Curly and coily natural hair is beautiful and offers you plenty of styling versatility, including low-maintenance wash-and-go's, kinky straight blowouts, and twists, to name a few. The only problem: Finding the right natural hair products and tools for your specific texture can be overwhelming. Luckily for you, I consulted a few Black female hairstylists to help you discover the exact products you need to help your natural hair retain length and enhance your gorgeous texture.
How do I know my natural hair texture?
So, where exactly do you start figuring out the best hair products and tools for your hair? It starts with your specific hair texture. Natural hair is considered anywhere between 3C to 4C hair. Here, hairstylists quickly break down the defining attributes of each curl type.
3C hair is tight, well-defined corkscrews or coils that are dense and packed together. The curls are usually a fine or medium texture, and have the circumference of a pencil, explains hairstylist Courtney Foster.
4A tends to have an “S” shape, and like the rest of type 4 types, it has a thin cuticle layer, meaning it's more prone to dryness, says hairstylist Chrissy Zemura.
4B hair boasts a zig-zag pattern rather than the curly, spirally look of 4A and 4C hair, according to hairstylist Jiquea Evans. She adds that the biggest misconception about 4B hair is that people think it looks like stretched-out 4C hair, or that 4B is not ideal because it doesn't have a spiral.
4C hair has the tightest curl pattern, according to hairstylist Antonia Burress. She says each strand is formed in tight, coil ringlets.
Remember, 3C hair needs to be cared for just as much as 4C hair. So, the best thing to do is find and keep a healthy scalp and hair regime to have your curls and coils flowing, suggests Foster.
Hair Porosity
To gain the most benefits from your natural hair care products, you should also figure out your hair's porosity.
High-porosity hair has holes and gaps in the cuticle, which allows moisture to easily get in and get out, according to hairstylist Chrissy Zemura.
Low-porosity hair is the opposite. “It has a tightly bound cuticle, which makes it hard for moisture to penetrate into the hair, but it’s also equally difficult for moisture to get out,” she adds.
There's also normal, aka medium-porosity hair, which easily gets and retains moisture in your hair cuticle.
How to Test Hair Porosity
Drop a few of your hairs into a cup of water and see how they float or sink. If your strands float, you have low porosity hair. If your hair sinks slowly, you have normal porosity hair, and when it drops quickly, you can safely assume you have high porosity hair.
Now that you have a better understanding of the various natural hair textures and porosity types, it's time to start shopping! These expert-recommended natural hair products and tools are available at favorite reader shops like Amazon, Walmart, Sephora, and Ulta.
After consulting a few hairstylists, it was clear that the one tool they could all agree on for natural hair was a silk bonnet. Why? Wearing one at night helps prevent breakage and retain moisture. A bonus? Silk bonnets are cheaper than investing in a new silk pillowcase, which can cost as much as $150.
Edoneery's bonnet earned the top spot on this list because it's made from a double layer of fabric, is adjustable, is available in 21 colors, and costs less than $10. Plus, it boasts an impressive 4.5-star average rating from more than 5,240 reviews on Amazon.
It's all about hydration when it comes to taking care of natural hair! This deep conditioning treatment earned snaps from multiple experts because of its rich ingredients that leave your hair soft and well-moisturized.
While it could work on all types of natural hair, it's especially great for 4B and 4C coils, according to hairstylists Evans and Burress, who both work at GoodBody salon in Oakland, California.
To get the most from your deep conditioning treatment, Burress advises using a steamer or hair dryer to help the product better penetrate low porosity hair. After 15 to 20 minutes, you can rinse, towel-dry, and style as usual.
As its name suggests, Honey Creme is infused with honey, an emollient that smoothes your hair and helps make it shiny. This sulfate-free shampoo is gentle, and lathers with ease to detangle your hair. “It is also great for retaining moisture to the driest curl,” says Foster.
Foster recommends that anyone with 3C hair incorporate this product into their routine because “Aveda Be Curly conditioner keeps frizz away and adds an incredible shine.”
Be Curl contains organic aloe and wheat protein to keep your hair healthy. And it has a refreshing citrus scent, thanks to a blend of organic lemon, orange, bergamot, and other botanical extracts.
When it comes to 3C hair, it’s all about making your tight corkscrew curls pop. So, you’ll want to incorporate a curl definer into your wash day routine. “Aunt Jackie Curl La La is great for really defining curls and making them come alive,” says Foster.
It's made with popular humectants to hydrate your hair, including shea butter and three oils: soybean, olive, and lanolin.
According to Foster, Taraji P. Henson’s humectant treatment lives up to the hype. “Ride or Die not only acts as a great moisturizing leave-in conditioner, but it also refreshes day-old wash-and-go curls,” she notes.
Ride or Die is gentle enough for daily use, for when your coils need some hydration or slippage before styling. It boasts a clean formula that's free of phthalates, mineral oil, sulfates, and parabens. Instead, it's made with biotin, a B-vitamin complex that promotes scalp health, and marigold to soothe.
A Denman brush is a classic for a reason, but if you're looking for a more affordable alternative, consider this green detangling brush from BESTOOL.
