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THE BEST HAIR PRODUCTS FOR WAVY HAIR

 

Meet the expert-loved wavy hair products.

Long gone are the days of crunchy wavy hair of the mid-aughts. Beauty brands have finally created the best hair products for wavy hair filled with moisturizing and frizz-fighting ingredients. But with thousands of wavy hair products across the digital beauty aisles of Amazon, Sephora, and Ulta, it can be overwhelming to know where to start. To help, our beauty editor, Nicole Saunders, tapped a few of our favorite experts for their go-to products for wavy hair.

HOW IS WAVY HAIR DIFFERENT FROM CURLY?

Before diving into the best hair products for wavy hair, it's essential to understand how wavy strands differ from other similar textures. Wavy hair is identifiable by its loose S-shape, similar to stars like Shakira and Lorde.

Another way to ID your natural hair texture is to wet it! After shampooing and conditioning, apply a leave-in conditioner, then scrunch hair upside down to get the excess water out. Next, wrap your mane in a hair towel and let it air dry. "This process encourages the natural wave in the hair, and when you take it out of the towel, you'll see if it is curly, straight, or just wavy," says Bailey Englert, a hair stylist at the Fekkai salon at The Mark Hotel. She adds that when wavy hair is air dried, it can feel like fluffy straight hair.

COMMON CONCERNS

Like all textures, wavy hair has its own set of problems. For example, you could be dealing with uneven hair texture where the front might be less wavy than the back. And according to celebrity stylist Bradley Leake, styling wavy hair is also a common struggle. Poofy, frizzy hair can be hard to smooth down no matter what anti-frizz serum you use, and bangs can feel impossible to maintain. And, of course, wavy hair is highly susceptible to humidity or inclement weather.

Since wavy hair tends to be finer and tangles easily, hairstylist Raven Hurtado at Maxine Salon in Chicago recommends investing in a good volumizing shampoo, like BondiBoost HG Shampoo, as well as a detangler, such as the Oribe Priming Lotion.

HOW TO SHOP

It's All About the Ingredients

Best

The best way to ID hair products for wavy hair is to read the ingredient labels. Leake and Hurtado like naturally hydrating ingredients like aloe vera, coconut oil, and shea butter, which is found in the Fekkai Shea Butter Intense Mask to reduce frizz and prevent split ends.

Board-certified dermatologist Dr. Anna Chacon, M.D., adds that hyaluronic acid, grape seed extract, glycerin, and castor, and jojoba oils are excellent for wavy hair. She's also a fan of argan oil, which is found in our best overall pick: Kérastase Elixir Ultime L'Huile Original Beautifying Hair Oil.

Worst

Our experts advise avoiding parabens and sulfates because they irritate the scalp, strip your hair of its natural oil, and cause possible hair loss. It's also best to avoid anything with formaldehyde because it's a hair-straightening chemical that can damage your wave pattern and cause long-term hair damage.

Ready for a great hair day? Give these best products for wavy hair a whirl, and be prepared for thicker, shinier, and salon-worthy waves at home without the luxury salon price tag. All of these expert-approved products are available on Amazon and collectively boast thousands of impressive 5-star ratings.

BEST OVERALL

Kérastase
Elixir Ultime L’Huile Original Beautifying Hair Oil

Pros

• Controls frizz effectively
• Nourishes and strengthens hair
• Provides a long-lasting, high-shine finish
• Doubles as a heat protectant
• Reviewers say each bottle lasts up to 1 year

Cons

• Only available in one size on Amazon

Thanks to a slew of effective ingredients, Kérastase's hair oil surges your dry, wavy hair with much-needed moisture without a greasy feel. Leake loves that it's made with marula and argan oils to soften, hydrate, and boost hair elasticity. There's also camellia oil, a fast-absorbing emollient that imparts a beautiful, glass-like shine.

We also love 2-in-1 beauty products because they save time and money. Since marula and argan oils are antioxidant-rich ingredients, they help protect your hair from heat styling and the sun's harsh rays.

Leake says, “One pump goes a long way when applied to damp hair and helps with routine styling maintenance. It has an incredibly smooth finish and spreads beautifully throughout the hair.”

Beyond earning hundreds of impressive 5-star reviews across Amazon and Sephora, reviewers with wavy hair say it’s their favorite product. To quote one enthusiastic Sephora review: “I have thick, wavy hair, and this doesn’t weigh it down at all or remove curl — it just controls frizz (better than anything I’ve used before), and makes it so shiny.”

Plus, thanks to a combo of violet leaves, freesia, mandarin, musk extract, and santal wood, this hair oil has an intoxicating woody-meets-floral fragrance.

Key Specs

Rating 4.7-star average from nearly 6,100 Amazon reviews
Size 3.4 fl. oz.
Main Ingredients Marula, camellia, and argan oils

BEST NEW RELEASE

BondiBoost
HG Shampoo
 

Pros

• Sulfate-, paraben-, and cruelty-free
• Made with natural and organic ingredients

Cons

• Refreshing peppermint scent and tingle might be too overpowering for sensitive scalps and noses

Wavy hair tends to be finer, meaning this volumizing shampoo will be your new beauty BFF. The vegan shampoo is made with several clean ingredients, such as squalane, peppermint leaf extract, and jojoba ester. It also contains several expert-loved ingredients, including olive oil and aloe vera.

Most importantly, it’s been tried and tested by Hurtado, who praises its very gentle and lightweight formula. “It helps to volumize and adds shine to enhance your waves. Plus, it has biotin to support healthy hair growth,” she says.

Hurtado especially likes pairing it with the Bondi Boost Thickening Therapy Hair mask that will leave your waves hydrated, silky, and soft with bounce that will last.

