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9 best curly hair products to hydrate, moisturise and define locks

We’ve cherry-picked hero products for curls and coils

Elena Chabo
Beauty writer
Tuesday 01 October 2024 17:20 BST
These products have earned permanent spots in our tester’s routine
These products have earned permanent spots in our tester’s routine (The Independent)
Our Top Picks

The market for hair products dedicated to waves, curls and coils is unrecognisable, compared with the choice available 20 years ago. Back then, most major brands didn’t have targeted curly hair lines – the closest we got was products targeting the horrifying curse of frizz, a characteristic that delivers volume and texture and really doesn’t deserve such a bad rap.

Two decades ago, straighteners ruled haircare routines, and those who did wear their natural texture had to do a lot of making-do, adapting or importing when it came to products.

Now, we have a huge offering of curly haircare – from the independent brands that drove the change to the big-brand launches that followed suit. From rich conditioners that nourish kinks and coils to lightweight milks that allow waves to pop, we’ve reached a point where there really is something for everyone.

If the snowballing options are leading to decision fatigue, however, we’re here to help. We’ve cherry-picked some holy-grail curly hair products and brands to help you care for your tresses while bringing out the very best in your natural hair type.

How we tested

Our reviewer in action, putting curly hair products to the test
Our reviewer in action, putting curly hair products to the test (The Independent)

Having worked in beauty journalism for six years, and after a lifetime of caring for curly hair, our tester has highlighted the products and brands that really stand out. The tried-and-tested products in this line-up have earned permanent spots in our reviewer’s routine as well as in the routines of fellow curly and coily hair experts in the industry.

For reference, our tester has type 3B/3C curly Afro-textured hair with tight curls in some areas and spiral waves in others. However, her in-depth knowledge of other curl types has also factored into her reviews and recommendations. 

The best curly hair products for 2024 are:

  • Best overall – Mielle rosemary mint scalp & hair strengthening oil: £10.99, Boots.com
  • Best budget buy – Eco Style olive oil styling gel: £2.99, Lookfantastic.com
  • Best do-it-all lotion – Cécred moisturising hair lotion: £35, Cecred.com
  • Best natural nourishing conditioner – Jim + Henry eight leave-in conditioner: £23, Jimandhenry.com

Mielle rosemary mint scalp & hair strengthening oil

Mielle rosemary mint scalp & hair strengthening oil
  • Best: Overall
  • Purpose: Stimulating scalp for growth, locking in moisture
  • Key ingredients: Biotin, rosemary oil, jojoba oil, peppermint oil
  • Size: 59ml
  • Why we love it
    • Multi-purpose
    • Growth-boosting

As an affordable top-tier brand, there are so many Mielle products that could have made this list but the strengthening oil just took the crown. This viral oil may have started the rosemary oil trend for hair growth but it is anything but a fad. The versatile oil is light enough to be left on the scalp, particularly around the edges, as well as being a perfect finishing product to lock other products into your tresses, without feeling greasy.

Packed with essential oils to stimulate circulation to the scalp and encourage growth, it also leaves your curls feeling silky soft and strong. It’s the only oil you’ll need in your kit for pre-shampoo treatments, soothing the scalp with protective styles, and using as a leave-in styler. For finer and looser textures, it also now comes in a light formula

  1.  £10 from Boots.com
Prices may vary
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Eco Style olive oil styling gel

Eco-style-best-curly-hair-poducts-indybest
  • Best: Budget buy
  • Purpose: Slicking back curls and coils
  • Key ingredients: Olive oil
  • Size: 236ml
  • Why we love it
    • Cult classic
    • Versatile hold
    • Non-crunchy

A hair shop classic that never goes out of style, premium brands haven’t been able to compete with this gel. If you’re slicking back your hair for an up-do or a simple bun, there really is no rival. Delivering the perfect amount of hold, without the crunchy look, this product means you don’t have to be terrified of applying too much, unlike so many other gels.

