Key ingredients: meadowfoam seed oil, tsubaki seed oil | Best for: all curl types
Best for Type 2 Curls: Fekkai Brilliant Glossing Cream
Why we love it: The Fekkai Brilliant Glossing Styling Crème works on all hair types, but truly shines for Type 2 waves. Type 2 hair’s signature S-shaped wave can make it more prone to frizz due to uneven cuticle layers, which make it harder for the hair to retain moisture. However, this lightweight cream is able to deliver a boost of hydration, shine, and definition, making it a go-to for enhancing loose waves or achieving a sleek, glossy blowout. With touchable hold and frizz-fighting power, it keeps waves looking smooth and polished all day long.
Tester feedback: “I’m a wash-and-go girl, but that means I need a really good air-dry product. This has made it into my regular rotation—so much so that I actually have travel-size tubes on hand, too,” says Allure contributor Deanna Pai. “Just a pea-size amount gives my curls much-needed volume and definition.”
How to use it: Apply a small amount to damp hair, scrunching gently to enhance your natural wave pattern. For extra shine and frizz control, smooth a tiny dab over dry hair as the perfect finishing touch.
Key ingredients: cold-pressed olive oil, prickly pear extract | Best for: Type 2 waves and curls
Best for Type 3 Curls: Briogeo Style + Treat Full Miracle Styling Foam
Why we love it: Ah, the dreaded crunch of dried curl products—thankfully, that’s not an issue with Briogeo Style + Treat Full Miracle Styling Foam. This lightweight, airy foam delivers buildable volume, soft hold, and heat protection up to 450°F. Perfect for Type 3 curls with more springy volume, it leaves hair soft, bouncy, and full of life.
Tester feedback: “This airy foam gives buildable volume and hold to my curls—without crunch—all day,” says Allure shopping director Shanna Shipin. “Plus, it defines my curl pattern, nourishes my strands, and preps me for the inevitable blowout a few days later. It’s easily the best multipurpose product in my hair routine.”
Key ingredients: yuzu extract, plum oil, super B complex | Best for: Type 3 curls
Best for Type 4 Curls: Coil Bar Lock It In Curl Nourishing Hair Oil
Why we love it: Type 4 curls surely know their way around oils—but they also know that the wrong ones can leave scalps angry and hair weighed down. The Coil Bar Lock It In Curl Nourishing Hair Oil is the perfect balanced blend of sunflower, coconut, hemp seed, pumpkin seed, tea tree, peppermint, neem, lavender, thyme, olive, and jojoba oils (just to name a few). This formula delivers deep hydration, softness, and shine, locking in moisture where curls need it most. Sure, it’s an impressive lineup of oils, but that’s exactly what it takes to keep your curls healthy, defined, and absolutely on point.
Tester feedback: “I’m still a proponent of the L.O.C. method (leave-in, oil, and curl cream), and Coil Bar’s is my go-to hair oil for my wash-and-go process,” says senior visuals editor Lauren Brown. “It’s the perfect texture to coat my curls, and doesn’t immediately dry my hair out like some hair oils.”
