The 5 Best Hair Serums

ShareThis

Hair serum is not something that everyone necessarily needs in their hair arsenal, but there are few people who couldn’t benefit from it. If you suffer from dry, frizzy, tangled hair, then hair serum can help transform your hair. It will leave your hair softer, smoother, shinier, and more manageable. It can even cut down on drying and styling time, saving you valuable time in the morning. Along with repairing damaged hair, it can also provide the heat protection necessary to prevent further damage.

What Is Hair Serum?

Hair serum is a hair care product that can moisturize the hair and protect it from heat damage. Serum can control frizz, deeply moisturize the hair, and leave it shiny, tangle-free, and manageable. It’s particularly suited for dry, damaged, coarse, or curly hair. You can usually find serum in a liquid, cream, or gel form.

Apply serum to towel-dried hair and start with a small amount. Start at the ends and work your way up before blow-drying your hair. It forms a thin protective layer on each hair strand, so it should be applied after every wash to maintain the protection. Celebrity hairstylists like Jacqueline Bush also like to use hair serum on dry hair as a finishing product. Hair serum can be a great deal as you can use it as both a pre-styling product and a finishing product.

Top 5 Hair Serums

Kerastase Nutritive Oleo-Relax Serum

You may have first heard of Kerastase Nutritive Oleo-Relax Serum when Jennifer Aniston’s hairstylist, Chris McMillan, said he uses this on the ends of her hair because it’s like a “smoothing serum on steroids.” He said he loves the smell and moisturizing properties of it, which most reviewers seem to agree with. The conditioning and moisturizing shine serum can control frizz, combat humidity, preserve color, and add hydration to even the most dry, damaged hair. The Nutri-Huile complex and essential palm oils provide nutrition and hydration, and can resurface the cuticle for dramatically softer, shinier, smoother, frizz-free hair. It has a nice scent and won’t leave your hair feeling greasy or oily.

Along with repairing damage, it will also protect your hair from further damage. When used on towel-dried hair, it can protect your hair from heat styling tools. Celebrity hairstylist, Garren, also recommends applying it to wet hair before putting your hair up in a bun or ponytail for big, bouncy waves later. Many hairstylists also recommended this for fine hair because it will not weigh it down. It can also be used on dry hair as a finishing product.

It is ideal for all hair types and can be particularly beneficial for dry, damaged, frizzy, and curly hair. Huffington Post recommends this for color-treated hair, Total Beauty selected it as one of the best shine serums, Allure selected it as one of the best hairstylists’ products, and it is the 2012 Allure Best of Beauty Award Winner. It is an Amazon bestseller and has rave reviews online. Many reviewers call this their “holy grail” and “miracle in a bottle.”

Currently $28.95 on Amazon

Biosilk Silk Therapy Serum

Biosilk Silk Therapy Serum is a cult classic hair treatment that can be used on wet or dry hair to enhance the curl and add strength and shine to the hair. The weightless, leave-in silk treatment will moisturize the hair and control flyaways. It can protect the hair from damage, while improving the overall condition. It can be used on wet hair to protect it from heat styling tools, or used on dry hair as a finishing product. It smells like a quality salon product and won’t leave buildup on the hair, as long as you start with a small amount first. Biosilk Silk Therapy Serum is created with hydrolyzed silk proteins and contains 17 of the 19 amino acids, which can help replenish, reconstruct, reinforce, and revitalize hair.

It is ideal for all hair types and can create noticeable results from the first use. A little goes a long way, so this treatment should last a long time. It is Allure’s Readers' Choice Award Winner and the Glamour Readers’ Choice Glammies Award Winner. It also has stellar reviews online, including more than 600 five-star reviews on Amazon.

Currently $11.99 on Amazon

John Frieda Frizz-Ease Extra Strength 6 Effects Serum

If you have extremely frizzy hair, you won’t find anything quite like the John Frieda Frizz-Ease Extra Strength 6 Effects Serum. It has the highest concentration of frizz fighters to tame even the most unruly hair. It will make your hair soft, smooth, and shiny all day. It even contains sunscreen and repels humidity to help you fight weather-related frizz throughout the day. The award-winning formula contains a high-potency blend of silicones, aloe, vitamin E, and a silk protein. With continued use, it will actually repair your hair, so it is healthier from the inside out. When used in towel-dried hair, it will protect your hair from heat styling products and define your curls. When used in dry hair, it can serve as a finishing product.

