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16 tools and products we use to get healthy, shiny hair - from $7 shampoo to a $200 luxury hair dryer
16 tools and products we use to get healthy, shiny hair - from $7 shampoo to a $200 luxury hair dryer
Mara LeightonJan 29, 2019, 22:15 IST
The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.
Finding hair-care products worth their weight in gold can be an expensive, time-consuming process.
To help winnow the best from the forgettable, I polled my coworkers and fellow product reviewers to bring you a master list of their Holy Grail hair-care products.
Below, find the 16 hair tools and products we swear by in our own lives.
Until my early 20s, hair care products were more likely to do harm than good - sort of like fire, which could either make you an entire delicious meal in the woods or, in unskilled hands, burn your caveman village to the ground. Sometimes I'd win the lottery and end up with something that made my locks more manageable, shiny, and frizz-free. Others, I'd spend another panicked afternoon with curls that look like they'd been made inside an air fryer.
If you're looking for healthy, shiny hair that's easier to manage, you've probably had your fair share of highs and lows in terms of products. To make it easier, and to winnow the best from the pack of many, I asked my coworkers on the Insider Picks team to divulge their own Holy Grail products. We see thousands of products every year, and we're particularly critical about the ones we stock in our own cabinets. Shop our must-haves below, and skip the expense of trying everything yourself.
16 game-changing tools and products we swear by for healthy, shiny hair:
I have probably 40% less frizz every morning I wake up after using a silk pillowcase, and it helps prolong the life of a blowout. I bought this $36 version for lots of reasons, but mostly because it has great reviews, is made of high-quality silk, and is the top pick in our Buying Guide on the best silk pillowcases on the internet. — Mara Leighton, Insider Picks reporter
I always heard that silk pillowcases are good for your hair and skin, and since I’ve been using MYK’s pure silk pillowcase, I can see a real difference in my hair’s quality. I also love the cotton underside of this pillow because it prevents slippage, which isn’t something you want from your pillow when you’re sleeping! — Malarie Gokey, Buying Guides editor
I once left a haircut and bought this 30 seconds later at the express request of my hairstylist. From what I understood then — and now, after using it religiously — is that it's one of the best and cheapest ways to bring dry, damaged hair back to healthy, shiny life. With it, my hair is instantly silkier and shinier, and it's great to use before hot tools to protect against thermal damage. Use it on wet or dry hair. — Mara Leighton, Insider Picks reporter
This mask is pure gold for dry, damaged hair. My routine includes showering at night, letting my hair dry when I sleep, and then flat-ironing it in the morning, which means I don't use a heat protectant. So, I need to restore moisture in the form of a hair mask once or twice a week. This one is the best I’ve ever tried, and all I have to do is use it like a conditioner. I leave it on for about 5 minutes in the shower and that’s it — my hair ends up silky soft and hydrated. No need to sit on the couch with an oily hair mask dripping down my neck. — Sally Kaplan, Insider Picks editor
Generally, I have lived life with a get-out-of-bed-and-get-going philosophy regarding my hair care routine. I don’t even own a hairbrush. But after a recent haircut, the artisan who chopped my locks put some stuff in my hair and I walked around the rest of the day more confident about my look, and went to the store and picked out the same American Crew fiber hair product the next day. I love how I can use a little bit of the gel to shape my hair how I like, but it does not feel sticky and does not look shiny. If you are a layman like me when it comes to hair, American Crew is a great starting point to get more control over your look. — Danny Bakst, Insider Picks content producer
I didn’t believe a $200 hair dryer could be that much better than a $50 one until I tried Drybar’s. There’s a lot of cool, science-y stuff that went into its design that you can read about here, but the TL;DR version is that it dries my hair quickly and leaves it feeling smooth and healthy. I’ve had considerably fewer frizzy-hair days since upgrading to it almost two years ago. — Ellen Hoffman, Insider Picks senior editor
