I tested over 50 heat protectant sprays to find the best of the best.

Honorable mentions

Sutra Heat Guard Glowing Cream for $24: I like The Sutra IR2 straightenerso I had high hopes. This thick, nearly fragrance-free cream is meant to protect up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and reduce drying time, but my hair felt dry after use.

Mane Temperature Control for $26: “Smell cute, feel cuter” is the slogan of this range of hair products and tools from the famous hairstylist Jen Atkin, founder of Yeah. This pink spray immediately brightens up any bathroom counter with its handwritten cartoon letters, cheerful clouds, and lychee/rose/vanilla scent. While I loved how it worked on my 3a hair, I can see how it may be too dry for some.

Rootist BioBrew Fermented Leave-In Repair Serum for $57: Same as brand dry shampoothis lightweight spray’s claim to fame lies in its use of Rootbiotic Ferment, a fermented botanical blend that provides bioavailable nutrients to the scalp and hair. It’s an interesting concept, but I wasn’t blown away by its standard properties like frizz reduction. At this price, for less than 2 ounces of product, I felt like I should be.

IGK Good Behavior Supreme Seal Smoothing Serum for $34: I really like this pump bottle serum as a finishing product and for applying to dry ends, but it’s too difficult to achieve even application as a regular heat protectant.

R+Co on a Cloud Bond Building Repair and Styling Oil for $38: As above, I like this product as a styling and finishing oil, but not as a heat protectant. (Although it protects against heat up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.)

Verb Moisturizing Oil for $36: This protective serum-like product at 450 degrees Fahrenheit left my hair a little oilier than similar products. Online reviews complain about faulty pump bottles, but mine had no problems.

Feature of Beauty Smooth With It Blowout Mist for $13: This Target-exclusive spray is enriched with Argan Oil and Tsubaki Oil (from the camellia fruit), a common ingredient in many K-beauty products. It’s a spray, but I was surprised to find that it has an opaque, creamy consistency rather than liquid form, which means it’s a bit heavy. That said, my frizzy hair sometimes needs something heavy, and this does the job perfectly: it visibly reduces frizz after blow-drying and my hair feels very soft.

Remilia Rice & Shine Leave-In Conditioner for $24: This moisturizing and heat-protecting leave-in spray comes in a fresh bottle with a cork stopper and has a harmless scent. However, it didn’t do much for frizz in my testing.

Jess & Lou Protect Thermal Protective Mist for $20: I liked this sustainably sourced, natural, organic spray, but it only protected up to 350 degrees Fahrenheit—too low for the tools I use—and it didn’t work well on frizz. (However, I loved the brand’s ultra-hydrating treatment ResQ hair mask.)

Goddess BioTech Blowout for $40: This leave-in cream, powered by the exclusive Goddess molecule, worked great on my 3a hair, but to smooth out the frizz I had to use the same amount as another product, which is important when it costs $40 for a 1.7-ounce bottle.

The Glass Hair Angel for $30: This heat-activated primer promised high shine, but it didn’t deliver on its promises in my testing. Otherwise, it’s a perfectly serviceable heat protectant, although there are similar lower cost options.

Marc Anthony Grow Long Anti-Frizz Shield Ultimate Blowout for $10: This anti-frizz spray is a great value, but it didn’t do wonders on my 3a curls, and Function of Beauty’s Smooth With It (above) outperformed it in this price category.

Raw Sugar Multi Miracle Leave-In Conditioner for $10: I really liked the woody accent and spray nozzle on the bottle of this heat-protecting leave-in conditioner, but it didn’t perform well on frizz in my testing.

Biolage Thermal Setting Spray for $24: I like the Biolage brand, and the fact that it can be used on both damp and dry hair (even if it doesn’t give a temperature limit). However, whether I used it wet or dry, I found that it left some parts of my hair stiff. Some reviewers online, however, found that they really liked it for defining curls.

Emi Jay Heavenly Hair Milk for $40: It’s not exactly a spray, but it’s light enough that it could be, and it comes in a cool bottle with a pump that twists down to become a flush stopper. It’s a combination heat protectant and detangler that turns out to be a great anti-frizz product on its own (it’s supposed to also reduce drying time, but that feature wasn’t notable in my testing). It was, at one point, my first choice for best smell, but someone online said it smelled like Play-Doh, and I could never get it off.

Moroccanoil Perfect Defense Heat Protector for $15 (2 ounces): All of Moroccanoil’s products are infused with argan oil, and this spray, which protects up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, is no exception. It can be used on wet or dry hair and is extremely lightweight. I thought it looked and acted like a lightweight hairspray, for better or worse. I didn’t like the perfume or the ultra-fine alcohol-based mist. I was actually worried that it would dry out my hair, but it didn’t.

Milk_Shake Lifestyling Amazing Anti-Humidity Spray For $28 And Smoothing cream for $24: I love Milk_Shake as a brand, and these products were great, but didn’t stand out enough to be considered top picks.

