12 Best Heat Protectant Sprays & Creams to Protect Hair

glamour.com:

if you're not applying the best heat protectant sprays or creams beforehand.Even if it's just a quick blow-dry to get you out the door, stylists always recommend applying a protective spray to help prevent the dryness, frizz, and split ends that come with using heated tools—be it a , flat iron, or a —on the reg. (It's also key to use a heat protectant so you don’t have to back pedal later and put all your hopes on a or leave-in conditioner that might not deliver the immediate results you want.)“Absolutely,” says , founder of , a salon in San Diego. “Heat protectants are the barrier between your hair and direct heat.” These products contain humectants—like panthenol and propylene glycol—to seal moisture in the hair cuticle and fend off frizziness and flyaways, she explains.

Ultimately, applying a protective barrier before going in with (or other heated hair styling tool) will not only give you a smoother longer lasting style, but also protect your strands from the heat of those devices.To help you find the best heat protectors, we asked stylists for their top picks, plus polled editors for their favorite tested heat protectant creams and sprays, and scoured top retailers for the most highly-rated and well-reviewed options.

Shop them below.All products featured on Glamour are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.AmazonSephoraIt should surprise no one to see Olapex on this list—the company makes some of the most hardworking hair products out there, especially when it comes to dry, damaged hair.