It's been a minute since I've picked up a curling iron, or any hot tool for that matter. While working from home I've adapted a more natural, abbreviated version of my beauty routine and that includes letting my hair air-dry [1]. But anyone with a wavy or curly hair type knows that when you air-dry your hair, it never turns out the same way twice. Because of this, I've been on what feels like a never-ending quest to find the best hair-care products for air-drying my hair [2] in the last year. Now, I think I finally found something that works really well and better yet, it's available at the drugstore. Cue the heavenly choir.
The Suave Pink Heat Free Styler Air Dry Styling Cream [3] ($5) is a part of the brand's latest collection of hair products for spring and summer and can be found at Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, and other drugstores. It's a thick cream that you apply to wet hair from roots to ends fresh out of the shower and it helps reduce frizz [4], soften hair, and enhance your texture. It also has the most amazing light watermelon-berry scent.
As someone with fine hair, I've typically avoided using thicker styling creams in my routine out of fear that they would weigh my hair down and make it flat but nothing like that happens with this air-dry styler. I use about a quarter-size amount for my short-to-medium length hair and run it through my ends using my fingers, then use an upward scrunching motion with my hands to encourage my waves to dry nicely. It's hard to see the Suave Pink Heat Free Styler Air Dry Styling Cream [5] ($5) working its magic while my hair is still wet but as soon as it dries completely the difference is clear.
There's body! Fullness! Shape! All without any heat. My waves, which are usually pretty messy and loose, have much more definition when I use this styling cream. I know it still looks frizzy but I'm convinced that's not the product's fault — I just have incredibly frizzy hair (sometimes I layer a smoothing serum with this cream to help with that problem but I opted not to this time for the sake of this review). To me, these waves are perfect for a relaxed, effortless hairstyle and yes, I will be bringing this styling cream to the beach with me this summer.
I don't often buy beauty products (perks of being a beauty editor), but this is one that I'll be picking up for myself the second I run out. For $5, how could I not?
Rating:
My Waves Before and After Using the Suave Pink Heat Free Air Dry Styling Cream
