The Best Leave-In Conditioners for Your Hair Type
When I was at the cusp of puberty my sophomore year of high school (I was a late bloomer, OK?), my hair went though what could only be called a hellish, cursed metamorphosis—and it happened overnight. In my possibly unreliable memory, I went to bed with luscious, virgin hair that was equal parts silky and shiny—it was the long, wavy brown kind you’d see glistening in slow motion in shampoo commercials—and then I woke up with my mom’s hair. I’m not totally sure how I can describe my mom’s hair without offending anyone, namely her, but it’s not exactly the object of envy: It’s naturally frizzy and unmanageable, but because it’s thick, she can douse her hair in leave-in-conditioner and walk out the door with perfect hair, and her coworkers are none the wiser. I followed suit, spritzing Pantene’s original leave-in formula all over my head just like she does, and I ended up looking like a wet dog. If only the slicked-back look was in then.
MORE: 11 Moisturizing Conditioners That’ll Smooth Dry, Damaged Hair
Now, after a decade and a half of testing every formula out there, I’ve finally found a combination of products that work with my majorly damaged, flat-on-the-top-but-frizzy-on-the-bottom hair—but there’s no universal cult-favorite leave-in conditioner for a reason: While thin, limp hair often recoils at the sight of moisture, those with thick hair need a super-hydrating formula to curb its propensity for dryness. And if you’re hair is damaged? Forget it. To take out the guesswork (and to be sure nobody else has to look like a wet dog, ever), we broke down the 15 best leave-in conditioners for every hair type.
MORE: 30 Fresh Fall Hairstyles to Wear Right Now
