Great hair-styling tools and products can be transformative—they can take your tresses from eh to exceptional, and take your day from so-so to so amazing. The key is choosing hair-styling tools and products that enhance your hair’s texture and type (curly, straight, fine, or natural), not just grabbing whatever you can from the beauty aisle as you dash toward the cashier. With hundreds of jams, jellies, creams, butters, and oils lining the shelves, we guarantee there are ones formulated to meet your exact needs—whether it’s pumping up the volume on thinning hair; bringing moisture back to dry, brittle locks; reviving damaged or color-treated hair; or getting rid of build-up on an overly oily mane. But we also understand that you don’t have the time (or budget) to test everything that’s out there.
That’s where our group of at-home testers comes in. For this year’s Healthy Beauty Awards, we tasked 70 judges—with a wide variety of hair types and concerns of their own—to plow through the market’s newest hair products and tools—straightening, smoothing, spritzing, and styling their strands. (We know, tough job!) These 11 products are the ones that seriously wowed and, where applicable, met strict ingredient criteria set by our expert panel of dermatologists. Keep scrolling for our 2020 SELF Healthy Beauty Award winners.
Reviews have been edited and condensed for clarity and length.