I Swear By Leave-In Conditioners to Detangle and Prevent Frizz—12 Our Team Loves (2025)

Our Top Picks

Why We Love It: I’ve used Crown Affair’s deceptively lightweight, water-based formula for over a year now, and it never fails to nourish my dry strands. All I need is a half-pump of product to get pillow-soft and frizz-free hair that retains moisture for days. In fact, I even skipped applying my other oils and hair serums while using it.

Who It’s For: This pick is especially great for adding volume to finer strands and making hair air-dry smoothly and look extra sleek. The fresh, lightly citrus signature scent of bergamot, yuzu, and lemongrass is more subtle in this product than in others. The smooth semi-opaque matte glass vessel and elegant black typeface add grandeur to the entire experience.

Formula: Cream | Key Ingredients: Tsubaki seed meadowfoam seed oils | Benefits: Hydrating, anti-frizz, shine-enhancing | Scent: Bergamot, yuzu, lemongrass | Size: 5.1 oz

Irene Richardson, writer with 3A hair: “After a stylist harped on my thinning hair, I self-consciously picked up this gorgeous bottle, and wow—consider it a hair-thickening miracle worker.”

Why We Love It: Brittle, damaged, and a mess of knots, the Odele leave-in conditioner sent a lifeline to our tester’s hopeless hair. Although its formula has a thin, serum-like consistency, it replenished dry strands better than a thicker cream and quickly detangled damp hair.

Who It’s For: The serum-like consistency is easy to work through tangled strands. InStyle tester Jackie only needed about two full pumps to coat her thick strands, but we’d suggest even less for thinner hair types. While Jackie initially noticed her hair had less frizz, her usual static shortly returned—consider sealing it in with a hair oil for longer-term benefits.

Formula: Cream | Key Ingredients: Amaranthus caudatus seed extract, rice protein | Benefits: Curl-defining, hydrating | Scent: Cucumber, oakmoss, ylang-ylang | Size: 8 oz

Jackie, tester with type 2B hair: “My hair tends to be very brittle, and it did feel smoother and softer overall. After looking at the photos, I see that my hair looks shinier and healthier than before I started using this conditioner.”

Why We Love It:It's hard to thoroughly explain how well theshampoo and conditionerfrom the Kristin Ess anti-fade line brought my dehydrated, limp, and thinning winter hair back to life. This leave-in conditioner is the cherry on top of an already great formula. I'm so glad I introduced this third option to the party—and not only because it has the same intoxicating woody scent as those products. The spray seals in moisture, leaving me with less frizz. Most importantly (for me, anyway), it offers heat protection, so I can skip that step and fire up the hot tools without worry.

Who It's For: This is a great reset for me when I've crisped my hair with hot tools and need to baby it before turning on the curling iron. Anyone with dry, fine hair will benefit from using this lightweight spray because it still has a rich, creamy texture, but it comes out in an almost imperceptible mist that melts instantly into strands. As a bonus, it helps protect color so it's an excellent option for anyone who regularly sits under foils.

Formula: Cream | Key Ingredients: Rice brand oil | Benefits: Hydrating, color protecting | Scent: Almond, violet, honey, vanilla cream + sandalwood | Size: 8.5 oz

Irene Richardson, writer with 3A hair:"Can we talk about my shine? My hair looks so much blonder using this leave-in conditioner. Plus, I normally don't use spray formulas because I'm super heavy-handed with the application, but this leave-in conditioner never made my hair feel heavy."

Why We Love It: The thought of a slick leave-in conditioner is a scary idea to those of us with greasy, fine strands, so we believe us when we say the Ouai formulates one of the best lightweight leave-in conditioners for wispier hair types. Similar to the Ouai curl cream, it’s a nonsticky, frizz-fighting machine that doesn’t skimp on follicle support. Give it a good shake, and presto, it’ll melt between wet and dry strands like butter, leaving a gorgeous scent profile of bergamot and white musk behind.

Who It’s For: This unique cream spray has all the benefits of a thicker lotion-type conditioner with a lightweight, serum-adjacent consistency, making it great for those with finer strands. Beyond that, its silky consistency is an intriguing cross-hybrid somewhere between a serum and a cream. Initially, Senior Editor Summer Cartwright thought it would apply like a sticky, goopy lotion, so she was pleasantly surprised at how finely the spray misted and dissolved.

Formula: Cream spray | Key Ingredients: Tamarind seed extract, vitamin E, hydrolyzed proteins | Benefits: Detangling, hydrating, anti-frizz | Scent: Bergamot, violet, white musk | Size: 4.7 oz

Summer Cartwright, editor with 1C hair:“My thin, wavy hair gets oily just being in the presence of most conditioners, but somehow this one keeps it from looking goopy even a day later. I can even apply it at my roots, and it won't bog anything down. It's a miracle. I have a full size and a travel size of this baby, so I can take it with me when I'm on the road—it's like my security blanket."