It features an ergonomic handle and eight flexible columns that eliminate pesky knots. Pro tip: BETSTOOL suggests combing vertically to detangle, and horizontally to smooth your coils.
Given its price and impressive Amazon rating — a 4.4-star average rating from more than 31,350 reviews — you pretty much can't go wrong with this hairbrush.
“This shampoo will cleanse the hair without stripping it of its natural oils,” says Zemura.
It has a creamy texture formulated with organic marketing nut and ximenia — aka sour plum fruit oils — that nourish your coils and make them more manageable.
Zemura advises washing your 4A coils weekly. Then, just wet your hair, apply a small amount of this shampoo to your palms, and lather it through your locks.
Don't let the kid-friendly design fool you: This hair detangler means serious business!
I've been buying this sweet-smelling spray for years after discovering it on Ulta's digital shelves. It's a must for my wash day routine because it untangles even the most stubborn knots. It's so effective, I even converted my hairstylist into a fan!
It's also infused with hair-strengthening keratin, along with a blend of provitamins and jojoba oil extract to soften my hair. Costing around $11, you seriously cannot go wrong with this cheap detangling spray.
Your natural hair routine will finally be complete, thanks to EVO’s curl-defining mousse. It will give you exactly what your hair’s missing — moisture, control, and softness — without feeling crunchy afterward. Zemura adds that it’s “very hydrating, and defines curls with a nice smooth finish.”
The vegan-friendly mousse is made without gluten, sulfates, or parabens. Plus, you can use it on wet or dry hair.
Zemura considers the Dyson diffuser to be the best on the market. “It will gently dry the curls without blowing them everywhere or making them frizzy,” she says.
“After applying your styling products, use the diffuser directly onto the roots first, so they don’t get frizzy. Once the roots are dry, diffuse the rest of the hair,” she adds.
Evans considers shampooing the most important part of your natural haircare routine because your strands are the most vulnerable when wet.
She says this shampoo has a nice balance between moisture and protein, which is a tight line to walk. “You don’t want to over-moisturize because then, your hair becomes too soft, and you wouldn’t be able to see the curl pattern,” she explains. “You also don’t want to over-proteinize your hair because it will be too hard.”
Evans is a huge fan of this leave-in conditioner because it's infused with moisturizing ingredients like manuka honey and ceramides that complement 4A to 4C hair textures.
“The humectants and conditioners in these treatments are so potent, they burst through your cuticles and really jam pack that moisture without you having to sit under a steamer or dryer,” she explains. “And I love it because it’s quick and very efficient.”
It also provides heat protection for temperatures of up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Easily define your natural curl pattern with help from this hair jelly, infused with coconut, marula, and olive oils.
“It has a flexi-jelly consistency, so it gives you a really nice glide through your hair, especially for high-density clients,” says Evans. “You still get that nice, shiny, defined look, but it doesn’t dry and get flakey like other types of gel.”
This product should last you for months, too, since you only need a small amount of product to achieve the look you want.
“The best type of tool that you can have for 4B hair is always going to be a wide-toothed comb,” says Evans. “The more defined your hair is, the easier it is for the product to travel through your hair and saturate every tress,” she adds.
While you can use pretty much any sturdy wide-tooth comb, HYOUJIN's product earned a spot on this list because of its cheap price and the high praise it has received from Amazon reviewers. (It has a 4.7-star average rating from more than 5,470 reviews.)
In our guide to 4C hair products, celebrity hairstylist Derek Jae says Cantu makes the best sulfate-free shampoo for your hair texture because you can remove product buildup without stripping away your natural oils.
It's also made with shea butter to hydrate your coils and prevent breakage ... the enemy of length retention.
If you're looking for a more affordable conditioner to the Mizani hair mask, consider this option from Tracee Ellis Ross. It's color-safe, curl-enhancing, and uses shea butter — plus safflower seed and jojoba oils — to replenish moisture. These hydrating ingredients also provide plenty of slip to help detangle your curls.
It also has a light and sweet fragrance, thanks to an enticing blend of neroli, rose, and patchouli.
We previously named this the best detangler for 4C hair, so it's no surprise Oribe's product also made its way to our natural hair guide.
What makes it so great is the quality of its ingredients. It blends mango, cocoa seed, and murumuru to hydrate your hair and eliminate knots. There's also olive oil extract to soften your hair, while Oribe's Signature Complex (lychee, edelweiss flower, and watermelon) protects your hair from environmental stressors.
If you have medium to full hair, you can use this as a leave-in treatment. However, anyone with thin hair should either use less product or rinse it out to avoid weighing down their coils.
Burress loves this highly-rated hair dryer from Rusk, and it's easy to see why.
For starters, it utilizes ceramic and tourmaline materials to heat up quickly and cut down on your drying time. It even sports four heat settings, including a cold shot to help lock your style in place. And, of course, this hot tool minimizes frizz and static.
Nicole SaundersBeauty EditorNicole Saunders is the Beauty Editor at BestProducts.com, where she oversees coverage on all things beauty.
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