TL;DR: Using hot tools without a heat protectant is a fast track to dryness, frizz, and breakage. Protecting your hair before styling is a simple step that makes all the difference for healthy, beautiful strands.
These are our top 12 heat protectant sprays, creams, and oils—each expertly formulated to help shield every hair type from damage and keep your strands healthy, shiny, and strong. Explore the full list below and find your new favorite.
• Biolage Professional Thermal Setting Spray
• Redken Acidic Color Gloss Heat Protection Leave-In Treatment
• Pureology Color Fanatic Multi-Tasking Leave-In Spray
• Kérastase Genesis Defense Thermique Heat Protecting Spray
• L'Oréal Paris EverPure Sulfate-Free Moisture 21-in-1 Leave-In Conditioner for Dry Hair
• Redken Hydrating Curl Cream
• Kérastase Résistance Ciment Thermique Heat Protecting Cream
• Shu Uemura Art of Hair Netsu Design Blow Dry Cream
• Matrix Food for Soft Multi-Use Hair Oil Serum
• Shu Uemura Art of Hair Essence Absolu Nourishing Protective Hair Oil
• L'Oréal Paris EverPure Bond Repair Hair Oil-in-Serum
• Redken Big Blowout Heat Protecting Jelly Serum
If you love heat styling your hair, you’re probably already familiar with heat protectant—or you should be. There’s nothing like creating big, voluminous curls or sleek, polished locks with your favorite hot tools, but all that styling can take a toll on how your hair looks and feels. To keep rocking the styles you love without extra dryness, frizz, or breakage, it’s essential to make a heat protectant a part of your haircare routine.
No matter your hair type, everyone can benefit from using a heat protectant. The trick is finding a formula that fits your unique needs. Ahead, we’ll break down everything you need to know about this haircare must-have and share our top picks for heat protectant sprays and formulas for every hair type and budget.
Key Takeaways:
• Heat protectants are a must: They create a barrier that shields hair from heat damage, breakage, and moisture loss, even at temperatures up to 450°F (232°C).
• Choose the right formula for your hair type: Lightweight sprays suit fine hair, hydrating creams are best for thick, coarse or damaged hair, and nourishing oils or creams work well for curly and coily textures.
• Look for multi-benefit formulas: The best heat protectants do more than shield from heat, they also fight frizz, add shine, protect color, and strengthen strands to simplify your routine.
What Does a Heat Protectant Do?
Before we share our favorite heat protectants, let’s explore why using one is essential. Here are three reasons to make heat protectant a staple in your routine.
Shields hair from high temperatures
Much like wearing gloves to protect your hands from germs, heat protectants act as a barrier between your strands and your hot tools. They coat and seal hair cuticles to defend against direct heat exposure, slowing down the transfer of heat and evenly distributing it across strands. Heat protectants can typically withstand temperatures up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit (230 degrees Celsius), though the specific benefits depend on the product you choose.
Helps prevent breakage and split ends
Extended heat exposure without proper protection can lead to dry, damaged, and weak hair. Using a heat protectant can help mitigate those long-term effects, with many formulas often using nourishing ingredients to both protect and help fortify your strands.
Often boasts additional hair benefits
The best heat protectants don’t just shield your strands against heat—they can also help detangle hair, boost shine, tame frizz, and lock in moisture. This can make hair easier to style and more manageable to maintain over time. You can find superstar ingredients like keratin, argan oil, shea butter, and panthenol (a.k.a. vitamin B5) in many heat protectant formulas. These components help hydrate the hair from within, instantly giving it a softer, more fortified feel that’s less prone to breakage and dryness.
How To Choose a Heat Protectant
If you’re on the hunt for a new heat protectant to add to your routine, here are three tips to keep in mind.
1. Consider your styling needs
Heat protectants, like shampoos and conditioners, can cater to different needs, such as frizz control, curl definition, dryness, or damage repair. As such, it’s a good idea to assess your hair to determine what it needs most and choose a formula designed to address that need.
2. Consider your hair type
Heat protectants come in many formulas and consistencies, so it’s important to narrow down which is best for your hair type.
- Fine hair: Thin or fine strands can be weighed down by thick creams and rich formulas, so lightweight mists and sprays are generally the best types of heat protectant for fine hair.
- Thick or coarse hair: To protect and nourish thicker, coarser strands, reach for a hydrating leave-in lotion or cream. This is also our go-to heat protectant for dry, damaged hair.
- Curly, coily, and textured hair: Textured hair is often on the drier side, with frizz and brittleness being common concerns. To protect your hair and ensure it looks (and feels) its best, prep your hair with a heat-protecting cream or nourishing oil treatment.
3. Ensure it provides enough thermal protection
The best heat protectant can defend against thermal hot tools like blow-dryers, curling irons, and straighteners. These formulas create a barrier on the hair and protect against damage caused by high temperatures. For the best protection, we suggest opting for a formula that protects against temperatures up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, as this is the highest temperature most hot tools can be set to.
Our Best Heat Protectant Sprays and Products in 2025
Now that you know why using a heat protectant is a must, keep scrolling for details on 12 of our favorite formulas to shop this year.
Our Best Heat Protectant Sprays:
1. Biolage Professional Thermal Setting Spray
Benefits: Provides medium hold, touchable texture, and heat protection
Best for: All hair types
A quality heat protectant shouldn’t make hair feel crunchy or greasy. That’s why Biolage’s Professional Thermal Setting Spray is such a standout—its lightweight formula promises styling with natural, movable results. It also helps fortify and condition locks as it protects against heat temperatures up to 450°F (232°C).
