Relaxing your hair often leaves it in bad shape. While it tames texture, it still turns the hair a bit dry and prone to breakage.
Because of this, it’s super important to nourish and moisturize relaxed hair.
Moisture brings your relaxed hair back to life by adding shine and elasticity.
That’s why deep conditioners are recommended weekly if you have relaxed tresses.
But not all of us can be bothered to do a hair mask every week, and it’s certainly not recommended to do it daily.
That’s why it’s pertinent to get into the habit of nourishing relaxed hair every day with a trusty moisturizer.
Many years ago, I was looking for the best moisturizer for relaxed hair but ended up discovering more than one product that worked as I expected.
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Benefits Of Using Moisturizers On Relaxed Hair
Relaxers are very drying and tend to strip your hair of the natural oils that make it shiny and elastic.
Replenish Lost Moisture
If you want healthy-looking hair back, you must replenish that lost moisture with hydrating humectants and rich oils.
There are many forms of hair moisturizers.
You can opt for moisturizing styling creams or the oldie-but-goodie leave-in conditioner.
Either way, your moisturizer will nourish your hair to condition and soften it.
Shine
Your hair also gets tons of shine from using a moisturizer.
Take advantage of your now tame and sleek hair by letting it reflect more light by moisturizing it properly.
This allows your hair to look healthier.
Elasticity
Moisturizing your hair also boosts elasticity, making your hair less prone to breakage and damage.
This is especially important if your hair tends to snap and break or get split ends after a relaxer service.
Detangling
One more terrific benefit of using a daily moisturizer in your hair is that it helps detangle stubborn knots.
Since relaxed hair can be dehydrated, it’s easy for locks to tug on each other and form fairy knots that are hard to comb out.
Moisturizer helps loosen up those knots to make them easier to smooth out.
Best Moisturizer For Relaxed Hair
Picking out a hair moisturizer can be overwhelming because there are so many options in the market.
To help out, here are some of the best daily hair moisturizers you can use to transform your relaxed hair from dull and tangly to shiny and luscious:
Dr Miracle’s Relaxed Hair Potion Oil
This potion oil by Dr Miracle’s is formulated specifically for relaxed hair going through the troubles of a fresh relaxer service.
It hydrates the hair with glycerin, a very effective humectant, and other moisturizing ingredients.
This boosts strength and elasticity so that it doesn’t incur even more breakage and split ends.
It also strengthens and fortifies your scalp, promoting good hair growth.
Oils have a bad reputation for being heavy and sticky, but this formula softens and smoothens your relaxed locks without leaving an annoyingly greasy residue.
Pros
- Prevents further breakage and split ends
- Softens dry hair without leaving a greasy residue
- Glycerin provides deep hydration to the hair
- Strengthens the scalp to boost hair growth
Cons
- Contains mineral oil and lanolin, which can be irritating on sensitive scalps
Davines This is a Relaxing Moisturizing Fluid
This moisturizing fluid by Davines is designed specifically for straight hair.
So now that you have tamed and relaxed tresses, it can be well-suited to you too!
Its main purpose is to eliminate frizz by smoothing out baby hairs and flyaways.
It also seals your hair to lock out humidity – a known cause of uncontrollable frizz and poofiness.
This leaves your locks sleek and straight all day long.
The formula also softens the hair, making it feel silky and touchable.
This moisturizer doubles as a heat protectant as well.
Slather it in your locks before grabbing your blow dryer or straightening iron for extra protection.
Pros
- Eliminates frizz to make sure your hair is sleek and straight
- Locks out humidity that can bring out frizz and flyaways
- Leaves the hair super soft and silky
- Protects your locks from heat damage
- Free of parabens and artificial coloring
Cons
- Feels sticky in the hair if you use too much of it
Tea Tree Hair and Scalp Treatment
If you love the aroma and cooling sensation of tea tree, peppermint, and lavender essential oils, you’ll enjoy this hair moisturizer.
Unlike other leave-in creams for the hair, this treatment can also be used to hydrate your scalp, making it perfect for those with dry, sensitive skin.
