against the sun. Sure, it’s a little pricier than other protectants but we think it’s worth spending a little extra considering how, aside from a hairspray to hold our styles in place, we didn’t need to apply our usual finishing products, like rich oils and leave-ins.