The Best Hair Products For Flyaways

Flyaways can strike during any season, and they can certainly be a nuisance when they pop up after you’ve taken the time to style your hair. While humidity is frequently blamed for causing flyaways and unwanted frizz, winter frizz is a real thing, too (you can thank the dry air outside and the moisture-zapping heaters inside). Because dried-out hair is often the main culprit behind those wispy pieces, the best hair products for flyaways contain plenty of moisturizing ingredients. You can further find your flyaway-fighting match by considering your hair type and styling preferences. Coarse and curly hair types will want to avoid alcohol-based products and opt for formulas with heavy-duty moisturizers like castor oil, coconut oil, and shea butter. On the other hand, people with fine hair should choose a lightweight hair cream or serum, and follow a less-is-more approach in terms of how much product to apply.

On the list ahead, you’ll find a mix of products that can be used to prep your hair while it’s still wet or to smooth down flyaways once your hair has already been dried and styled. And for more tips on how to prevent flyways in the first place, keep reading.

Styling Tips For Minimizing Flyaways

Products aside, here are some other steps you can take to minimize unwanted flyaways and frizz:

• Switch to a hydrating shampoo and conditioner if your hair is dry or damaged.
• Swap your cotton towel for a microfiber hair towel, which causes less friction (you might also want to consider sleeping on a silk pillowcase).
• Use a wide-tooth comb and a detangling product post-shower to gently work through knots.
• Take a break from hot styling tools like blow dryers, straighteners, and curling irons, which contribute to the dryness and breakage that cause flyaways in the first place.
• When you do use a hot styling tool, always apply a heat protectant to your hair first.
• Book in with your salon for a haircut and gloss (regular trims will get rid of flyaways caused by split ends, and gloss treatments condition the hair and add shine).

Shop The Best Hair Products For Flyaways

In a hurry? Here are the best hair products for flyaways:

1. Best For On-The-Go Touch-Ups: Insert Name Here Quick Slick
2. Best Wax Stick For Flyaways: Bed Head By TIGI Hair Stick
3. Best Gel For Flyaways: Cantu Extra Hold Edge Stay Gel
4. Best Flyaway Cream: Moroccanoil Hydrating Styling Cream
5. Best Flyaway Cream For Fine Hair: Oribe Featherbalm Weightless Styler
6. Best Serum For Flyaways: John Frieda Frizz Ease Extra Strength Serum

1. Best For On-The-Go Touch-Ups

If you want something to keep in your bag at all times to tame any flyaways that may pop up throughout the day, this hair-smoothing essence will be ideal. Designed to be able to smooth down even the tiniest stray hairs, it comes with a mascara-like wand to give you precision as you comb your flyaways and edges into place. Then there’s the formula itself, which is a lightweight essence that’s free from drying alcohols. Instead, ingredients like shea butter, camellia oil, and a plant-based wax work to condition dry hair and give it some hold. You can also choose from several fruity scents, including peach (pictured here).

Beneficial Ingredients: Glycerin, Shea Butter, Camellia Seed Oil, Evening Primrose Oil Size: 0.6 oz. Cruelty-Free: Yes

Relevant Review: “My go-to busy day hairstyle (which is every day) is a ponytail, but unfortunately I have so many flyaways that make it look extra ‘messy.’ This finishing stick pulls all those fine hairs back without a wet/hair spray look, it dries naturally and looks natural!”

2. Best Wax Stick For Flyaways

This wax stick has more than 9,000 five-star ratings on Amazon, with many reviewers praising it for its ability to keep flyaways in place on both natural hair and wigs. The Bed Head By TIGI Hair Stick is a multi-tasking tool that can be used on dry hair to create a polished finish, or it can serve as a pliable pomade to create texture on shorter hairstyles. For flyaways, you only need a tiny bit of product to get smoothing results, which you can achieve by either applying it directly onto your hair from the stick or by using your fingers (or a fine-tooth comb) to smooth your hair in place. A blend of waxes help give hair hold without the stiff finish you get from hairspray, while castor seed oil adds a bit of moisture.

Beneficial Ingredients: Castor Seed Oil Size: 2.57 oz. Cruelty-Free: No

Relevant Review: “Great for pulling my hair back and taking care of flyaways that are such a pain. I have very dry, coarse hair, and it makes it look very nice and slicked back.”

3. Best Gel For Flyaways

This gel was specifically developed with coarse and curly hair textures in mind, as it works to style flyaways and edges into place without sneakily drying your hair out. The Cantu Extra Hold Edge Stay Gel is the most conditioning product on this list, containing a mix of lightweight and heavier moisturizing ingredients like jojoba seed oil, silk amino acids, castor oil, shea butter, and cocoa seed butter. You can use an edge control brush or even a toothbrush to get the sleekest finish possible, but no matter how you use the gel to style your hair, it won’t flake or leave behind any white residue.

Beneficial Ingredients: Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Shea Butter, Jojoba Seed Oil, Panthenol, Silk Amino Acids, Cocoa Seed Butter Size: 2.25 oz. Cruelty-Free: Yes

Relevant Review: “Great product. Great price. I [use] on my daughter's hair to do box Braids with her natural hair. Kept her braids sleek with no fly-aways! Nice hold.”