2. Redken Acidic Color Gloss Heat Protection Leave-In Treatment
Benefits: Protects against heat, detangles, and extends the life of color
Best for: Professionally colored hair
After coloring your hair, it’s only natural to want to ensure your new hue lasts as long as possible. Enter: Redken’s Acidic Color Gloss Heat Protection Leave-In Treatment. The innovative formula has an acidic pH and helps extend salon-grade color, conditions, and adds intense, molecular-level shine. And while it helps protect against temperatures up to 450°F (232°C), you can also mist it onto your mane before hair drying to hydrate, smooth, and protect your strands.
3. Pureology Color Fanatic Multi-Tasking Leave-In Spray
Benefits: Preserves color and boosts shine while protecting from heat
Best for: All hair types, especially color-treated hair
This leave-in spray is a true multitasker—perfect for anyone looking to streamline their routine. With 21 essential benefits, it provides heat protection up to 450°F (232°C), detangles, tames frizz, and helps preserve the vibrancy of color-treated hair. The nourishing formula conditions without weighing hair down, leaving strands feeling soft, shiny, and easy to style. Use before blow drying or heat styling for optimal protection and radiant results.
4. Kérastase Genesis Defense Thermique Heat Protecting Spray
Benefits: Fortifies weakened hair
Best for: Damaged hair
It can be tricky to style damaged hair without subjecting it to further stress. If you’re looking to blow-dry your mane but are worried about breakage, pre-treat your strands with this Kérastase heat protectant. It’s formulated with nourishing ginger root extract and edelweiss native cells, and works to help reduce breakage, seal split ends, and smooth the hair—all while providing protection against heat damage and humidity.
5. L'Oréal Paris EverPure Sulfate-Free Moisture 21-in-1 Leave-In Conditioner
Benefits: Moisturization, frizz control & heat protection
Best for: Dry or dehydrated hair needing extra moisture
If your hair skews dry or frizz-prone from frequent heat styling or environmental stressors, this multitasking leave-in conditioner is a game-changer. It offers an impressive 21 benefits—including thermal protection up to 450°F (232°C)—to hydrate parched strands, fight frizz, detangle knots, boost shine, and help maintain color vibrancy. The lightweight formula is sulfate-free and safe for all textures in need of a moisture boost before styling.
Our Best Heat Protectant Creams:
6. Redken Hydrating Curl Cream
Benefits: Provides long-lasting definition and moisture
Best for: Curl patterns 2B through 4C
A heat protectant with 72-hour hold? Yes, it’s real—the Redken Hydrating Curl Cream is a super hydrating leave-in treatment that can define curls and coils for up to three days. Infused with squalene and jojoba oil, this curl cream offers a ton of nourishment to curly hair. It can be applied on damp hair prior to styling but can also be used on dry hair for a quick curl refresh.
7. Kérastase Résistance Ciment Thermique Heat Protecting Cream
Benefits: Helps fortify over-processed, weakened, and damaged hair
Best for: Damaged hair
If you're currently growing out damaged, over-processed, or weakened hair, but you still want to blow-dry it or use hot tools sometimes, make sure to get some help from this nourishing leave-in cream. This primer not only protects hair from heat up to 450°F (232°C) so damaged hair doesn't get worse, but it also helps reduce breakage, so strands have a chance to become stronger.
8. Shu Uemura Art of Hair Netsu Design Blow Dry Cream
Benefits: Holds style and protects against heat for up to 9 hours
Best for: All hair types
In our opinion, this blow-dry primer cream is the best heat protectant for straightening hair. It provides heat protection up to 450°F (232°C) with a reworkable, re-touchable hold. Plus, the heat protection is long-lasting, so you can restyle your hair at the end of the day without having to apply additional product.
Our Best Heat Protectant Oils & Serums
9. Matrix Food for Soft Multi-Use Hair Oil Serum
Benefits: Boosts shine and locks in moisture
Best for: All hair types
Whether you’re rocking pin-straight strands or bouncy curls, the Matrix Food For Soft Multi-Use Hair Oil Serum is a great pick to upgrade your styling routine. Featuring avocado oil and hyaluronic acid, this formula helps to smooth and hydrate hair while shielding against damage from hot tools. Plus, it’s lightweight and won’t weigh the hair down, so it’s perfect if you’re looking to sport a voluminous hairstyle.
10. Shu Uemura Art of Hair Essence Absolu Nourishing Protective Hair Oil
Benefits: Shields against UV rays and adds shine
Best for: All hair types
Using a hair oil is a great way to nourish dry hair, but many formulas can feel heavy on finer strands. That’s not the case for the Shu Uemura Art of Hair Essence Absolu Nourishing Protective Hair Oil—this lightweight heat protectant is formulated with red camellia oil, which absorbs rapidly to help nourish the hair without weighing it down. You can apply the heat and UV-protective formula to damp hair before styling or work a small amount throughout dry hair after styling to smooth, hydrate, and add shine.
11. Redken Big Blowout
Benefits: Adds volume and tames frizz as it protects against heat
Best for: All hair types
If your goal is a salon-worthy bombshell blowout without any of the damage, try Redken’s Big Blowout Heat Protecting Jelly Serum. It helps protect against temperatures up to 450°F (232°C) and instantly adds volume for perfectly bouncy strands, sans style-sabotaging frizz or flyaways.
12. L'Oréal Paris EverPure Bond Repair Hair Oil-in-Serum
Benefits: Reinforces hair structure and maximizes shine
Best for: Damaged, color-treated hair
This innovative oil-in-serum is formulated with powerful bond-repair technology to help fortify weak or compromised strands—without greasiness or buildup. Ideal as both a pre-styling protector (up to 450°F / 232°C) or finishing serum on dry ends post-styling, delivering a smoother texture and increased resilience over time.
Next Up: How To Protect Hair From Chlorine Damage This Summer
If your heat-damaged strands are in need of a little TLC, use our salon locator to find a professional stylist near you.
