13 Best Leave-In Conditioners for Thirsty Hair

A GH Beauty Award winner, L’Oréal Paris’s treatment helps prevent breakage by strengthening strands. In our Lab evaluations, consumer testers loved the product, saying, “My overly color-treated, heat-styled hair looked less broken, and felt like new in just few uses.”

Pair Garnier's Good Housekeeping Seall star detangling milk with the matching Oat Delicacy shampoo and conditioner duo (also backed by the GH Seal!) to lightly condition and soften hair. In one study, 90% of consumer testers agreed that the it left their hair feeling soft, didn’t weigh it down, and kept it from looking dry.

Kérastase's multitasking spray, a winner of the GH Beauty Lab's anti-frizz stylers test, not only combats frizz, but also helps soften and add shine to strands, top concerns for natural hair. All you have to do is spritz it on damp hair! This earned the highest score for leaving hair soft, not crunchy or tacky. “I loved the texture of my hair right after applying it, and how manageable, soft, and shiny my hair was,” said one tester.

Garnier’s cream earned high marks for smoothing and leaving hair frizz-free in GH Beauty Lab tests and delivers heat protection against hot tools up to 450ºF. And anyone who struggles with frizz knows that rainy days can be a nightmare. One tester perfectly summed up using the GH Beauty Award winner: “It rained for almost a solid week while I was using the product and I didn't have any problem with frizz!”

Created by actress Tracee Ellis Ross for coily, curly, and tightly-textured Type 4 hair, this leave-in conditioning cream is packed with nourishing ingredients like jojoba, castor, avocado, and olive oils to keep spirals hydrated. "My coils were defined, soft, and moisturized," an Ulta reviewer reported. 

Work a dollop of this rich Suave leave-in conditioner/styling cream hybrid, a GH Beauty Award winner, through damp curls to enhance texture while nourishing with shea butter and coconut oil. “My curls felt soft and held their shape,” a fan reported. “I used it to touch up dry hair, too,” making it great for Type 3 hair.

GH's Beauty Director swears by this rich cream Carol's Daughter leave-in conditioner infused with coconut oil for her Type 2 wavy hair. "After use, my damaged strands feel silky and stronger and the bend of my waves is boosted," she raves. "And the irresistible scent of Tahitian gardenia and coconut makes hair smell like you've been languishing on an exotic tropical beach!"

A twist on detangling leave-in conditioner and GH Beauty Award winner, L’Oréal Professionnel’s formula is misted onto your brush to minimize damage and reduce exposure to water, which causes hair color fading. “The unique application prevents too much product from going on hair, which can make it greasy or weigh it down,” says GH Beauty Lab director Birnur Aral, Ph.D. “The best detangler I’ve ever used — it took only one stroke,” a fan said.

Loaded with botanicals like coconut oil, honey, aloe and ginger, this two-in-one strand-fortifying Garnie cream, a GH Seal star and Beauty Award winner, can be used a a leave-in or deep conditioner. The formulation is proven to reduce breakage of weak, brittle hair when used with the matching shampoo and conditioner, GH Beauty Lab data evaluation found.

This leave-in conditioner from Schwarzkopf is boosted with purple pigments to enhance the tone of bleached blonde hair while softening with glycerin and vitamin B5. "It helps keep my highlighted hair brighter, smells great, and makes my hair easy to brush out after the shower," an Amazon reviewer noted.

This Davines leave-in conditioner milk made with natural botanical oils is one of Wizemann's favorites and great for anyone who wants lightweight conditioning. “It adds a flexible hold to my blow-dry without making it look overly done," she says. Wizemann recommends spraying it in your hands first, then working into damp hair. Best of all? The clean, herbal scent can double as a hair fragrance!

GH's Beauty Director loves this featherweight Oribe leave-in conditioning cream because it does double-duty on both damp hair post-wash and as a touch-up styling cream on dry hair. "It leaves strands so silky, smooths scraggly ends and flyaways, and the brand's signature luxurious scent is amazing," she says.

In GH Beauty Lab testing, Orlando Pita’s creamy leave-in serum ranked high across the board. It proved top at smoothing and combating frizz — without making hair limp, weighing it down or leaving it tacky or sticky. “This left my hair shiny and frizz-free,” said one tester. “I also used it after my hair was dry to smooth flyaways without added weight.”