From leave-in conditioners to curling irons, serums to scalp scrubs, the best hair-styling tools and products are wonderful to have on hand. They can magically transform the dullest, flattest of hair and tame the wildest curls. Choosing the right balm, brush, or blow dryer for your hair type (curly, straight, fine, or natural) and concern (oiliness, dryness, or damage from color-treating.), however, is an entirely different matter. For this year’s Healthy Beauty Awards, we’re here to help you find the best hair products and styling tools that address your specific needs, whether that’s boosting volume, hydrating parched hair, obtaining the perfect beach wave, or fighting frizz.
As part of the awards process, we had over 60 judges test an ample array of the market’s best new hair products and tools (not to mention skincare, oral care, makeup, and more) for cleaning, styling, moisturizing, and more. The 31 styling products below were the winners that blew our testers away, in large part meeting the extensive ingredient criteria set by our expert panel of professional hairstylists and available at most drugstores and major retailers like Amazon, Target, Sephora, and Ulta. Before we dive into the list, here’s a quick breakdown of what we looked for in judging our 2021 SELF Healthy Beauty Awards (with the in-depth guide here).
The best hair styling products for you will be volumizing, strengthening, and hydrating while avoiding drying ingredients, including sulfates and certain oils (like coconut and argan), which weigh down fine hair.
For those with natural hairIf you have natural hair (i.e., Afro-textured hair, which is usually curly or coiled), scalp care and deep conditioning using oils and proteins are crucial, as natural hair is prone to breakage, damage, dryness, itchiness, frizz, and unique hair loss.
For those with oily hairGreasy and oily hair often correlates with dandruff, flakiness, and build-up, so you’ll want to avoid most products with oil as much as you can and seek out exfoliating ingredients like salicylic acid.
For those with dry hair or scalpFor anyone with damaged hair, whether that’s from the environment or color treatments, look for moisturizing ingredients like silicone, hydrolized keratin, oils, and shea butter. Avoid drying sulfates and most alcohols (save cetearyl, cetyl, and stearyl).
It’s probably no surprise that our derms are quick to warn about the damage excessive heat can cause to your hair. The bottom line with styling tools like curling irons, flat irons, and hair dryer brushes is to limit their usage. Heat can be damaging and it’s preferable to air dry, especially if you have fine, thinning, dry, or natural hair. If you are opting for a perfect at-home blow-out, just make sure to apply a heat protectant first.
Reviews have been edited and condensed for clarity and length.