The best conditioner for curly hair, tested by beauty editors

Our expert guide to the best conditioner for curly hair, coils, and kinks

conditioner for curly hair featuring Davines, Shea Moisture and Trepadora
(Image credit: Future)

The best conditioner for curly hair can bring some much-needed moisture to parched waves, curls and coils. Curly hair needs a lot more hydration than most other hair types, which is why you may often find yourself getting through your conditioner faster than the best shampoos for curly hair.

Your hair may drink up curly hair conditioners from root to tip, providing some much needed calming to frizzy or damaged tresses, but it also needs some emollient conditioner with plenty of slip to detangle and remove the knots that can develop between wash days. As opposed to the best conditioners for fine hair, which will be packed with lightweight ingredients that don't weigh down more sensitive follicles, conditioners for curly hair are often packed with natural oils such as shea butter and coconut oils to lock in moisture and prevent breakage. 

Luckily, we've got you covered. Whether you have waves, curls or coils, this is your complete guide to the best conditioner for curly hair and all the best ways to take care of your beautiful natural texture. Next up? The best hair dryers for curly hair to complete your look. 

How to pick the best conditioner for curly hair

There's a lot to take in when choosing the best conditioner for curly hair, because while curly hair is easily dehydrated, it can also recieve too much moisture which will lead to a lack of definition and easier breakage. 

Keisha
Keisha Jo Lawler

Jamaican-born, Keisha moved to England in 2003 and saw a huge space in the market for women with curly hair who wanted a premium product offering and needed help understanding how best to care for their curls. 

Keisha’s journey into the industry began with an online platform, offering tutorials, a forum and a store full of products such as Shea Moisture, Miss Jessies and Kinky Curly, sourced from the US – which were the leading brands at the time, but not readily available in the UK. In 2015, Keisha launched both the Trepadora flagship salon and her own range of vegan-certified products - designed for all curl types from corkscrews to gentle waves, and suitable for all ages from three up.

"Conditioning is the holy grail foundation for all curl types. We love hydrating formulations" says Keisha Jo Lawler, founder of Trepadora. "Choosing the wrong one can lead to lacklustre limp curls with no shine or bounce. You want to look for conditioners that contain ingredients like esthers, light butters Cocoa Seed and Mango Seed butters are favourites and Behentrimonium Methosulfate which works incredibly well on frizzy hair to seal the cuticles down. 

I recommend avoiding conditioners overloaded with too many proteins, and be very careful in how often you use them as they can have the opposite effect intended and over-strengthen your strands which can lead to breakage."

How we tested the best conditioner for curly hair

A selection of the conditioners for curly hair tested by woman&home

(Image credit: Future)

We tested the best conditioners for curly hair from our own homes. To keep things fair we tested these products on a selection of different hair types, from wavy to tight curls, to make sure we were recommending the right products for the right users. 

We also consulted with a number of curly hair experts and talked to our own expert beauty team who have been reviewing these products for decades to bring you professional insights into which ingredients and formulations are right for which hair types. 

Millie Fender
Head of Ecommerce

Millie Fender is Head of Ecommerce at Woman&Home, and was formerly Head of Reviews across a number of Future Plc's leading Homes titles such as Ideal Home and Homes&Gardens. As our head of all things shopping, Millie is committed to giving readers honest, expert advice when it comes to spending their hard-earned cash.

Millie has always had a personal interest in fashion and beauty and has (almost) ditched the straighteners since learning how to look after her curly hair. In her free time, she loves to knit and bake, and has a 200-strong bucket list of London restaurants she's desperate to try out.