We hope you love the products we recommend! All of them were independently selected by our editors. Some may have been sent as samples, but all opinions and reviews are our own. Just so you know, BuzzFeed may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page if you decide to shop from them. Oh, and FYI — prices are accurate and items in stock as of time of publication.
1. L’Oréal Paris Elvive 8 Second Wonder Water gives hair a major dose of moisture in — like the name suggests — a mere eight seconds!
www.amazon.com
Promising review: "I originally bought this at Sam's Club and ended up loving it! I ordered my next bottle on Amazon because Sam's no longer carried it. I have long hair and I only put it on as if it were conditioner. I stay away from the scalp. I leave it in for eight seconds then rinse. My hair is so silky soft and it makes it not frizzy the next day when I let it air dry. It is very liquidity so what I do is just squirt it directly on the hair instead of putting it in my hands. You waste a lot because it drips if you put it in your hand. I highly recommend!" —Jenelle McNeely
Get it from Amazon for $8.85.
2. An ultra-fine continuous water mister refreshes your hair in the morning after you've slept on it. Let's keep that air-dry style looking fresh!
www.amazon.com, www.amazon.com
Promising review: "Another amazing product TikTok made me buy. Was looking for something for when I wet my hair in the mornings. My old typical spray bottles kept breaking or leaking. This one has a longer spray time and the mist is perfect when I don’t want to get my hair too wet. All in all worth it especially for the price." —M. Zuniga
Get it from Amazon for $8.99+ (available in four sizes).
3. OGX Locking + Coconut Curls Air Dry Cream is a great, affordable scrunch-and-go option with legions of fans to back up that claim.
www.amazon.com
Promising review: "I put some in my hair for the first time today and I'm impressed! I towel dried my hair and then put about a quarter size in my palm and spread throughout my hair, scrunched my hair, and then let it air dry. I think it did a good job at defining my waves and eliminating the serious frizz." —ninjamommy
Get it from Amazon for $6.97.
4. Or if you're willing to spend a little more, Moroccan Oil Intense Curl Cream does some serious work defining your gorgeous, gorgeous curls.
www.amazon.com
When I go on a beach vacation, I don't bother with my intense blowout hair routine. I always pack this (a little goes a LONG way) and let my hair air dry.
Promising review: "This is a GREAT product for fine hair. I have a lot of fine hair that is between wavy/curly. I have always had a hard time finding a good product that doesn't give my hair the crunchy look when I let it air dry. I have found this to be the best moisturizing curl cream without weighing hair down, controls frizz AND defines curls. My advice is to shampoo (skip conditionor if your hair gets oily) apply the product in the shower, brush with a wide tooth comb to evenly distribute it then scrunch hair using a cotton t shirt. I think I finally found what I have been looking for and am so excited I can let my hair air dry now and not hate it!!!" —Lydia
Get it from Amazon for $34.20 or Sephora for $36.
5. Kitsch Pro Coconut Oil Deep-Moisturizing Conditioner Bar is super moisturizing and travel-friendly (you won't have to put in your toiletries bag for TSA).
Elizabeth Lilly / BuzzFeed
This is me on a week-long trip to Croatia last year with three city stops that I did a carry-on only for, knowing I had a tight layover in Amsterdam and would be riding two ferries. But, um, my hair had to look good for wonderful sunset photo ops such as this (the bar is Buza Bar in Dubrovnik, go there!). So I packed a shampoo bar by another brand that I felt pretty meh about and this wonderful new go-to bar. Here, I used hotel shampoo (it was pretty fancy, NGL), this shampoo bar, and my roommate's Moroccan Oil curl cream. The bar is basically foolproof. You rub it directly on your wet hair after rinsing out your shampoo. I normally wash my naturally curly hair once or twice a week but on this trip was taking daily dips in the sea, so I washed my hair 5x over a week. Because of this, I let the conditioner sit for a few minutes, though you probably don't need to do that if you're washing your hair your usual amount on your trip. Each bar is supposed to last 200 washes and it might do a little less for me, but I know this'll be good for many future trips! I've used it on about five trips now and it doesn't look any smaller than it did when I used it the first time.
Get it from Amazon for $13.97.
