13 best heat protectants for hair that will minimise damage when you dry or curl your tresses

If you’re always using a hairdryer or flat iron to get your hair ready, chances are that your hair has been badly damaged by heat.

Frequently putting your hair under high temperatures of more than 232°C can result in hair that is prone to frizz, tangles, and a rough texture far from the hair of your dreams.

Although you can give your hot tools a rest from time to time, you should also be using heat protectants for hair to, well, protect your tresses when you’re applying heat. These form a barrier over the hair cuticle so you won’t damage your tresses – they lock in hydration and protect hair from both styling tools, as well as free radical damage caused by UV rays.

If you haven’t already started using heat protectants for hair, it’s time to invest in a good one so that you can keep your tresses healthy and beautiful for a long time to come.

1. Briogeo Farewell Frizz™ Blow Dry Perfection and Heat Protectant Creme

If you’re under the impression that heat protectants for hair are thick and greasy products, you just haven’t tried this best-selling one from Briogeo.

Using a nutritious trio of rosehip, argan and coconut oils, the Blow Dry Perfection + Heat Protectant Crème is a hardy, yet super lightweight cream that guards your hair against temperatures of up to 232°C while also simultaneously fighting frizz and taming flyaways.

Over time, you’ll get beautiful locks that are ultra-shiny, ultra-healthy, and ultra-happy!

Get Farewell Frizz™ Blow Dry Perfection and Heat Protectant Creme at SGD37 on Sephora.

2. Davines Melu Hair Shield

Another widely raved-about hair protectant for hair is Davines’s Melu Hair Shield.

Aside from the gorgeous product colour, the Melu Hair Shield is well-loved by users for being extremely effective in protecting the hair structure from heat and from the stress of hot tools. It also conditions your hair and smooths out frizzes, so you have super soft and shiny hair.

What’s more, this hair protectant is made from only natural active ingredients and comes in recyclable packaging, so you’re helping the earth as you help your hair – sweet!

Get Davines Melu Hair Shield at SGD30.57 on Shopee.

3. Living Proof Restore Instant Protection Hairspray

Described as one of the best heat protectants they’ve ever used by many reviewers, Living Proof Restore Instant Protection Hairspray is a weightless spray that protects your hair against static, heat of up to 230°C, as well as UV damage for up to 24 hours, all while keeping your tresses shiny and polished.

Many users can also attest to its non-greasy and lightweight texture – you can immediately layer and combine this with other styling products, so you waste no time in the morning!

Get Living Proof Restore Instant Protection Hairspray at SGD42 on Sephora.

4. IGK Good Behavior Spirulina Protein Smoothing Spray

It’s difficult to impress hairstyling experts who have seen it all, but this heat protectant from IGK managed to wow even hairdressers who used this on the frizziest dyed hair!

The multi-purpose hairspray solves many hair woes in one spray: it protects your hair against temperatures of up to 450ºC, enriches each strand with much-needed vitamins and minerals, and also helps you to keep your permed or straightened hair in place for longer.

Did we also mention that the formula for this heat protectant for hair boasts 24-hour frizz control? Truly multi-purpose!

Get IGK Good Behavior Spirulina Protein Smoothing Spray at SGD50 on Sephora.

5. Ouai Memory Mist

OUAI Memory Mist is an award-winning heat protectant and hairspray – its powerful formula primes hair and locks in any style, shape or texture you create until your next shampoo.

It also comes with a unique memory polymer technology (ability to return from a deformed state to the original shape) so you don’t have to keep retouching and restyling with heat, which also means less heat damage for your hair.

Simply spray this in sections on damp or dry hair before styling to shield strands from heat up to 450ºC – getting perfect hair that looks and feels gorgeous has never been so easy.

Get Ouai Memory Mist at SGD44 on Sephora.

6. Olaplex No.7 Bonding Oil

Before you whip out the flat iron, remember to apply this heat-protecting oil from Olaplex on your hair.

Olaplex’s customer-favourite No.7 Bonding Oil is a highly-concentrated, nearly weightless reparative styling oil repairs, strengthens and hydrates all hair types. It offers heat protection of up to 230°C and dramatically increases shine, softness and colour vibrancy on all hair types and textures.

P.S this has received an amazing 4-star rating from over 500 customers and is listed by a favourite by more than 54,000 Sephora users, so you know this heat protectant is the real deal.

Get Olaplex No.7 Bonding Oil at SGD46 on Sephora.