When you have thin, light hair, many frizz-taming products (like oils and serums) can end up making your hair look really greasy. While this is an oil, it’s lightweight enough to use every day for taming frizz and flyaways. I just put a little drop of the oil in my palms and use my fingertips to run it through my hair, concentrating on the ends and flyaways. It leaves your hair nice and shiny without being greasy, plus a little goes a long way so these bottles will last you a long time. — Remi Rosmarin, Insider Picks reporter
My mass of thick hair takes hours to dry, and it's often larger-than-life if there's any humidity in the air. This cuts drying time and poof in half. Plus, it minimizes friction and breakage. — Mara Leighton, Insider Picks reporter
I have a lot of long straight hair that’s prone to tangles and takes about a century to dry. I love Aquis’ microfiber towel because it helps my hair dry in half the time and it cuts down on tangles and frizz. — Malarie Gokey, Buying Guides editor
I’ve been using Living Proof’s leave-in conditioner to tame my naturally frizzy hair for years now, and it does an admirable job for most of the year. But it’s still no match for super-humid summer days, and I’ve yet to find any product that is. — Ellen Hoffman, Insider Picks senior editor
I bought this after wandering into a Sephora on a muggy summer day with baby hairs so long they looked like TV antennas. Before I'd finished asking, an employee was bee-lining it to this: a "swim cap for your hair" that can thwart frizz even in swamp-like conditions.
Now, I use it to minimize frizz, lock in moisture, make hair "waterproof" on drizzly days and to slick down stubborn baby hairs for sleek ponytails. — Mara Leighton, Insider Picks reporter
T3 BodyWaver 1.75-Inch Professional Ceramic Styling Iron
I'm terrible at doing my own hair, and I don't have the patience or dexterity to do a round-brush blowout at home. This gives me the same healthy, polished look as a blowout with just 30 minutes at home with a hot tool — no blow dryer necessary. Check out a picture comparison of this versus a salon blowout here. — Mara Leighton, Insider Picks reporter
N:P Beautiful is the new haircare line by the celebrity hairstylist David Babaii. (Babaii is known for working on the likes of Angelina Jolie, Kate Hudson, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Scarlett Johansson). The shampoo is plant-based, smells amazing, and lathers into a luxurious foam. It's more expensive than the average bottle, but it's worth it for how healthy, shiny, and manageable it makes my hair. When I'm on a budget, I like all-natural Alba Botanica for a similarly super hydrating effect. — Mara Leighton, Insider Picks reporter
Whenever my hair is looking dry and dull and I need immediate, next-day luster, I coat my hair in a DIY coconut oil mask. It's cheap, more effective than the many substitutes I've tried, and doesn't have a long list of chemical ingredients that can do more harm than good.
I melt a few tablespoons in the microwave, dip my hair in so it's evenly coated, and pull it up into a bun. I put on a shower cap, sleep with it on, and wash it out in the morning. This is the version I have, but you can find similar on Amazon. — Mara Leighton, Insider Picks reporter
This is the styling cream I turn to to protect my hair from heat tools since I blow it out every other day, but it has myriad other uses, including adding texture and shine. — Ellen Hoffman, Insider Picks senior editor
If you have hair that’s ever been colored or had some kind of keratin treatment, treat your locks to a deep conditioning masque. You leave this conditioner in your hair for about 20 minutes and when you rinse it out your hair will be unbelievably silky-smooth. Sometimes, I just use this as a regular conditioner when I want my hair to feel a little softer, but I don’t have time to do the whole treatment. — Remi Rosmarin, Insider Picks reporter
Most hair products are too heavy and weigh down my pin-straight hair, but Acure’s Vivacious Volume Shampoo does the opposite. It gives me great volume and makes my hair look fantastic. It’s also eco-friendly, free of bad chemicals, and it uses natural ingredients like peppermint and echinacea to deliver great volume. — Malarie Gokey, Buying Guides editor