It’s formulated with shea butter and panthenol to provide deep nourishment to dry strands.
It also contains soy protein to strengthen and fortify your damaged hair strands.
For the scalp, the trifecta of tea tree, peppermint, and lavender oils refresh and stimulate the skin.
It has a tingling effect to wake you up and get you ready for the day.
It also leaves your hair with a minty, fresh, herbal fragrance.
Pros
- Shea butter and panthenol moisturize dry strands
- Soy protein fortifies damaged locks
- Tea tree, lavender, and peppermint oils stimulate the scalp
- Vegan and formulated with parabens and artificial color
Cons
- The scent of the essential oils can be quite strong and overwhelming
Luster’s S Curl No Drip Activator Moisturizer
Hate making a mess when spritzing on your leave-in conditioner?
Check out this no-drip moisturizer by Luster’s.
Its lightweight formula absorbs into the hair quickly for no drips and excess dampness.
This moisturizer is rich in vitamin B5, also known as panthenol, which is excellent for strengthening damaged hair.
It also has glycerin, a humectant that draws moisture from the air into your locks.
All this hydration is then sealed into your cuticles with olive oil and argan oil.
They also add immense luster for a gorgeous glow, and fight frizz to keep your mane smooth.
Pros
- Rich in panthenol and glycerin to attract more moisture to the hair
- Infused with olive and argan oils to seal hydration and add shine
- The no-drip format makes applying moisturizer less messy
- Fights frizz and breakage
Cons
- Can be sticky when applied directly into dry hair
Kenra Nourishing Masque
Moisturizing your relaxed hair isn’t just about daily leave-ins.
Sometimes, you need something more intensive, like this deep conditioning masque by Kenra.
It’s formulated with a blend of rich, nourishing oils, including sunflower seed oil, sweet almond oil, jojoba esters, and avocado extracts to soften and condition the hair.
It even has silk proteins to strengthen the hair shaft, combatting breakage and fragility.
This hair masque is safe for all hair types, including colored hair that requires extra gentle formulas.
Pros
- Has a blend of nourishing oils to moisturize dry hair
- Adds a shiny and polished finish to your mane
- Hydrolyzed silk proteins strengthen the hair shaft
- Safe for color-treated hair
Phyto Specific Cleansing Care Cream
Wash and moisturize your hair in a single step when you use this vegan, paraben-free care cream by Phyto.
This unique cream cleanses your hair gently and thoroughly with a no-lather cream while simultaneously conditioning it deeply.
It’s infused with castor oil and mallow root extracts to moisturize the hair and make it super soft and smooth.
They also work to strengthen the lipid barrier in your hair strands, along with other botanicals.
You can also use this rich cream to detangle knots in your hair, transforming it from stiff and tangly to smooth and manageable.
Pros
- Thoroughly cleanses the hair while moisturizing it deeply
- Castor oil and mallow root extracts replenish the hair of lipids
- Leaves your hair soft and supple to the touch
- Detangles knotty locks to make them more manageable
Cons
- Heavy in the hair, making it difficult to wash out
Redken Acidic Perfecting Concentrate Leave-In Conditioner
Relaxer services can damage your locks by weakening the bonds in your hair shaft.
This leave-in by Redken has a special bonding care complex to repair and condition your strands, making them strong again.
This unique complex contains citric acid, an AHA that helps restore damaged hair.
The leave-in also provides excellent heat protection before you use styling tools on your mane.
It protects against damage from temperatures of up to 450 degrees.
Pros
- Designed especially for damaged, chemically processed hair
- Repairs the broken bonds in your relaxed hair
- Protects your hair from heat of up to 450 degrees
- Prevents breakage and split ends
Cons
- Leaves a waxy feeling behind when more than a dime-sized amount is used
Design Essentials Botanical Oils Hair And Body Moisturizer
What makes this moisturizer unique is that it provides nourishment not just for the hair, but for your skin as well.
That makes it a wonderful head-to-toe moisturizer.
It’s formulated with a blend of exotic oils and extracts, including black Indian hemp, rosemary, soybean, wild cherry extracts, and many more.