It is ideal for dry, damaged, coarse, thick, and curly hair. It can also protect and prolong the life of color treated hair. It is an oil, but shouldn’t weigh your hair down. In fact, for fine hair, professional stylists recommend using just a tiny bit on the ends only. Reviewers agree that it provides instant, noticeable results for wiry hair. A little goes a long way, so this treatment should last a long time.

This serum is a cult classic that hairstylists tend to recommend for unmanageable hair. Celebrity hairstylist, Serge Normant, said this product never disappoints. InStyle selected this as the best all around hair serum, Total Beauty selected it as one of the best shine serums, it won the 2015 Total Beauty Readers’ Choice Award, and Allure selected it as one of the best hairstylists’ products. It is also an Amazon bestseller and has stellar reviews from people with difficult hair.

Currently $7.97 on Amazon

Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum

Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum can penetrate deep into the hair shaft to repair the hair from the inside out. Your hair will be instantly smoother, shinier, and more manageable. When used on towel-dried hair, it will reduce dry time and styling time, cut down on frizz, and help protect your hair from heat styling tools. It can also help detangle even the most unruly hair. It will smooth, condition, and seal each strand, so it’s also great to use on dry hair as a finishing product. It smells great with a slightly fruity scent and works on all hair types, particularly on dry, damaged hair.

A little goes a long way, so this treatment should last a long time. By starting with a small amount, it won’t weigh down even fine hair. Total Beauty selected this as one of the best shine serums and it won the 2014 Readers’ Choice Award. It is also an Amazon bestseller and backed by outstanding online reviews.

Currently $16.17 on Amazon

OGX Anti-Breakage Serum

The OGX Anti-Breakage Serum will instantly repair your hair, leaving it noticeably softer, smoother, and shinier. The sulfate-free Nourishing Coconut Milk serum is made with weightless coconut oils and silk and keratin proteins to soothe the hair with a silk repair therapy. It also contains ultra whipped egg white proteins to add strength and elasticity to the hair. It is ideal to use before styling your hair because it will protect your hair from the heat and cut down on frizz. The anti-breakage serum can resurface the hair, repair damaged cuticles, and mend split ends. It has a nice coconut scent and is ideal for dry, damaged, coarse, and chemically treated hair, but can be used on all hair types.

This serum is an Amazon bestseller and has stellar reviews online, including from women who had found that nothing else worked. The serum is very affordable and worth a try, but if this serum isn’t right for you, the wildly popular OGX brand has a number of other award-winning items for the hair.

Currently $5.74 on Amazon

And those are our recommendations for the best hair serums. As always, be sure to check Wise Bread's Buying Calendar to learn when and how to buy just about anything!

Like this article? Pin it!

Admin settings (safe to ignore)
Custom Belimg Code: 

Disclaimer: The links and mentions on this site may be affiliate links. But they do not affect the actual opinions and recommendations of the authors.

Wise Bread is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.


Guest's picture
Mary Ware

GKhair Serum makes the best in my opinion. Why? Because it instantly fights the hair frizz and flyaways if there is any. Creates a protective shield over each hair strand leaving a soft smooth finish. Very effective against the heat such as the SUN and heat styling i.e. blow drying that can burn and damage your hair. The best cure to a soft and smooth finish. I am using this hair serum for the past 3 years and I am quite happy with the results I got. Super fantastic stuff I must say that. love it. :) <3

Guest's picture
EmilyJ0115

Please help. My hair has always been my pride and joy. I figured since it is pretty damn healthy, it could deal with some bleach damage. And I figured the master stylist who did all the color-corrections would know how much would be too much. I was wrong, and now I want to burst into tears every time I look at my hair or touch it. I just don't know what to do. my hair has also NEVER been shorter than this and it breaks and falls out. What should i do to regrow hair?