The Best Heat Protectants For Soft, Healthy Hair

The obvious choice for emphasizing the importance of a heat protectant would be to liken styling your hair without one to having casual sex without a condom: dangerous, and likely best avoided.

So if this is the metaphor we're going with (and it is), it follows that you should employ similar preventative tactics, too — namely, always be prepared. A box of rubbers stashed in your dresser drawer, a few good heat protectants lined up on top... Maybe safe sex and healthy hair aren't so unrelated after all.

Ahead, the best new creams, mists, and concentrates, for defending your hair against blow-dryers and bad decisions. May your heat protectants be as effective as your prophylactics — that is, around 98% when used perfectly.