Best Viral Hair Care
Best Hair Brush
Best Shampoo
Olaplex No. 4 Bond
Maintenance Shampoo
Best Treatment
Shea Moisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Treatment Masque
A lot of repairing shampoos are masters of deception, disguising your breakage and split ends with waxes that temporarily slick down the hair’s cuticle. Not the Olaplex No.4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo ($28). This stuff is the real deal. It actually repairs existing damage (and protects against future damage) by relinking those broken bonds that lead to a frizzy, dull look. A few weeks of consistent use led to hair that not only looked stronger but actually was stronger.
If you’re anything like us, then the past year at home has helped push you to embrace your natural hair texture — and by default, step up your hair-care game. (Healthy curls are happy curls, right?!) One recent discovery that now lives on our heads
rent-free is the SheaMoisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Treatment Masque ($10). The thick cream, boosted by nourishing Jamaican black castor oil and shea butter, makes even the most chemically processed hair look and feel better after just 15 minutes.
Best Hot Tool
Revlon Salon One-Step Hair Dryer and Volumizer
Looking back, the 2010s were the years of blow-dry salons. Now, the 2020s are all about at-home blowouts. The tool that started it all: the Revlon Salon One-Step Hair Dryer and Volumizer ($55). This blow dryer/round brush combo is the secret behind every fluffy ’90s blowout and Scandinavian-inspired curtain bang on your hair-inspo Pinterest board. It dries, smooths, and adds volume all at once, giving you the look you love from a traditional blow-dry minus the round-brush gymnastics.
Social Media Star's Pick
Kristin Ess Rose Gold Temporary
Hair Tint
"Honestly, everything that Kristin Ess creates is qual-i-ty — and the Rose Gold Temporary Tint ($12) doesn't disappoint. You add the color while in the shower, and my favorite results come from spraying prelightened hair when it's damp or towel-dried. Wait a minute or two, then rinse. The final color is a soft, yummy, pretty pink!"
Denman D3 Original Styler
7 Row Hairbrush
It’s true: TikTok made us all believe we have curly hair when we came across a video (or 1,000) featuring the Denman D3 Original 7-Row Styling Brush ($21). Trust us, this unique styling brush lives up to the hype. The curved shape and firm, rounded-end bristles expertly detangle wet hair and leave behind defined, frizz-free ribbons of ringlets with just a turn of the wrist. Even straight-haired testers can benefit from the smoothing, blow-drying benefits.
John D
Celebrity hairstylist