The best part? Despite its impressive hold, if you only use a small amount, by the next day, the product will have softened and largely melted away, enabling you to style your hair again, without having to wash it. Instead, simply top up with more or brush through and switch up your hair to another style. 

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Hair Gain nourishing miracle treatment mask

Hairgain-best-curly-hair-poducts-indybest
  • Best: Nourishing hair mask
  • Purpose: Condition hair and scalp to promote growth
  • Key ingredients: Anagain, panthenol, natural betaine
  • Size: 50ml
  • Why we love it
    • Instant hydration
    • Revives frazzled tresses

This hair and scalp mask can revive even the saddest of frazzled tresses after just one use. It features the brand’s hero ingredient: anagain – a powerful phytonutrient derived from pea shoots that stimulates growth from the follicle and slows down shedding. It’s also packed with intensely conditioning panthenol, for instant and long-lasting hydration for your tresses. It works miracles on all hair types and is light enough to use bi-weekly. It targets growth, delivering strong hydrated hair to minimise breakage while feeding the follicles at the scalp.

Pop it on after shampooing and conditioning, then don a plastic shower cap, if you have one, to really get it cooking. Don’t be alarmed by the green hue – we promise it doesn’t stain. A little goes a very long way once you comb it through with a Tangle Teezer, so, start slow and add more, if needed.

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Camille Rose curl love moisture milk

Camille-Rose-best-curly-hair-poducts-indybest
  • Best: Value leave-in conditioner
  • Purpose: Hydration, elongation
  • Key ingredients: Rice milk, avocado oil, macadamia seed oil
  • Size: 240ml
  • Why we love it
    • Super lightweight
    • Divine sweet vanilla smell

This quick-absorbing conditioning cream works across all hair types. It’s perfect as a stand-alone leave-in for waves and loose curls and works well in combination with richer products for kinks and coils. It derives its hydration-boosting abilities from rice milk and oils such as macadamia seed, meanwhile, elm bark delivers excellent slip for detangling, without coating the hair in anything heavy. What makes it stand out from similar products is it leaves you with soft, shiny, deeply nourished curls that don’t look like there’s any product there at all. It strikes a balance that gives the hydration of a much richer product, with the formula of a lightweight one. As with all Camille Rose products, it smells absolutely divine, too.

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Briogeo scalp revival charcoal + coconut oil micro-exfoliating scalp scrub shampoo

Briogeo-best-curly-hair-poducts-indybest
  • Best: Clarifying scalp and hair wash
  • Purpose: Soothing and hydrating the scalp, removing product build-up
  • Key ingredients: Binchotan charcoal, coconut oil, panthenol, peppermint and tea tree oil
  • Size: 236ml
  • Why we love it
    • Totally refreshes the scalp
    • Soothes irritation

A healthy scalp is essential for healthy hair, and this weekly shampoo will deliver just that. Our scalp goes through a lot with pollution and products, so, this scrub uses charcoal to detoxify and draw out impurities, clarifying your follicles, so they can do their job and give you long, luscious, full hair. And boy do you feel it – your whole head feels refreshed. It also uses a combo of peppermint, spearmint and tea tree oil to create a cooling effect and reduce any irritation or flakiness. Lots of clarifying or detoxifying shampoos feel stripping but, with panthenol and coconut oil being included, along with it being sulphate-free, this gives a deep clean with a boost of hydration instead.

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Cécred moisturising hair lotion

Cecred best curly hair products indybest
  • Best: Do-it-all lotion
  • Purpose: Hydrating and defining curls
  • Key ingredients: Phyto-seal complex, african oil blend
  • Size: 74ml
  • Why we love it
    • Instant results
    • Subtle oud sandalwood and musk fragrance

Anyone who wondered what business Beyoncé has making hair products would have all doubts silenced once they tried the singer’s Cécred products. A stand-out favourite is the moisturising hair lotion – it’s the kind of product that cuts your styling routine down to one step. Somehow, it manages to hydrate, nourish split ends and de-frizz, all while giving curls the hold of a lightweight gel. When first applying the watery formula, you may think it hasn’t done much but, once your hair dries, you’ll be amazed. It’s on the pricier end of the spectrum but, if it cuts your leave-in routine down to one product, you may just find it’s worth the price tag. With cautious expectations, it turned out to be one of the best leave-in options we’ve ever used. It’s worth it for the shine alone.

