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

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. 

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.