5 Amazing Premium Leave-In Conditioners for Curly Hair

Ever see a hair product with a ridiculous price tag and wonder what in the world? Are they really worth it? I decided to check out some of these premium-priced leave-in conditioners for curly hair to get the tea. Will they make your hair as soft and lustrous as they claim?

Well, yes. Some of them are 100% worth it! And for the price, they better be. While not everything in your hair care regimen needs to be premium, it’s definitely worth it to add a premium quality product here and there when and where you can.

I like it when my curls are popping, OK?! And as a curly girl for so long, I’ve been through an incredible amount of products because I hate it when my hair gets used to something and stops giving me its best. Plus as I research new ingredients and new products come alive, it becomes a fun adventure to try new products to see what they bring to the table.

If even just a new exotic scent, I love discovering new gems. Here’s my list of premium leave-in conditioners for soft, shiny hair. But first…

How to Use Leave-In Conditioner for Curly Hair

So…leave-in conditioners have only entered my world since going natural. That may be because while my hair was chemically straightened, I would go to a salon for upkeep and I had little knowledge or interest at that time about the products that were being used in my hair. When you’re natural, you get really curious about what’s going in your hair because you want to tame frizz, enhance shine and manageability and some of us want to define our curls.

Leave-in conditioners are supposed to do all that. They add much-needed moisture to curly hair since the texture of our hair makes it dry out much easier than straight hair. Because of our curls and coils, the oils produced on our scalp don’t always make it down to the ends of our hair so it becomes necessary to keep our strands moisturized as much as it needs.

A good leave-in conditioner will be made primarily of water. Aqua or water should be the first ingredient, to help bring that moisture to your hair. An oil-based cream is a sealant, used to seal in the moisture that you’ve added to your hair. You’ll know when your hair needs moisture. You can feel it, you can see it.

Not only does it start to feel dry and brittle, it looks it too.

For me, that’s usually about day 3 or 4 if my hair is shoulder length or longer. Short hair for me requires moisture almost every other day. It just evaporates right into the air!

You can add your leave-in conditioner on wet hair or dry hair. Try both applications to see which you like best. When my hair is short, I prefer to wet my hair first with a spray bottle then add my leave-in. When my hair is longer, I usually add the leave-in to dry hair. Adding it to wet hair when it’s long usually ends in frizzy hair for me unless it was completely soaked like after just washing.

Just remember to add an oil or butter-based sealant after your leave-in to seal in the moisture. It will last a little longer so you won’t have to remoisturize every day.

Can I Use a Leave-In Conditioner Every Day?

Yes, you can. But do you need to? Even when my curly hair is big-chop short I don’t. That just seems like a lot of manipulation. Unless you’re washing your hair every day, leave-in conditioner every day is unnecessary.

Like I said, you’ll feel and be able to see when it’s time to add moisture.

The Best Leave-In Conditioner for Curly Hair

Listen. This is of course based on my own personal experience but this Ouidad Moisture Lock Leave-in Conditioner is hands down the best leave-in conditioner for curly hair. For my curly hair at least. And it does pretty well in my munchkin’s 4b/4c hair.

It’s pricey but this is a premium product list and this product makes my hair super soft and so incredibly shiny. I can’t keep my hands out of my hair when I get my hands on this leave-in conditioner. I rotate through a few Ouidad products, in fact, hoping that my hair never gets used to its goodness.

Premium Leave-In Conditioners for Curly Hair

Mango butter is something I’ve experimented with and I like it in my hair so I decided to give this Klorane Mango Butter Leave-In a shot and I was very pleased with the results. It’s a lovely thick and creamy leave-in that adds amazing moisture to my hair after a three-day wash and go. It’s also rich enough to be used as a leave-in conditioner for 4c kinky hair as my daughter’s hair likes this a lot.

I was almost afraid to try this product because full disclaimer, it’s not cheap. But I really liked the ingredient list so I bit the bullet to give it a try. It’s vegan, color-safe and free of harmful ingredients. It also has mango butter, avocado oil, jojoba seed oil and ingredients that were new to me but when I researched, were super beneficial for my hair. I wasn’t disappointed. I love that it softens my hair to gently detangle it without causing frizz. Give it a try for your curly hair.

This product I tried when I wanted to straighten my hair that was already limp from going blonde. You’ll notice that it’s primarily marketed to people with fine, limp, color-treated hair who blowdry often. I needed something to coat and protect my curls when straightening and it really didn’t disappoint. It’s heat-activated so maybe not best as an everyday leave-in if you’re not using heat on your hair.

Try this product as an upgrade to plain water when refreshing curls between wash days. It has some seriously luxurious ingredients and will give you the shine and moisture boost you need.

Not all of these products may work for your hair like they do for me but I am always in search of a product that takes my hair from good to amazing. These are some of the best leave-in conditioners for curly hair I’ve tried that actually deliver on their promises.

If you’re looking for the best budget leave-in conditioners to add to your rotation, check out that list by clicking on that link.