  1.  £35 from Cecred.com
Prices may vary
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Jim + Henry eight leave-in conditioner

Jim+Henry-best-curly-hair-poducts-indybest
  • Best: Natural nourishing conditioner
  • Purpose: Hydration and repair
  • Key Ingredients: Corsican rosemary, Ghanaian shea
  • Size: 250ml
  • Why we love it
    • All-natural formula
    • Deeply hydrating
    • Just eight ingredients

This Black British female-founded brand is a small independent company that seriously holds its own, trumping the heavyweights. There are just three variants – ‘eight’ for looser or finer curls; ‘ten’ (£25, Jimandhenry.com) for thicker coily hair; and ‘ten pro’ (£28, Jimandhenry.com) for ultimate nourishment – and you may not find this leave-in conditioner on your favourite retailers’ sites, but you will find it in the stash of many Afro-hair specialists and content creators.

With all-natural ingredients, this product goes back to the basics, with the number in the name representing how many ingredients are included. So, yes, just eight, in this case. Your hair will react to this wholesome organic concoction like nothing before. The rich cream coats your hair and may feel heavy at first but your strands will drink up the product for a next-level transformation and the happiest hair of your life.

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Dizziak deep conditioner

Diziak-best-curly-hair-poducts-indybest
  • Best: Deep conditioner
  • Purpose: Deeply hydrating curls and coils
  • Key ingredients: Aloe vera, argan oil, babassu oil
  • Size: 200ml
  • Why we love it
    • Five-minute treatment
    • Doubles as a mask

There’s a reason everyone raves about this product – it launched the brand to curly haircare fame, after all. Whether you use it as a fast-acting five-minute deep conditioner or leave it on for a 30-minute super-charged treatment, it transforms hair into supple, manageable tresses that feel deeply fortified and rejuvenated. As soon as you rinse, you’ll feel the difference in your hair texture and that holds through after drying, too. Expect smooth cuticles, sealed ends and a juicy shine, with hydration that lasts for days.

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Bread hair-cream elastic bounce leave-in

Bread-best-curly-hair-poducts-indybest
  • Best: Curl cream
  • Purpose: Hydration, hold, healing
  • Key ingredients: Quinoa protein, mango butter, shea butter
  • Size: 250ml
  • Why we love it
    • Delicious scent
    • Not heavy
    • Impressive hydration

The first thing that hits you when you open this product is the sweet candy-like smell that’s delicious without being sickly. The cream can be combed through the hair for a hydrating leave-in, raked through and scrunched into curls for a soft hold, or applied before a twist-out or braid-out, to give you a gentle hold and defined results, and never is it heavy on the hair. While the initial hydration boost is impressive, the results over time might be more so. Thanks to ingredients such as quinoa protein, you’ll find your strands feeling stronger and bouncier, and it can really bring back a damaged curl pattern, restoring form and shape.

  1.  £26 from Boots.com
Prices may vary
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The verdict: Curly hair products

It’s hard to pick a best buy across such varied categories but the Mielle strengthening oil really is a product that should be in every curly girl’s repertoire. While the Camille Rose curl love moisture milk is a real winner that offers good value for money. Whether or not you’re trying to go all-natural, Jim + Henry’s ‘eight’ or ‘ten’ leave-in conditioners really are wonder products that are a great place to start, if you’re trying to up your haircare game. These products will create a benchmark against which you’ll be measuring everything else.

Want more recommendations? Get shiny, soft locks, with our pick of the best hair oils

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