Best Leave In Conditioner for Damaged Hair

The best leave in conditioner for damaged hair is the one that suits your hair's thickness and how dry it feels, not the one with the longest list of promises. Damaged hair has lost some of its smooth outer layer, so it tangles, snaps and dries out faster than healthy hair. A leave-in puts back slip and softness after you wash, and it stays on to protect the lengths while you brush and style. We've put the leave-ins we'd use on damaged hair in one place so you can compare them side by side. If you want to see every option, shop all leave in conditioner.

What a leave-in can and can't do

A leave-in conditioner coats the hair so it feels smoother, combs through more easily and holds onto moisture for longer. That's its job. It won't glue split ends back together. Once an end has split, the only real fix is a trim.

If your hair breaks when you brush it, a leave-in helps by cutting down the drag of the brush. If it's snapping on its own, it needs more than a leave-in can give. Look at our best leave in treatment for damaged hair for that, and keep the leave-in for afterwards.

How to choose

• Your hair's thickness. Fine, damaged hair goes flat under a heavy cream, so pick a light spray or mist. Thick or coarse hair can take a cream or lotion, and usually needs one.
• How dry it feels. Hair that feels rough and straw-like, or snaps when you run your fingers through it, needs a richer formula. That's where the best leave in conditioner for brittle hair sits: a cream with oils or butters, worked through the mid-lengths and ends.
• What caused the damage. If colour or bleach did it, our best leave in conditioner for coloured hair narrows it to formulas made for treated hair.
• What bothers you most. If frizz is the main complaint, look at the best leave in conditioner for frizzy hair. If it's knots after every wash, our best leave in conditioner for tangled hair is the better place to start.
• When you'll use it. Most leave-ins go on damp hair straight after washing. If you also want to smooth dry hair between washes, pick one that says it works on dry hair too.

Spray, cream or oil?

Sprays and mists are the lightest. They spread easily, help a comb get through wet hair and won't weigh fine hair down. The trade-off is less moisture for very dry ends.

Creams and lotions do more conditioning. They suit thick, dry or curly hair. Use too much on fine hair and it'll look flat and greasy by lunchtime.

Oils aren't leave-in conditioners, but plenty of people finish dry ends with one. If that's you, see the best hair oil for damaged hair and use a few drops after your leave-in, not instead of it.

How to use it

Towel-dry first, so the product isn't running off with the water. Start at the ends, where the damage is oldest, and work up to the mid-lengths. Keep it off the roots unless your hair is very dry. Comb through from the ends up with a wide-tooth comb. On fine hair, start small. You can always add more, but you can't take it out without washing again.

When you don't need one

If your hair is only a little dry and you already use a good conditioner and a weekly mask, you may not need a leave-in at all. And if you're layering two or three leave-in products, cut back to one. Piling them on is the quickest way to make damaged hair feel heavy and limp.

A leave-in works best as part of a routine. For shampoo, conditioner and masks that work alongside it, see our damaged hair range.

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