Why We Love It: Flyaways are inevitable for any hair type, but they can really make or break whether your waves look mermaid-esque or like they were snared in a fishing net. According to InStyle tester Cara, this wavy hair product immediately smoothed away static while defining her natural curl pattern. And the lightweight spray did it all while retaining the bounce and body of her hair.

Who It’s For: Fine-haired friends, you will adore this leave-in conditioner. While this spray is practically weightless, it still feels hydrating on brittle, damaged strands. Thanks to the product’s detangling properties, Cara experienced less frizz and breakage from combing through knots. That said, she needed at least five good sprays to feel she’d covered her hair in enough product.

Formula: Spray | Key Ingredients: Sunflower seed and green tea extracts, aloe vera | Benefits: Heat and color protection, anti-frizz | Scent: Fresh | Size: 4 oz

Cara, tester with type 2B hair: “It enhances my natural waves by adding moisture and taming flyaways and frizz. This made my hair feel healthier and softer. It wasn't as brittle as it usually is from being bleached, and I think it is helping to repair some of that damage.”

Why We Love It: Like any worthwhile curly hair product, the Amika Hyrdo Rush uses nourishing ingredients, such as hyaluronic acid and squalane, that moisturize ringlets and waves while keeping them springy and bouncy. Unlike other leave-in conditioners, however, InStyle tester Alicia’s strands weren’t left with a weird, tacky film that makes waves appear cardboard-stiff. Another benefit is the warm, fresh-floral scent that accompanies each spritz.

Who It’s For: This product provides plenty of definition for hair that needs it but none of the crunchiness some curly-haired products leave behind. Don’t be fooled by the seemingly small amount of product the nozzle dispenses. After some trial and error, Alicia discovered that one spray adequately misted her hair in the perfect amount of the lightweight lotion. Any more, and she had oily roots.

Formula: Cream | Key Ingredients: Squalane, hyaluronic acid, sea buckthorn | Benefits: Detangling, anti-frizz, color protection | Scent: Warm vanilla, spicy sweet clover, fresh citrus | Size: 6.7 oz

Alicia, tester with type 1B hair: “I was impressed with how my hair curled—usually any product weighs down my hair too much for a curl to hold. I love how even and light this spray is! I like that I don’t have to use a lot to get my tangles all brushed through.”

Why We Love It: Whether I’ve been overzealous with my hot tools or lazily falling asleep with wet hair, I can count on the Oribe Moisturizing Cream to whip my frizzy hair back into its smooth state. Application is everything, from dispensing the lightly floral-scented cream conditioner from its midnight blue bottle to how the silky formula melts into my strands. Best of all, it makes my hair incredibly soft, bouncy, and brighter.

Who It’s For: The luxurious cream instantly soaks into hair without a trace of stickiness or residue, making it great for those who need to make their strands look good on a time crunch. I will say that it’s super important to watch how much you apply—anything more than a pea-sized amount could make finer strands like mine a little greasy.

Formula: Cream | Key Ingredients: Wheat amino acids, keratin | Benefits: Heat and color protection, anti-frizz, hydrating | Scent: Bergamot, jasmine, sandalwood | Size: 5 oz

Irene Richardson, writer with type 3A hair: “I tried this product when I couldn’t get staticky strands to stay smoothed down, and it totally transformed my bed-head look. The formula is so silky that it’s easy to apply too much, so I definitely suggest working in small amounts. Even still, my expensive-looking hair makes this cream worth the splurge.”

Why We Love It: Typically, we reach for a Drunk Elephant product to soothe acne-dotted skin, though its hair products are equally equipped to reverse damage. Since great hair starts at the scalp, the brand thoughtfully incorporated skin-soothing vanilla extract into this formula to relieve itchiness and irritation.

Who It’s For: Bond-building proteins in this formula, such as hydrolyzed silk and silk amino acids, help heal overly processed or heat-damaged strands. And, it’s so lightweight that you could use a small amount to revive dull hair after it’s dried and not worry about a tacky residue. While scientific-backed formulas are a chief part of any Drunk Elephant product, so is packaging. InStyle tester Emelia especially loved how she could neatly nestle the flat bottle in her suitcase and easily spot the bright-colored bottle.

Formula: Cream | Key Ingredients: Hydrolyzed silk, silk amino acids, silk sericin | Benefits: Hydrating | Scent: Vanilla | Size: 8 oz

Emelia, tester with 1A hair: “My hair did feel healthier and less brittle…It brought back my rich deep brown color. I did not feel that my hair weighed down after using the product. It made my hair less frizzy and very shiny!”

