10 Best Heat-Protectant Sprays That'll Tone Down Damage

Why It's Worth It: Living Proof's Restore Perfecting Spray helps ease the transition from the shower to styling with both detangling and heat-protecting properties. A beet derivative in the formula offers up to 400 degrees of thermal blocking as time-released amino acids keep hair conditioned well after you've finished styling. According to Kayla McNeill, a stylist in Poncha Springs, Colorado, the treatment also helps create shine and smoothness.

Editor Tip: McNeill prefers to use this spray on clients with fine or thin hair — it's so lightweight that it smooths and protects without weighing you down.

Key Ingredients: marine algae extract, beet-root extract | Temperature Maximum: 450 degrees Fahrenheit |Who It's For: Fine and thin hair types, color-treated hair

Why It's Worth It: From the same brand that brings us Best of Beauty-winning hot tools comes the 44 Iron Guard Thermal Protection Spray, which is made to reduce hair damage. Chi's formula features strengthening wheat protein and hydrolyzed silk to give hair a smooth and shiny finish. The spray is a favorite of Palisades Park, New Jersey-based stylist Tiffany Mack, who puts it to use on clients of all hair types right before she begins a blowout.

Editor Tip: Though Chi notes that this pick is for all hair types, the brand claims dry, curly, or thick hair hair types will especially love it for its nourishing, conditioning formula that softens frizzy, dehydrated strands.

Key Ingredients: Wheat protein, hydrolyzed silk, vitamin A, vitamin E, jojoba oil, panthenol, olive oil | Temperature Maximum: 425 degrees Fahrenheit |Who It's For: Dry, curly, and thick hair hair types

Why It's Worth It: For anyone — of any hair texture — who uses heat tools, Rachel Williams recommends Moroccanoil Perfect Defense. The heat shield protects the hair up to 450 degrees, so feel free to use it along with your heartiest flatiron. Best of all, it's made with argan oil, which both moisturizes the hair, boosts shine, and gives it the brand's signature, tantalizingly sweet and nutty scent.

Editor Tip: According to Williams, this heat styling protectant can be applied to wet hair before blow-drying or on second-day dry hair before styling.

Key Ingredients: Argan oil | Temperature Maximum: 450 degrees Fahrenheit |Who It's For: All hair types

Why It's Worth It: What makes LolaVie's Perfecting Leave In Conditioner such a triple threat is its ability to protect hair from heat damage, moisturize, and reduce frizz all at once. How? Through the additions of strengthening, protein-rich chia seeds and moisture-locking bamboo extract, of course. It’s no wonder that it nabbed an Allure Best of Beauty Award, our most prestigious accolade, in 2022.

Editor Tip: This lightweight spray also conditions hair with rosewater, which replenishes moisture without weighing strands down.

Key Ingredients: chia seed extract, bamboo extract, rosewater | Temperature Maximum: 450 degrees Fahrenheit |Who It's For: All hair types

Why It's Worth It: "In finding a great heat protectant, I want to make sure that it brings more to the table than just protection," says McNeill. "I need it to add shine, seal, shape, and form." Her go-to option, Redken's Extreme Play Safe Heat Protectant Spray, delivers heat protection while helping to prevent and lessen the appearance of split ends.

Editor Tip: Infused with hair-strengthening plant proteins and smoothing tourmaline, this multitasker preps all hair types for safe slicking or curling.

Key Ingredients: Glycerin, tourmaline, hydrolyzed proteins derived from wheat, corn, and soy | Temperature Maximum: 450 degrees Fahrenheit |Who It's For: All hair types

Why It's Worth It: Mizani's Heat Screen Heat Protectant Spray uses VP/VA copolymer, a light powder that creates a weightless barrier around each strand to shield hair from damage. There's also rice protein and rose extract, to protect, smooth, and add shine to hair. This mist absorbs into hair and reduces frizz without leaving behind added weight, which can make curls limp.

Editor Tip: The Heat Screen Heat Protectant Spray is formulated to work on curly hair types ranging from 3A to 4C.

Key Ingredients: VP/VA copolymer, rice protein, rose extract | Temperature Maximum: 450 degrees Fahrenheit |Who It's For: Curly hair types ranging from 3A to 4C

Why It's Worth It: Heat damage doesn't just come from hot tools. In addition to 450-degree shielding from hair dryers and flatirons, the Best of Beauty-winning Ceremonia's Guava Rescue Spray also protects hair from UV damage. Though it doesn't act as a UV filter, it contains antioxidant-rich extracts from guava, butterfly ginger, and avocado to fend against environmental aggressors brough on by UV, blue light, and thermal heat from your hair tools.

Editor Tip: This lightweight formula can also be used as the perfect dentagler before you whip out your styling tools.

Key Ingredients: Aloe vera juice, coconut oil, avocado oil, guava extract, blue agave extract, butterfly ginger extract | Temperature Maximum: 450 degrees Fahrenheit |Who It's For: Wavy, curly, natural, or thick hair

Why It's Worth It: NatureLab Tokyo Repair Leave-In Treatment has many reparative hair conditioners, including vegan keratin, argan oil, and castor oil, that give moisture and strength back to hair without weighing it down, miraculously so. Its foamy formula instantly soaks into hair, giving strands a glossy finsh without weighing them down in the process.

Editor Tip: A pump or two of this light-as-air foam is enough to easily coat all ends while wet before blow- or air-drying — because with all the shine it leaves behind, who needs a flatiron?

Key Ingredients: Keratin, argan oil, castor oil, bamboo extract, prickly pear oil, pea protein | Temperature Maximum: 400 degrees Fahrenheit |Who It's For: Dry, damaged, or color-treated hair