Growing up, I had honey blonde hair that was straight, fine, and as long as Rapunzel’s. Jealous of my younger sister’s springy, golden ringlets, I would wait in my mom’s bathroom, begging her to curl my hair as I pulled her Clairol Custom CareSetter electric hot rollers and Aussie Sprunch hairspray from the cabinet. Eventually she obliged, and the results made me feel infinitely more glamorous: My usual flat, straight lengths were somehow transformed into the shiny, bouncy, voluminous curls of my dreams.
Looking back, this transformation was the start of my hair obsession. You name a hair hack, I’ve tried it: I straightened my hair with a clothing iron when I didn’t have a flatiron; I dyed my hair red, chestnut brown, and black; and naturally, I once cut my own bangs. I’ve put my hair through a lot in chasing that good-hair-day feeling.
Vogue’s Favorite Hair-Care Products
Fortunately, throughout my career, I’ve met many hair experts who have helped bring my strands back to life. From restoring day-two hair to shampooing correctly, I’ve learned several easier-than-ever tricks that have totally transformed the way I care for my hair—enhancing my daily shine, texture, vibrancy, and gloss. Below are the best tips I’ve collectsed to make every day a good hair day.
Spritz and Scrunch Day-Two Hair
Straight out of the shower without any styling, my hair dries pretty lifeless and flat, with no waves in sight. I’ve found that the perfect cocktail of products creates natural-looking waves, but unfortunately, by day two, it’s back to square one. While I would generally reach for a waver or curling iron for added volume, celebrity hairstylist and founder of Rōz hair care Mara Roszak gave me a hack to revive those textured waves: Mix leave-in conditioner and (filtered) water in a spray bottle, apply thoroughly, and spritz and scrunch my hair as I go.
“My go-to ratio is about three to four pumps of Milk Hair Serum to roughly four ounces of water,” explains Roszak. “You want it concentrated enough that your hair can drink up the weightless hydration, which helps bring life back to second-day hair.” To further zhuzh, Roszak says, reach for a root-texturizing mist—like her Root Lift spray—and apply it directly at the roots, then use creaseless clips to hold it in place. Not only does it extend the life of my hairstyle, but it also keeps my hair hydrated and frizz-free, helping minimize regular breakage and allowing hair to grow fuller and longer.
Apply Dry Shampoo Like a Spot Treatment
I quit using dry shampoo for a long time because I felt it almost suffocated my hair (leaving it dry and straw-like), until I discovered dry-shampoo powder. Though this worked better at first, it didn’t solve my dryness issue. Soon after, I ended up on a Zoom call with celebrity hairstylist Sarah Hindsgaul—the pro behind the entire cast’s hair on the set of Stranger Things. Her advice? Don’t apply dry shampoo everywhere; apply it sparingly, only where you need it. “When you apply it everywhere, you create unnecessary buildup through the lengths, which makes the hair feel heavier, duller, and harder to work with,” Hindsgaul says. “Keeping it targeted helps maintain shine and movement while allowing the scalp to breathe.”
I’ve started applying it (using Hindsgaul’s brilliant puff) only on the spots that get particularly oily—behind my ears, at my hairline, and along my part. The result? Perfectly tousled, fresh-feeling hair that doesn’t feel dry or frozen in place. “On set, I’ve seen that when dry shampoo is used this way, the hair lasts longer without needing to be constantly restyled and it keeps its natural movement instead of becoming stiff or matte,” Hindsgaul explains. “It also helps avoid the dry, coated feeling people often get when they overuse dry shampoo.” Using this method lets my dry shampoo do its job in a way that feels invisible, keeping my hair light, flexible, and full of movement, without residue or dryness.
Use Leave-In Like Hand Cream
If you’ve ever obsessed over Nicole Kidman’s piecey waves or Jennifer Garner’s swingy lob, you’ve seen firsthand the magic Adir Abergel can make happen. As a celebrity hairstylist and creative director at Virtue Labs, he has an incredible knack for knowing what really works.
With my fine, thin, color-treated hair, there’s always a chance a product leaves my hair with an oily spot or heaviness that instantly makes me want to wash it out. But this simple tip from Abergel was a total game changer: “Smooth leave-in conditioner all over your hands, like a hand cream, then run it through your hair with your fingers,” he said. “That way, the product is distributed evenly and smoothly.” It sounds so simple, but since I started doing it this way, I haven’t had a concentrated greasy spot. This all but ensures I’m light-handed with my leave-in conditioner or oil (truly, one to two pumps go a really long way) and is especially brilliant if you, like me, have hair that’s easily weighed down by product.