4. Best Flyaway Cream

Moroccanoil’s smoothing and styling products are a cult favorite, as much for their efficacy as for the brand’s signature, fresh-from-the-salon scent. The Moroccanoil Hydrating Styling Cream uses argan oil (sourced from argan trees in Morocco and cold-pressed) to help smooth down flyaways, nourish dry hair, and offer protection from UV rays. You can use this on damp or dry hair depending on your preference, and the brand notes that if your hair is especially prone to frizz, you can mix the styling cream with a few drops of their Moroccanoil Treatment for even more conditioning benefits.

Beneficial Ingredients: Argan Kernel Oil Size: 10.2 oz. Cruelty-Free: Yes

Relevant Review: “Love this stuff! I have very fine, fly-away hair, and even though it's long the MN winters leave my hair full of static and difficult to manage. Four to five pumps of this stuff and my hair is controllable all day long without getting greasy and weighed down! It has now become a staple in my hair care product line up!”

5. Best Flyaway Cream For Fine Hair

Fine and straight hair types can still experience flyaways, but they can’t use heavier waxes and concentrated oils (unless you’re going for a slicked back bun, in which case greasiness is the goal). Oribe’s Featherbalm Weightless styler is a lightweight balm for smoothing fine hair without leaving it with a heavy, weighed down finish. You can use this on hair that’s still damp to detangle and add moisture and shine, or use the tiniest drop of the lotion on dry hair to eliminate unwanted frizz and flyaways as they pop up.

Beneficial Ingredients: Glycerin, Rice Bran Oil, Passion Fruit Seed Oil, Hydrolyzed Pea Protein, Acai Fruit Oil, Vitamin E Size: 3.4 oz. Cruelty-Free: Yes

Relevant Review: “This is great for dry hair and split ends--it smoothes them out and makes them easily stylable. My hairdresser uses this brand and it was nice to use it at home on a regular basis. I found that it was not heavy (at all), and a little goes a long way. The product did not build up over time, and made my hair very smooth and silky. I recommend this for fine hair that is on the dry side.”

6. Best Serum For Flyaways

John Frieda’s Frizz Ease line is a classic when it comes to mastering smoother styles without spending big bucks. The brand’s Frizz Ease Extra Strength Serum contains argan oil, coconut oil, and moringa seed oil to prevent flyaways on thicker hair textures (medium and finer hair textures will want to opt for the Original Serum). Best used on hair that’s still wet, the serum helps to encourage a smoother, shinier finish as it serves to protect the hair against heat styling damage and humidity.

Beneficial Ingredients: Argan Kernel Oil, Coconut Oil, Moringa Seed Oil Size: 1.69 oz. Cruelty-Free: No

Relevant Review: “It definitely helps tame my flyaway ends. My hair looks shiny and in better shape.”

7. Best Flyaway Spray To Prep Hair

There are more than 30,000 five-star ratings on Amazon for the Color Wow Dream Coat Supernatural Spray, which promises to seal out humidity and leave hair with a glass-like shine. You’ll need to generously mist this through your hair while it’s still damp, then blow dry your hair for the full benefits. But the extra effort is worth the flyaway-free results, as the brand reports that its humidity-blocking technology lasts through three to four shampoos. The spray was designed to be used on all hair types, particularly dry and color-treated hair, and it’s also safe to use on extensions and keratin-treated hair. This is another smoothing product that doubles as a heat protectant, and it’s even cruelty-free and vegan.

Beneficial Ingredients: Glycerin, Chamomilla Flower Extract, Calendula Flower Extract Size: 6.7 oz. Cruelty-Free: Yes

Relevant Review: “I can’t believe how smooth my hair was after blow drying with this product on. Seriously, your hair comes out like a salon-style blow out. Fluffy, soft, smells nice, and no flyaways! Was pleasantly surprised and didn’t expect it to work as well as it did.”

8. Best Flyaway Finishing Spray

Flyaways can also be caused by static, in which case, using a heavier leave-in isn’t always necessary. Instead, you can opt for a lightweight spray like R+Co’s Foil Frizz + Static Control Spray, which adds flexible hold to any style you’re trying to achieve as it eliminates static and unwanted frizz. Moisturizing ingredients like argan oil, jojoba seed oil, and panthenol help to boost shine and get rid of flyaways caused by dryness, while an anti-static agent and a thermal polymer seal in that moisture and stop static from contributing to more wispy ends. You can spritz the product directly onto your hair, or try misting it onto your brush before combing through your hair.

Beneficial Ingredients: Argan Kernel Oil, Jojoba Seed Oil, Vitamin E, Panthenol Size: 5 oz. Cruelty-Free: Yes

Relevant Review: “My stylist recommended this product and uses it while styling others. My daughter and I both have extra frizz and static on account of curly hair, and it helps more than anything I have ever used. We use the spray when our hair is dry and just brush it through or run our fingers through it and it calms the frizz and makes your hair smell like you just left the salon. I love it!”

About The Author:

Marissa DeSantis has worked as a beauty writer and editor for nearly 10 years. Her pieces can be found across print and digital publications like Bustle, Evening Standard, Teen Vogue, and InStyle.