Key Specs

Rating 4.6-star average from 60 Amazon reviewers
Size 10.14 fl. oz.
Main Ingredients Hydrolyzed jojoba esters and aloe vera

BEST SHAMPOO

shu uemura
Urban Moisture Hydro-Nourishing Shampoo
 

Pros

• Woody and earthy scent
• Great lather

Cons

• Relatively expensive for a shampoo

Chacon loves this wavy hair shampoo because it hydrates without weighing down your mane. Notably, Urban Moisture combines moringa and red algae extracts to cleanse, moisturize, and smooth strands. "These ingredients also help protect your hair against harmful pollutants and encourage hair cell regeneration," says the Miami-based dermatologist.

Amazon reviewers are equally obsessed with this color-safe shampoo that's soft and gentle for anyone with a sensitive or dry scalp. "This shampoo changed my dry hair to silky after just three uses!" says one 5-star review.

And if you enjoy earthy scents, this is the frizz-fighting wavy hair product for you! It's like perfume for your hair, boasting top notes of botanicals, middle notes of camellia, white freesia, and heliotrope, and a warm base note of powdery musk. Reviewers say the scent lingers on their hair, but never in an over-the-top, trying too hard kind of way.

Key Specs

Rating 4.5-star average from 200 Amazon reviews
Size 10 fl. oz.
Main Ingredients Red algae and moringa extracts

BEST HAIR MASK

Fekkai
Shea Butter Intense Mask
 

Pros

• Contains botanical ingredients
• 100% recyclable packaging

Cons

• Skip if you don't like the nutty smell of shea butter

"The Shea Butter Mask is my end all be all for waves," Englert says of this ultra-hydrating deep conditioner. She likes to leave on the mask for 5 minutes, rinse, squeeze the excess water out, and apply more as a leave-in conditioner. "It helps set the wet hair with a smoother cuticle prep ready for styling with a diffuser or air dry," says Englert.

Another pro tip: Add extra volume to your wavy hair by rinsing your hair upside down in the shower to give the roots a bit of extra lift and to encourage that natural wave from root to ends.

Beyond nourishing shea butter, this deep conditioner contains monoi oil, botanical extracts, ceramides, and vitamin B-5 to help soften, smooth, and strengthen wavy hair.

Key Specs

Rating 4.4-star average from 122 Ulta reviewers
Size 7.5 fl. oz.
Main ingredients Shea butter, monoi oil, and vitamin B-5, aka pantothenic acid

BEST DETANGLER

Oribe
Priming Lotion Leave-In Conditioning Detangler
 

Pros

• Smooths the hair cuticle for a frizz-free finish
• Defines wavy hair texture

Cons

• Not ideal for fine hair

Wavy hair tangles easily, so using this sulfate-free leave-in conditioner will act as both a moisturizing treatment and a styling product.

"While this leave-in conditioner detangles, it also hydrates and moisturizes, and it gives you smooth waves. I’ve had clients use this product, and it works amazing, but also, this product can be heavy if you use too much of it, work with a small amount and build as you need to," Hurtado tells us.

Pro tip: You want to apply it from the ends first, then work your way up to avoid weighing down your hair.

Amazon reviewers love this wavy hair product because it has a light and clean scent, controls frizz, softens parched strands, and detangles like a pro. Some reviewers say you only need to use a grape-sized dollop, but you can also add a bit of product to dry hair when your strands need a touch of moisture.

Key Specs

Rating 4.4-star average from 600 Amazon reviewers
Size 8.5 fl. oz.
Main Ingredients Murumuru, mango, cocoa seed butters

BEST WAVE SPRAY

Davines
This Is A Sea Salt Spray
 

Pros

• Certified Plastic-Neutral container
• Non-flakey feel

Cons

• Strong fragrance is not for everyone

Achieving a tousled, undone look couldn't be easier, thanks to Chacon's recommendation. The Miami-based dermatologist considers it a handy wave-enhancing spray. "This will help you achieve the texture of a more natural wave with a polished and matte finish," she says.

She's not the only fan — more than 1,100 Amazon shoppers left glowing 5-star reviews. Notably, one reviewer spent 15 years searching for the best hair product for wavy hair, and once they discovered this spray, it met all their expectations and more.

"This product gave me very natural waves, and it in no way gave me the straw texture common in most salt sprays. It's literally perfect if you want natural, beachy, wavy, tousled, or slightly curly hair," says their 5-star Amazon review.

Key Specs

Rating 4.6-star average from 1,520 Amazon reviews
Size 8.45 fl. oz.
Main ingredient Sea salt

BEST TOOL

BLACK EGG
Boar Bristle Hair Brush

 

Pros

• Distributes your hair's hydrating natural oils
• Made from cheap, but well-made materials
• Ergonomic handle for added comfort

Cons

• Only available in one size

Hairstylist Samantha Gradilone of Fabio Scalia Salon says that because wavy hair is prone to dryness, a boar bristle brush is one of the best products you can invest in.

"The boar bristle brush provides great tension to grab on and pull hair sections evenly, distributing the natural oils from the root to the ends — the result is a more natural shine, a reduction in frizziness, and a much smoother blowout," she says.

Naturally, she's a fan of her salon's in-house brushes, but you can only purchase them IRL in NYC, and we always want to provide you with in-stock items that anyone worldwide can access. Enter this simple but incredibly effective option.

Beyond earning nearly 6,000 5-star Amazon reviews, the super soft natural boar bristles won't snag wavy hair, no matter the length or texture. One Amazon reviewer with fine hair adds the brush is so gentle that her young daughters no longer complain about styling discomfort.

A bonus: Each order comes with a mini wooden comb to help distribute styling products and hair masks.

Key Specs

Rating 4.4-star average from 8,300 Amazon reviews
Size 9.02 x 3.07 x 1.85 inches