Preserve Hair Color in the Shower
There isn’t a hair colorist I know who isn’t a fan of legendary LA-based colorist Tracey Cunningham’s work. The Meche Salon founder is responsible for some of Hollywood’s most incredible hair-color transformations and also gave me the best hair-color-preservation tip: Protect your hair like you would your skin.
“Your hair can’t do color-changing tricks on its own,” Cunnigham told me. “So if it’s all of a sudden turning orange or green, it’s likely due to mineral buildup.” Some main mineral culprits: Calcium can make hair appear darker; magnesium (combined with calcium) can create limescale that sticks to hair, messing with your texture; iron can cause unwanted brassiness; and copper can oxidize and build up in the hair shaft, turning blonde hair shades of green. Her fix involved two parts: First, Cunningham suggests a showerhead filter to help reduce the effects of minerals on your hair at home. This was actually a lifesaver for my hair, especially after moving to Austin. (My hair had to adjust to the hard water.)
The second part applies to anytime you’re in a chlorinated pool, out in the sun, or in the ocean. Because there essentially isn’t a sunscreen for hair, Cunningham tells clients to apply oil when it’s dry and put it up before swimming. Because hair is absorbent, like a sponge, it can absorb everything—including minerals that can change hair color or texture. For example, the high salt concentration in seawater can strip hair of its natural oils, leading to dryness, breakage, and color fade. By applying an oil or mask first, your hair absorbs less of the harsh water. I never go to the beach without hair oil now; immediately, I noticed how much easier it was to brush out snarls or tangles after a pool or ocean swim. Over time, I realized it helped keep my highlights brighter and more vibrant longer, extending the time between coloring appointments.
More Water, Less Shampoo
Perhaps the fluffiest, bounciest, most incredible blowout I ever received was upstairs in a small, red-brick West Village salon from celebrity hairstylist and founder of Iles Formula Wendy Iles. The secret, she told me, is in the shampoo.
Iles explained that to create a richer lather, improve shampoo distribution, and avoid product buildup on my scalp, add more water while using a sulfate-free shampoo, not more shampoo. Sulfate-free shampoos, she says, behave very differently from conventional formulas. “They are formulated with gentler surfactants that need both water and air to cleanse properly,” Iles says. “The air coming through the massage creates a soft, cushiony lather. If rushed, or if the shampoo lather isn’t fully developed or rinsed away, even the most beautiful sulfate-free formulas can leave a slight heaviness.”
In my experience, not only does this create a frothy lather that evenly coats and cleanses my entire scalp, but it also doesn’t strip my hair of its natural oils. The result is hair that feels clean but still silky and nourished. The underrated bonus is that I don’t go through shampoo as quickly now!
Smooth Flyaways With Brow Gel
I am still mourning the loss of hairstylist Harry Josh’s collectsion of mint-colored hair tools (so much so that I still scour eBay and other resale sites to stock up). But the good news is you don’t need said tools to reap the benefits of his advice. His tips are as good now as they were almost seven years ago when I first interviewed him.
He taught me one of the oldest tricks in the book: In a pinch, use a clear brow gel to gently brush and tame flyaways. This ultimate finishing step takes less than a minute and is perfect for smoothing stubborn baby hairs or frizz for a sleek, pro-level blowout. Traditional brow gel works just fine, but brands have been launching dedicated flyaway wands with a spoolie brush and styling cream for just this purpose.
How We Tested
When we test and review a product, we take a holistic approach to deliver well-rounded product recommendations. First, we lean on Vogue’s vast network of experts, from board-certified dermatologists to celebrity estheticians, to gain professional insight into the industry’s standout products—those these specialists would actually use on their clients. We pair their expertise with our editorial best practices to curate thoughtful edits.
For hair-care products, we selected the best based on the following characteristics: ingredients, texture, packaging, finish, and the hair-care concerns they address. To do this, we paired our personal tests of each formula with expert guidance and reviewer insights to determine which to recommend.
Meet the Experts
- Adir Abergel is a celebrity hairstylist and creative director at Virtue Labs.
- Tracey Cunningham is a celebrity colorist, Schwarzkopf Professional US creative director of color and technique, Olaplex ambassador, and Omi WellBeauty’s chief innovation officer.
- Harry Josh is a celebrity hairstylist and the founder of Harry Josh Pro.
- Sarah Hindsgaul is a hair designer and the head of the hair department for the Netflix series Stranger Things.
- Wendy Iles is a celebrity hairstylist and the founder of Iles Formula.
- Mara Roszak is a celebrity hairstylist and the founder of Rōz Hair.