Best Leave In Treatment for Hair Growth

The best leave in treatment for hair growth works in two places: the scalp, where new hair starts, and the lengths, where most people lose the length they have already grown. What the right one can do is keep the scalp clean and comfortable and help stop the ends snapping off, so more of your growth stays on your head. Here is how to pick the right type, use it properly and know what to pair it with.

Scalp leave-ins or lengths leave-ins

There are two jobs here, and most products only do one of them.

• Scalp serums, tonics and sprays. Light, often watery formulas you apply straight to the scalp through a parting, then massage in with your fingertips. They are made to sit on the skin, not the hair, so a good one shouldn't leave your roots greasy. Start here if your scalp feels tight, itchy or oily, or you are finding more hair in your brush than you used to.
• Lengths leave-ins. Creams, sprays and light oils that go on the mid-lengths and ends. They don't touch the root. Their job is to make hair easier to comb and less likely to break. If your hair seems stuck at the same length for a year, breakage is usually the reason, and this is the piece you are missing.

Plenty of people need both. Keep them in their lanes: oil on the scalp weighs the roots down, and a scalp tonic on the ends won't do much for them.

Match it to your scalp

Your scalp type decides the texture you want.

• Oily scalp: go light and water-based, and keep oils off the roots. Our hair treatment for oily hair page has options that won't add weight.
• Dry, tight or flaky scalp: look for something with more moisture that still absorbs. See our best hair treatment for dry scalp.
• Sensitive or easily irritated scalp: choose fewer fragrances and try a small patch first. The best hair treatment for sensitive scalp page is a good starting point.
• Fine hair: anything heavy will flatten it, so stick to sprays and light serums. Our leave in treatment for fine hair page narrows it down.

If your main worry is hair looking thinner overall, our hair loss and thinning range brings shampoos, conditioners and scalp products for that together in one place.

How to use it

• Apply to a clean scalp. Build-up from dry shampoo and styling products sits between the product and your skin.
• Use it as often as the pack says, every time, not just when you remember.
• Massage it in with your fingertips, not your nails, and don't rinse it out.
• Give it a few months before you judge it. Hair grows slowly, and a few weeks won't tell you much.

What to pair it with

A leave-in is one part of the routine, not all of it. Wash with a shampoo that suits your scalp, then condition the lengths: our best conditioner for hair growth covers conditioners made to sit alongside a scalp product. If your ends are already split or rough, add the best leave in treatment for damaged hair on the lengths.

A few habits help too. Use a wide-tooth comb on wet hair, loosen tight ponytails, go easy on heat and bleach, and keep up regular trims. A small trim takes off split ends before they travel further up the hair, which costs you more length in the end.

Shop all hair treatments to compare scalp products, masks and leave-ins side by side.

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