Whether your hair is wavy, coily, curly, straight, or somewhere in between, it's all made of one thing: dead protein cells. Because hair has a tendency to dry and break, most hair types need conditioner to stay healthy. Conditioner is a crucial step in your hair care routine if you want hair that's moisturized and strong.
"The job of a conditioner is to strengthen the hair—so there's going to be some element of protein—and then to moisturize, to replenish moisture into the strands and soften the hair," certified trichologist Dr. Kari Williams tells INSIDER.
When searching for the best conditioner, it's important to consider how much moisture your hair needs. This depends on your hair type, curl pattern, and texture, which determines how prone to breakage your hair actually is.
It's also important to think about how much strength you need and whether your hair is protein sensitive. Watch this to learn more about protein sensitivity and protein overload.
We picked the 16 best conditioners, organized by hair type:
SEE ALSO: The best hairbrushes you can buy
Best conditioners for straight hair
Garnier Whole Blends Honey Treasures Repairing Conditioner for Dry Damaged Hair
Here is a rich mix of hydrating ingredients like argan oil, honey, and aloe juice, which each have restorative benefits to hair. Unlike any other option on this list, Garnier's conditioner uses royal jelly, a nutrient rich ingredient produced by honeybees. If your hair feels dry, frizzy, or dull, Garnier's Whole Blends Honey Treasures Repairing Conditioner has the power to leave your hair smelling sweet, looking shiny, and feeling soft.
Moroccanoil Moisture Repair Conditioner
This conditioner focuses on moisturizing and strengthening your hair with keratin, the protein hair is naturally made of. Moroccanoil Moisture Repair uses castor oil, argan oil, and jojoba oil—all known to majorly hydrate skin and hair. Customers who swear by this say they trust this conditioner to leave them with healthy, frizz-free, and silky hair.
Oribe Gold Lust Repair & Restore Conditioner
Oribe's luxurious, hydrating conditioner is known for making hair softer without having an overpowering fragrance. It uses common ingredients like shea butter and olive oil, as well as some unique additions like it's Mediterranean Cypress extract and Oribe Bio-Restorative Complex—which includes biotin, plant collagen, caffeine, and niacinamide. Especially if you have color treated or heat damaged hair, this conditioner will help detangling and creating a silky smooth finish.
Best conditioners for wavy hair
Not Your Mother's Naturals Tahitian Gardenia Flower & Mango Butter Curl Defining Conditioner
Lightweight, creamy, and crafted with mango butter and gardenia extract,Not Your Mother's Curl Defining Conditioners has a sweet and fruity smell. The formula is infused with the right amount of oils to help detangle waves and curls while also leaving them soft and shinier. Fans say this product also gives their hair definition.
Aveda Be Curly Conditioner
Wavy and curly-headed folks love this product because it helps detangle, which can be a nightmare without the right product. Known as an environmentally friendly brand, Aveda's be curly™ conditioner is a lightweight mix of botanicals like aloe and sunflower oil as well as wheat protein. The formula also includes wheat protein to strengthen hair strands.
Maui Moisture Lightweight Hydration + Hibiscus Water Conditioner
Specifically made for easily weighed down, fine, and low porosity hair, Maui Moisture's Lightweight Conditioner uses watery moisturizers, like aloe juice, coconut water, and hibiscus water. Plus, lots of customers said they got comments on how good their hair smelled after using this.
Best conditioners for curly hair
If you have curly hair, you'll want to use a leave-in conditioner, too. Check out the 12 best leave-in conditioners here.
SheaMoisture Coconut and Hibiscus Curl and Shine Conditioner
SheaMoisture Coconut and Hibiscus Curl and Shine Conditioner is a curly classic that beautifully defines curls and helps detangle without weighing them down. One reviewer says that while other products leave her hair gummy or waxy, this one washes out smooth and clean. With coconut oil, shea butter, and mango seed butter, the conditioner also leaves hair smelling like fresh fruit.
Pattern Beauty Medium Conditioner
Tracee Ellis Ross launched her own natural hair brand in the fall of 2019, and it's made great im pressions since. The Medium Conditioner is her award-winning product that mixes jojoba seed oil, castor oil, avocado oil, and honey to give curls moisture and definition. Formulated to not be too light or too heavy, it's best for low to normal porosity curls. Pattern offers a lightweight conditioner and a heavier formula for more specific needs, too.
Briogeo Curl Charisma Rice Amino + Shea Curl Defining Conditioner
This is the only conditioner on the list that uses a mix of quinoa and tomato fruit ferment extract, which are supposed to promote curl definition. As a clean beauty brand, Briogeo coined the term 6-free, which means their products are free of common ingredients and chemicals like parabens, harsh sulfates, and silicones.
Nexxus Curl Define Conditioner for Curly & Coily Hair
Celebrity stylist Lacy Redway called out this product as one of her favorites in our recent piece featuring curly hair routines. The Curl Define Conditioner by Nexxus is made with marula oil and a custom blend of protein specifically designed to work with curly hair shafts. Nexxus's recent research on proteomics and curly hair is considered groundbreaking.
Cantu Shea Butter Hydrating Cream Conditioner
If you have curly hair and had to learn how to take care of it over time, you've probably used Cantu products before. As the formulas continue to improve over the years, Cantu's Shea Butter Hydrating Cream Conditioner remains a top budget option. It uses shea butter to ease detangle and moisturize, all while leaving the signature, tropical, and fruity Cantu smell.
Best conditioners for coily hair
If you have coily hair, you'll want to use a leave-in conditioner too. Check out the 12 best leave-in conditioners here.
Shea Moisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Strengthen and Restore Rinse Out Conditioner
When it comes to moisturizing your hair, the Jamaican Black Castor Oil conditioner doesn't play games. This bestseller is packed with proteins and several different butters and oils, including shea butter, coconut oil, and jojoba oil which mimics properties of sebum. Since it's infused with peppermint, it also gives a soothing sensation.
Pattern Beauty Intensive Conditioner
Pattern customers say this conditioner helps detangle their coils before leaving them looking luscious. This heavyweight conditioner from Tracee Ellis Ross's hair care line is specifically formulated for tighter curl patterns and low porosity hair by using a thick mix of avocado oil, shea butter, beeswax, and safflower oil.
CURLS Blueberry Bliss Reparative Hair Mask
Other conditioners on this list may smell fruity, but CURLS uses actual blueberry extract for its reparative conditioner. Proanthocyanidins from blueberries stimulate hair growth and help prevent breakage, which is why the brand sticks to this as its hero ingredient in most other CURLS products. But a blueberry can't do everything your hair needs alone, so this product also includes soybean oil and soy protein.