Together, these botanicals smooth down your hair cuticle to create a look of frizz-free sleekness.
A little goes a long way with this product.
You’ll only need a couple of drops to cover all of your hair.
Pros
- Versatile, all-around product to moisturize hair and skin
- Made with a blend of fine, exotic oils to nourish the hair
- Smooths down your hair cuticles for sleekness
- You only need a tiny amount of product for it to work
Cons
- In some cases, it can cause breakouts along the hairline if you have sensitive skin
ORS Olive Oil Incredibly Rich Oil Moisturizing Hair Lotion
If you have thick, super dehydrated hair, you’ll need a hair moisturizer formulated with thick and rich oils.
This one by ORS is made of olive oil and black castor oil – two heavy oils that do wonders for providing intense moisture to dry locks.
Even if the oils in this formula are heavy, your hair doesn’t feel sticky and greasy.
It absorbs quite nicely right away into your thirsty strands.
You can also use this thick hair lotion as a heat protectant before you use curling wands and flat irons.
Pros
- Olive oil and black castor oil provide deep moisture to the hair
- Non-sticky and non-greasy even with a rich formula
- Acts as a heat protectant
- The cruelty-free formula is free of parabens and sulfates
SheaMoisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Strengthen and Restore Rinse Out Hair Conditioner
SheaMoisture is known for its super moisturizing natural ingredients, and this rinse-out conditioner doesn’t disappoint.
It’s made with a plethora of intensely hydrating oils, like Jamaican black castor oil (JBCO), coconut oil, and shea butter.
The formula also has keratins and rice proteins to build up and fortify damaged hair shafts, which is a must for relaxed hair.
These proteins work to make your strands less prone to split ends and breakage so they can stay smooth and healthy.
Pros
- JBCO, coconut oil, and shea butter moisturize the hair intensely
- Contains keratin and rice proteins to fortify the hair shaft
- Repairs hair damage to make strands less prone to breakage
- Peppermint oil invigorates and refreshes the scalp
Cons
- Can leave protein-sensitive hair tangly and dry
TGIN Green Tea Super Moist Leave-in Conditioner
This leave-in conditioner by TGIN is filled to the brim with nourishing oils, like cocoa seed butter and sweet almond oil.
But the star of the show is argan oil, which hydrates and heals not just the hair, but the follicles on your scalp, too.
Paired with green tea, this oil promotes healthy hair growth.
So if you want longer, super-moisturized hair, this is the leave-in for you.
Even if it’s moisturizing, the formula is very lightweight, so you never have to worry about it weighing down that voluminous mane.
Pros
- Argan oil penetrates the hair shaft and follicles for deep hydration
- Green tea promotes healthy hair growth for longer tresses
- Lightweight formula that never builds up in your hair
- Detangles unruly hair, making it smooth and frizz-free instead
Cons
- It’s a little difficult to get the product out of the bottle
Jane Carter Solution Revitalizing Leave-in Conditioner
If you’re not a fan of heavy oils but still need a boost of hydration in your hair, try this leave-in by Jane Carter.
It’s made with lightweight botanical extracts like aloe, chamomile, nettle, and rosemary extracts to give your strands light hydration.
The leave-in resists humidity, leaving your locks smooth even in harsh weather.
It also gives added heat protection to your hair, making heat-styling safer.
Pros
- Made of lightweight extracts like aloe and chamomile
- Free of alcohol and silicone to be less drying on the hair
- Resists humidity and protects your hair from heat damage
- Organic essential oils like vanilla and lemon make your hair smell sweet
Cons
- The sweet smell can be a little strong for some users
Conclusion
When it comes to moisturizing relaxed hair, consistency is key.
Slathering your hair in a rich, nourishing moisturizer does have instant smoothing and detangling results, but if you keep at it religiously for weeks, your hair will be effortlessly lustrous and healthy without the extra help.
If you’ve been looking for the best moisturizer for relaxed hair, you can’t go wrong with any of the moisturizers above.
They’re all high-quality and insanely hydrating.
So pick one out that has ingredients that tickle your fancy, and treat your hair to the nourishment, shine, and moisture it deserves.