Why We Love It: This product repairs split ends, breakage, and brittle strands in just a few washes. InStyle tester Taylor notes, however, that it took consistent use to see less breakage and frizz. The results? Totally worth it. After about four washes, she especially saw an improvement in her split ends. And, as long as she styled her hair after washing it, the thick, conditioner-like texture didn’t feel heavy or tacky between her strands.

Who It’s For: The K18 Leave-In Molecular Repair Hair Mask leaves hair with trophy-level shine—really our tester's hair should be sitting behind a locked case—and revives the dull, dehydrated bleached styles.

Formula: Cream | Key Ingredients: Hydrolyzed wheat protein, vitamin E, coconut oil | Benefits: Color protection, hydrating | Scent: Jasmine, peony | Size: 0.5 oz

Taylor, tester with type 2A hair: “My hair looked amazing after using the product. It looked so shiny, soft, and so, so thick. I used it before getting my hair done for a wedding, and all my friends told me it looked like I was wearing a wig. The true standout difference was the shine, though. My hair often looks dull after styling, and I use hair oil to improve the shine, but I didn't reach for it once while using this product.”

Why We Love It: Typically a coconut cocktail comes with a little umbrella and seaside view, but the Color Wow leave-in treatment gives us something even better. Its keratin-infused formula provides volume and definition—especially for fine, curly hair. Meanwhile, coconut oil helps minimize frizz, and gives it a gorgeous vacation-adjacent scent.

Who It’s For: This product’s lifting properties give curls volume and definition while coconut oil hydrates dehydrated locks. Snap the diffuser attachment on your hair dryer and this heat-activated product will spring ringlets back into action. And like all the best beach accessories it also provides heat protection from UV rays and hot tools.

Formula: Spray | Key Ingredients: Coconut oil, keratin | Benefits: Heat protection | Scent: Coconut | Size: 6.7 oz

Ashley, tester with 1B hair: “After using this product, my hair felt smooth and less tangled. This product is a light, creamy liquid with a somewhat watery consistency. It worked well with my hair, and the more watery consistency allowed me to distribute it evenly."

Why We Love It: This is one of the best leave-in conditioners we've found for thick hair, thanks to the wave of moisturizing ingredients, like shea butter, Jamaican black castor oil, and antioxidant-rich coconut oil. These creamy emollients nourish delicate waves, allowing them to flourish and retain shape instead of wilting under humidity and heat.

Who It’s For: This leave-in conditioner is worth trying if you have dandruff or a flaky scalp, given all of the scalp-balancing ingredients it offers, including apple cider vinegar and peppermint which work to prevent flakey skin. Pro tip: Even if you find the thick formula too heavy for your fine hair, its ultra-creamy consistency is the perfect texture for creating a slicked-back bun.

Formula: Cream | Key Ingredients: Jamaican black castor oil, shea butter, peppermint, apple cider vinegar | Benefits: Hydrating, anti-frizz, curl-enhancing | Scent: Vanilla, coconut | Size: 11.5 oz

Amy, tester with 2B hair:“I would recommend this product to someone with a course or very thick hair...The scent was good. Just enough to smell clean, like subtle coconut and shea butter."

Why We Love It: Argan oil has plenty of benefits, which is why it’s a key ingredient in the Moroccanoil line, including replenishing, adding shine and moisture to lackluster hair, and taming frizz. However, its natural scent also smells really, really delicious—InStyle tester Gibreel couldn’t get enough of the subtle, nutty scent it left behind.

Who It’s For: Among its other perks, this leave-in treatment hydrates scraggly ends and softens hair for a luscious, full-bodied look. Gibreel adds that despite the product dispensing as a very light, imperceptible mist, her hair looked like she’d applied an ultrarich deep conditioner to it. Anyone with fine hair or who prefers lightweight oils to creams will appreciate this feeling. That said, we’d take extra care to comb it through your strands because the spray nozzle doesn’t distribute the product evenly.

Formula: Spray | Key Ingredients: Argan and sunflower seed oil, pure amino acids | Benefits: Detangling, hydrating, heat protecting | Scent: Florals, amber, musk | Size: 8.1 oz

Gibreel, tester with type 2C hair: “I did notice a more healthy and shinier look to my curls. It really just melts into your hair. After the first application of this product, I noticed my hair felt softer, similar to a deep conditioner."

“I recommend applying leave-in conditioners on damp hair after the hair is properly cleansed—once applied you can move forward with heat styling,” says Miller. Celebrity hairstylist Joseph Michael adds that you should never reapply a leave-in conditioner to dirty hair because “it can cause a product buildup and leave your hair feeling greasy and thick.”

Colorist Emily Landino recommends using it every other day if you’re someone who washes daily because “it is possible to over-moisturize the hair, which can lead to breakage,” she adds.