From byrdie
As much as we love getting product recommendations from celebrity hairstylists and our friends, there are few hair aficionados we trust to come through with the best-kept secrets more than a fellow beauty editor. After all, it’s our job as beauty reporters to keep up-to-date on the hair care market—to sniff out firsthand which products (both new and legacy) are worth suggesting that our dear readers (and each other) spend our hard-earned time and cash on.
The following 13 products are those that have made the cut—hair oils, masks, shampoos, texture sprays, and more that, over the years, we Byrdie editors have genuinely recommended to each other, tried, and loved. If you’re in the market for hair care, this list is for you.
Read on to discover the best hair products we have tried thanks to fellow editors.
Who What Wear’s assistant editor Erin was introduced to this sleeper hit through all-star beauty writer Kaitlyn and couldn’t believe the results. It may be only $9, but thanks to its ability to volumize the living daylights out of greasy limp hair (this is due to ingredients like bamboo fibers and plant collagen), Erin regards it as maybe her all-time favorite dry shampoo.
Byrdie senior editor Hallie had been raving about this iconic French oil for years before I finally gave it a try—now I have a serious product crush that just won’t quit. My hair is really color-damaged, so I’ve come to slicking it back in a ponytail with this 100% plant-based, cruelty-free blend of botanical oils and leaving it like that all day. It creates a chic style that always yields me compliments while hydrating and reviving my damaged hair. When I shampoo at the end of the day, my hair always turns out infinitely softer and shinier.
(Warning: It smells divine but sort of strong, so use sparingly if you’re prone to scent-induced headaches.)
“Hallie sealed the deal on me getting Olaplex’s Shampoo and Conditioner,” Erin told me. “I was going to anyway, but her five-star review hurried up the process.” Like the rest of its standout product line, Olaplex’s restorative shampoo and conditioner make her dry, color-treated hair look worlds healthier.
Beauty editors aren’t the only fans of Olaplex’s launch—Sephora reviewers love it, too. “Another home run by Olaplex,” writes one user. “I’m not sure I can accurately convey my love for Olaplex No 5, but I’ll try! As a hairstylist, I use a lot of different products on a daily basis and it takes a lot to impress me. Most conditioners smell great but don’t ‘do it all.’ Olaplex No 5 DOES IT ALL! Fights frizz, great for curly hair, straight hair, done hair, thick hair. It really works on all hair types and textures!”
Our editorial director, Faith, became acquainted with this dry shampoo thanks to one of PopSugar’s beauty editors and has basically turned the entire Byrdie team onto it since. The product simply does what dry shampoo is supposed to do: refreshes dirty hair without leaving a white residue, adds volume, and smells lovely but not overpowering.
This is our managing editor Lindsey’s favorite brush thanks to a recommendation from Hallie. “Its compact size makes it the perfect travel brush, but even when I’m at home, it separates my frequently knotted hair without damaging in the slightest,” Lindsey says. “Plus, it comes in a wide range of fun colors and patterns, which always makes using a product infinitely more enjoyable.”
Two years ago, Byrdie’s U.S. and UK editors did a fun international beauty product swap, and Ouai’s Wave Spray is one of the American picks our British colleagues loved best. As our UK editor Lisa wrote, “We’re now lucky enough to have access to the Ouai range via Sephora, but when I received my care package, that wasn’t the case. The days I have misted this into my damp hair before rough drying has resulted in some of the best natural-looking texture (and hair compliments) I’ve ever had.”
Thanks to Erin, Hallie is now a total stan of Verb’s 100% transparent oil, which works beautifully on both of their wildly different hair textures (fine and straight vs. thick and curly). Its main ingredient is moringa oil, which is a deeply moisturizing but lightweight oil that it never weighs the hair down.
Curly babes have to stick together, which is why Hallie turned to Maya, digital beauty editor at Marice Claire, for this deeply hydrating mask. According to Maya, the formula (packed with coconut oil, shea butter, castor oil, and aloe) leaves her curl shafts as bouncy as trampolines.
This is one of my go-to hair masks, and our wavy-haired Victoria became a fan of it too after she and I tried each other’s entire beauty routines for a week last year. According to her, the mask “smells exactly like Bath & Body Works’ Warm Vanilla Sugar and, for me, functioned like an ultra-conditioning styling paste: I used it to slick back my hair (one of Amanda’s signature looks) for a night out and fell asleep with it in. When I woke up, my strands weren’t at all greasy or sticky—just hydrated and smooth.”
It’s hard to find a shampoo that actively repairs the hair while cleansing it, but that’s exactly what this stuff does (a glowing review by Faith led Hallie to fall in love with the product as well).
Another product Victoria tried and loved thanks to our beauty product swap was this legendary hair oil, which she now swears is “worth the hype.” She wrote, “My hair drank it right up, and it added the perfect amount of sheen.”
Next up, Holiday Beauty Gift Sets That Take the Hard Work Out of Shopping
This story was originally published at an earlier date and has since been updated