6. SheaMoisture Curl Mousse problem solves for curly- and wavy-headed folks who've tried but just haven't been able to find the perfect air dry routine...until now.
www.amazon.com
Promising review: "I got tired of straightening my hair all the time so I bought this product and their conditioner for curly hair in order to tame my waves. With both these products, I just wash, condition, scrunch, let air dry halfway, apply mousse, and done. Instant waves. I absolutely love these products." —jollyfoxx
Get it from Amazon for $8.69.
7. SoCozy Curl Spray Leave-In Conditioner made for kids (and grownups) with curly hair and tender heads that'll provide some picturesque resuilts thanks to its hydrating and detangling formula of vitamin B5, jojoba oil, keratin, and more.
www.amazon.com
Promising review: "Amazing!! I had NO idea that my frizzy haired little girl had beautiful curls. I went down a Instagram rabbit hole and saw a similar girl show how her frizz was curls. I ordered this!! My mind has been blown!! This has changed our lives. It smells so good! It is easy to use and air dry. Before my daughter woke up with terrible bed head that looked like this! Now it is gorgeous soft curls. We will definitely buy again and tell everyone about this product!!" —Amazon Customer
Get it from Amazon for $8.25.
8. TGIN Miracle Repairx Deep Hydrating Hair Mask nurtures and protects your natural hair texture after other products have failed you.
www.amazon.com, Amazon
Thank God It’s Natural (TGIN) is a small business founded by Chris-Tia Donaldson after she graduated from Harvard Law School, started her first job at a law firm and wore wigs out of frustration for the lack of hair products for natural hair. TGIN is now sold at a variety of retailers. Chris-Tia was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 and until her passing in 2021, used her success to advocate for women experiencing financial difficulties and who are undergoing treatment, to highlight health disparities due to race and socio-economic factors and help through the TGIN Foundation. You can read more about her empowering story in her book This is Only a Test.
Promising review: "Neutrogena Triple Moisture hair mask was discontinued and I have been looking for a replacement. Several products later, I came across TGIN and because some of the ingredients matched Neutrogena, so i gave a try.
Excellent results. My hair is extremely dry and porous, and I was having breakage during brushing. After my first use, my natural curls were shiny and well defined with mostly air drying then flipping my hair over and finishing up with hair dryer, low speed/ low heat and light scrunching. I'm very happy and will look into the coordinating shampoo next." —Amazon Customer
Get it from Amazon for $15.99.
9. Verb Ghost Oil makes quick work of taming frizz and flyaways. This is THE BEST hair oil if you have coarse, thick hair like me. Reviewers with hair textures up to 4c rave about it!
@verbproducts / Via www.instagram.com, www.amazon.com
I got turned onto this stuff after some colleagues put it in stories and after trying just about every hair oil out there, I can assure that this is the good stuff. It's great for finishing off your look after heat styling (like with a curling iron or straightener) or helping your hair calm down post-blow-drying. Or, as this story suggest, it's great for putting in your hair before air drying. I always keep a bottle in my medicine cabinet!
Promising review: "This is THE oil. My hair is naturally curly but extremely frizzy due to damage from color/bleaching in the past, and also because curly hair is typically naturally frizzy. Before this oil my hair was less defined! I use the Garnier Triple Nutrition leave in conditioner, and plop for about 20 mins, then take out and air dry for about 10–15 minutes and apply oil. I will forever keep repurchasing this for as long as it is available! Also my scalp gets pretty oily and my ends are ALWAYS dry, I have to wash every other day, but now I can wash every two days! If you’re double guessing whether or not to get this just give it a try! My mom is even using the combinationer that I use now (the Garnier and this oil)!! And as far as scent to me it doesn’t have a scent at all! For shampoo and conditioner I use the Shea Moisture Jamaican black castor oil!" —Brandy
Get it from Amazon for $18 or Sephora for $20 (vegan).
10. Briogeo Farewell Frizz Rosarco Milk Leave In Conditioning Spray treats your hair right and is made to annihilate frizz for up to 48 hours...something we could all use.
www.amazon.com
Briogeo is a small Black woman-owned brand! 🙌
Promising review: "Love this stuff when I let my hair air dry! Keeps it from going frizzy. I use a lot of John Frieda products!" —JoAnn