Verb Frizz Defense Smoothing Spray for $22: I had heard really good things about this anti-frizz spray. Indeed, it is light, does not dry out and does not leave any significant residue. This would be a great choice if you have straight or wavy hair, but there are more effective options for cutting frizz. type 3 and 4 loops if you are trying to cause a breakout.

John Frieda Frizz Ease Extra Strength Hair Serum for $11: The price is right for this old school classic: I used it for years in the 90s. However, it is much slimmer today than it was back then. It’s still good, but it’s not among my top picks for reducing frizz.

Reverie Milk Nourishing Anti-Frizz Leave-In Treatment for $44: I loved this cream’s spicy botanical scent, its sleek glass bottle, and the fact that it protects up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit (according to Reverie; it’s not listed on the bottle). It worked well! There are simply too many better options for half the price. (Editor’s Note: This is Reviews Editor Adrienne So’s current favorite thermal protectant for thick, wavy 2a hair. She mainly likes the ease of application and preventing frizz, but admits it’s stupidly expensive.)

Others we tried

Hairstory Primer Smoothing and Hydrating Protective Mist for $36: This leave-in mist protects up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and is designed to work with the whole New Hairstory Washing Method ($86)which involves a detergent-free “cleansing cream.” I tried it and it reminded me of everything “no poop” early movement, where practitioners eschewed modern shampoos for more natural options like baking soda. This method isn’t for everyone, but if you try it, I don’t think the mist adds enough to justify the cost.

IGK Good Behavior Spirulina Protein Smoothing Spray for $38: This spray felt like it was drying out my hair a bit and it has the same unpleasant scent as the Good Behavior 4-in-1 (above). I didn’t care for it in liquid spray form, but it was overwhelming in aerosol cloud form.

R+Co Bleu Hypersonic Heated Styling Mist for $36: This high-tech-looking aerosol in a recycled aluminum bottle was a favorite during the first weeks of testing. I liked its protection up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and its anti-frizz properties. However, it uses a polymer and resin complex to smooth hair, and over time I noticed it left a sticky residue on my hands and hot tools.

Brocato Cloud 9 Miracle Repair 3-in-1 Leave-In Conditioning Spray for $30 And Brocato Cloud 9 Blowout Blow Dry Serum for $28: People love Cloud 9 online and I really like the parent brand Beautopia. vibrating hair straightenerbut none of these products did much to reduce frizz in my testing.

Mane Cotton Candy Dry Texture and Volume Spray for $26: Protective up to 380 degrees Fahrenheit, this styler is supposed to add volume, and I had high hopes given my positive experience with this brand’s Temp Check heat protectant (above). However, it had the opposite effect on my mid-length hair.

Briogeo Farewell Frizz Blowdry Perfection & Heat Protecting Cream for $26: I have this ck, unruly hair, and this barrier cream felt like it made my hair unmanageable and harder to manage. This may be a testament to its effectiveness, but I felt like I had to make too many passes with a titanium flat iron set to maximum temperature.

Pureology Instant Levitation Mist for $34: Pureology is known for its formulas specifically designed for color-treated hair, so I was hoping this would be a high-performance solution for those who don’t want to risk ruining their expensive highlights or balayage. However, it seemed to leave a dull residue, and neither I nor my short-haired tester found the volumizing feature very effective.

R+Co Chainmail Heat Protection Styling Spray for $36: I liked this spray for its ability to add lots of visible shine, but the aerosol nozzle wasn’t as focused as I would have liked, creating a mist so broad and fine that it was almost impossible not to breathe it in. I also found the cologne scent overwhelming.

Milk_Shake Lifestyling Thermo-Protector for $26: I usually love Milk_Shake products, but this aerosol spray felt like it was drying out my hair and amplifying my already difficult to manage frizz after blow drying. It also didn’t add a noticeable amount of shine as promised.

FoxyBae Cool AF + Biotin Thermal Protector for $17: I love the cheerful design of this pump spray bottle, as well as the fact that it can be used on wet or dry hair. However, it didn’t seem to be as effective as other brands and was greasy when used on dry hair.

Chi 44 Iron Guard for $19: This drugstore mainstay works well to protect against heat while mitigating frizz, and the new Botanical Bliss scent is an improvement over the original formula. However, it left a sticky residue on my hands and heated tools.

Neqi Diamond Glass Styling Spray for $12: I like Neqi Hair Perfume Sprayso I had high hopes for its heat protectant, but it just didn’t do much to reduce frizz.

FAQs

Ingredients vary, but most heat protectants work in much the same way: by deploying ingredients like copolymers or silicone that coat the hair shaft to slow (but not completely stop) heat conduction. Many heat protectants also contain moisturizers to help seal and smooth the cuticle to reduce frizz. Since heat protectants can only slow, not completely stop, heat damage, it’s always important to use the lowest heat settings possible for your hair for the least amount of time possible.

I wash my 3a curly hair twice a week, then blow dry and continue with a straightener. I touch up my hair with a hair straightener daily between the two. I tested the thermal protection products presented in this guide during my normal daily life over a period of four months. I used each product either on damp hair before blow-drying or on dry hair before straightening, as directed in the instructions. If a product could be used on both damp and dry hair, I would try it both ways.

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