7. Christophe Robin Luscious Curl Cream With Flaxseed Oil

Christophe Robin’s Luscious Curl Cream works like a dream on curls, especially if you frequently use a curling iron to keep your curls bouncy and airy.

The 99 per cent natural-origin leave-in product enhances and defines curls with a non-greasy texture that nurtures hair without build-up, thanks to its formula that contains flaxseed oil, aloe juice, and moringa extract. You can also use this to moisturise, prevent frizz, and protect against both heat damage (during styling) and colour fade!

Get Christophe Robin Luscious Curl Cream With Flaxseed Oil at SGD50 on Sephora.

8. Kerastase Discipline Fluidissime Complete Anti-Frizz Care Spray

Wondering what hairstylists use in salons to protect hair from heat damage? This heat protectant from Kerastase is it!

This holy grail has a 4.5-star rating from more than 600 reviewers, thanks to its superb effectiveness in protecting your hair from damaging heat, taming frizz, and keeping your hair in place against humidity.

If you find that your hair looks coarse and unmanageable after years of regular hair-drying or perming, add this to your daily hair routine and give your tresses a spritz right before you style it, and you will notice your hair becoming smoother and shinier, as though you get a blowout at the salon everyday!

Get Kerastase Discipline Fluidissime Complete Anti-Frizz Care Spray at SGD32.83 on Amazon.

9. VERNON FRANCOIS RE~VAMP™ Moisture Spray

If creams and oils are a little too messy for you, try VERNON FRANCOIS’s Moisture Spray that does a fantastic job while keeping your hair care routine simple and fuss-free.

As heat-styled hair craves moisture, this comes with a hydrating formula that not only delivers intense hydration to fix previously-damaged hair, but also further protects it against heat damage so that you can use your hairdryer regularly without always having to worry about damaging your tresses.

Get VERNON FRANCOIS RE~VAMP™ Moisture Spray at SGD38 on Sephora.

10. Redken Satinwear 04 Blow Dry Lotion

Just like how we need a primer to prep our skin for makeup, our hair also needs a primer to get it ready for the rest of our hairstyling routine.

This priming spray cuts blow-dry time, protects from heat up to 450°C, helps reduce breakage, and also provides 24-hour lasting volume without weighing your hair down.

The brand claims that regular use of this heat protectant will leave your hair three times stronger and healthier, and judging by the rave reviews from beauty junkies, we’re certainly inclined to believe it.

Get Redken Satinwear 04 Blow Dry Lotion at SGD18.59 on Amazon.

11. Kevin Murphy Heated Defense

The Heated Defense was developed as a result of Kevin Murphy’s experience as an editorial stylist working with models’ hair, which is why it truly works and has become a cult classic among those who have seen it work its magic.

This hard-working hero provides undetectable weightless protection against heat up to 232°C, so that heat damage is significantly reduced while hair drying and styling.

In addition, this leave-in foam deeply conditions and smooths hair while also strengthening and soothing dry, brittle and damaged locks, so you can undo all the damage that years of using heat styling products have done to your hair.

Get Kevin Murphy Heated Defense at SGD54.25 on Amazon.

12. Sephora Collection Smoothing Primer Conditioning Pre-Styler

High-quality heat protectants for hair can sometimes be a little pricey, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be the case.

Sephora Collection’s Smoothing Primer Conditioning Pre-Styler is an affordable option that those on a tight budget will love, as it protects and nourishes your hair at the same time without burning a hole in your wallet.

P.S. The Smoothing Primer also works very well to provide grip and hold on braids, so feel free to spritz this on your boxer braids to keep them in place!

Get Sephora Collection Smoothing Primer Conditioning Pre-Styler at SGD18 on Sephora.

13. Percy & Reed The Perfect Blow Dry Makeover Spray

Percy & Reed The Perfect Blow Dry Makeover Spray is an easy way to make your bed hair look like it’s been blow-dried at the salon, and we’re not exaggerating!

The versatile and lightweight formula of this hairspray gives styling control, shape, body, and flexible hold while helping to banish friction and heat-styling damage.

Reviewers have found that this manages to keep hair tidy and smooth for long hours, and even the most damaged of hair will look as amazing as it does after a professional salon treatment – you’ll be more than happy to skip your regular salon appointments when you have something that works just as well, if not better!

Get Percy & Reed The Perfect Blow Dry Makeover Spray at SGD26 on Sephora.