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We’re back with the latest installment of your beauty dispatch: Shop TODAY’s 2026 Hair Awards! We tested more of the category’s biggest innovations than ever before, wading through a list of over 600 products and consulting a panel of trusted experts to crown our 50 winners. Shop TODAY executive editor Adrianna Brach stopped by Studio 1A to share the best products we’ve lathered, spritzed and combed our way through lately.
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Best shampoo for hair density: As we age, hair thinning, dulling and greying is common, but this “age defense” line is designed to help. From Nioxin, the brand behind one Shop TODAY editor’s triumph over stress-induced hair loss, the shampoo has a subtle tingle and lathers up nicely, per our testers. Coordinating producer Ali Deabler says she noticed baby hairs growing in after just a few months of consistent use.
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Best scalp serum: To boost the system, apply a few pipettes of this serum directly onto a clean scalp after your shower, massaging in with your fingers and brushing through. One of our testers vouched that this “added density from the root” without leaving hair “feeling sticky or looking oily and flat.” According to board-certified dermatologist Dr. Marisa Garshick, the lightweight formula contains niacinamide, caffeine and black oat peptides, which together can help to support scalp health, hair follicles and pigment production.
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Best volumizing spray: If you struggle with flat or fine hair, this volume-boosting spray mousse is a must-try. One of our testers loved it so much, she even recommended it to her 15-year-old son, who has now asked to borrow it every day since to give his naturally flat hair a bit of lift. To use, just apply the foam to wet hair and massage it in. “My pro tip is to blow-dry upwards from the root after that to really lock in volume," Brach says, adding that it also offers a flexible hold but still controls frizz and flyaways.
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Best curl cream: “I have genuinely never had a curl-defining product that checks all my boxes, until now," gushes special projects associate Jordan Murray. “My curl pattern has never looked so springy and shaped. It leaves zero frizz, and you are able to gently remove the gel crunch cast without disturbing all the work you put into your curls. My texture looked and felt great. I will absolutely be repurchasing.”
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Best low-fi massager: A scalp massager is the instant shower upgrade you never knew you needed. Trichologist Mandy Buechner says this one can help promote healthier hair growth by bringing circulation to the scalp and calls it “one of the best budget-friendly tools you can quickly add to your routine, no matter what hair type you have.” Writer Emma Stessman also says this $7 find has allowed her to go longer between washes and makes her locks feel softer and more manageable.
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Best comeback: We all know the Revlon One-Step Blow Dryer Brush. Now, it's been upgraded in some really genius ways to take you from wet hair to a salon-quality blow-dry in minutes. “It’s got a drying mode with strong airflow, of course, but then there’s a volumizing mode to add lift at the roots and even a thermal brush mode to smooth frizz and shape curls,” Brach says. “I love that this will help you declutter those hair tools that take up so much space, since it does the job of three tools in one.”
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Best spray dry shampoo: “For me, Batiste is the ultimate drugstore dry shampoo. No other dry shampoo I’ve tried — including those at triple the price — delivers on absorbing oil and adding volume to days-old dirty hair,” one tester writes. “This light formulation soaked up oil without leaving my hair stiff, white or filmy. As someone with a greasy scalp, I reached for this product nearly every other day.”
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Best hair gloss: “I have super frizzy hair and nothing seems to make the frizz go away, but this turned my hair into more of a soft wave rather than a frizz,” shares tester Jody Ricevuto. “It worked so well, I even brought it on vacation in Jamaica where it’s humid, and it still had my hair looking smooth.”
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Best anti-frizz spray: “This spray is definitely my go-to anti-frizz product because it controls the hair while maintaining softness and movement,” Claudio Belizario, a Europe-based stylist, previously told us. “I prefer to brush the product through while the hair is still wet, which helps give it perfect definition.”
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Best curl shampoo/conditioner set: Olaplex’s latest launch is right in line with the effective and luxurious hair care we’ve come to expect from the brand. The shampoo cleanses deeply for a fresh, clean feeling at the scalp, without stripping the mid-lengths and ends of moisture and leaving them frizzy, per the brand. The conditioner completes the shower ritual and is designed to feel nourishing and help to reshape and define curls while boosting shine.
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Best leave-in conditioner: “I liked how lightweight this product felt,” notes tester Jonathan Jackson. “I have low porosity hair, so heavier leave-ins can make my hair feel heavy and dull, but this was perfect for what I needed and left my hair feeling soft, moisturized and healthy.”
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Scalp revivals, scented formulas and moisturizing mavens our editors approved.
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These products are tester- and expert-approved.
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We tried hundreds of products for every hair type, and these earned a spot in our routine.
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