A hair serum used to be the last thing you reached for when it came to addressing a bit of frizz. If your mane felt a little fried, a few drops rubbed through the ends would suffice for a quick fix.
Now, they’ve become the whole conversation. Glass hair, the ’90s supermodel blowout, and “mirror shine” took over our feeds, and everyone decided they wanted shine and smoothness rather than volume.
The fastest route to get there is a product you can carry comfortably in a small bag.
Vogue’s Favorite Hair Serums for Fighting Frizz
Best Drugstore: Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Anti-Frizz Hair Serum, $8
Best for Overnight Repair: Kérastase Nutritive 8H Magic Night Serum, $35
Best for Thick Hair: Moroccanoil Intense Smoothing Serum, $32
Best for Fine Hair: Oribe Hair Alchemy Treatment Serum, $66
Best for Styling: Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum, $14
Best for Damaged Hair: Olaplex N°.9 Bond Protector Hair Serum, $32
Best for Dry Hair: Rōz Milk Hair Serum, $52
And the shine isn't just surface-level. Part of the appeal is how much a few drops can do.
“Frizz is often a sign that the hair is looking for moisture, so a good serum can help smooth the cuticle, add slip and create a more polished surface without taking away the hair’s natural movement,” says celebrity hairstylist Gregory Russell. The right formula creates a smooth barrier, protecting and strengthening hair strands.
Celebrity hairstylist Clayton Hawkins likes what that barrier buys you on a bad-weather day. “A good serum helps smooth the cuticle, adds shine, and gives you a little extra protection against humidity,” he says.
Which serum does that best depends on your hair. A serum can now be water-based, oil-based, or somewhere in between, and that distinction matters more than the label on the front.
“If you have finer hair and like to air dry, I’d shy away from serums that are primarily oil-based and instead opt for a water-based serum,” says celebrity hair artist Emaly Baum. “If you have thicker hair, oil or silicone ingredients might be the way to go.” For weather-related frizz, master hairdresser Sarah Lund opts for the controversial silicone.
“Lightweight options can block humidity and add incredible shine,” she says.
Finally, if you’re newer to the hair serum game, a pro tip: application is where most of us go wrong. You’ll want to grab a dime-sized amount and add to damp hair on the mid-lengths and ends.
“It’s important not to start at the roots to avoid heavy, greasy hair,” advises Baum. Russell, on the other hand, likes to build slowly.
“I always start with less than I think I need—you can add more, but you can’t really take it away.”
Below, the serums worth the shelf space, from a drugstore staple to one you’ll love so much you’ll keep it on your nightstand.
Best Drugstore: Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Anti-Frizz Hair Serum
Why We Love It: Total proof that a good serum doesn’t have to cost much. Garnier’s silicone serum, with a touch of argan oil, is light enough for finer hair but still tames thicker textures, and it smooths flyaways on damp or dry hair. A little goes a long way, so one bottle lasts a long time for its lower price tag.
Editor’s Experience: “I’m a huge fan of a drugstore swap, and while I admit I had my reservations about whether or not this would work on my strands (they’re a bit on the finer side)—it did. This is my vacation favorite—a few drops on dry, sun-soaked hair keeps my waves shiny and bouncy through a long beach trip.”
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Affordable price point
Can weigh down fine hair
High shine
Best for Overnight Repair: Kérastase Nutritive 8H Magic Night Serum
Why We Love It: Best applied before bed, using Kérastase’s Nutritive 8H Magic Night Serum will help you wake up to softer, smoother hair while you’re sleeping soundly. Ingredients like plant-based proteins from wheat, corn, and soy feed cuticles overnight, while niacinamide strengthens them.
The texture is light enough that it won’t leave a mark on your pillowcase, which is the real test of any product you're going to leave on overnight. Lastly, glycerin handles refueling and hydration.
Editor’s Experience: “Anything that claims to work while I sleep usually gets an eye roll from me, but after a summer of beach days, my ends were fried, so I was willing to give anything a shot. Two pumps through my lengths before bed, and I wake up to hair that’s actually soft instead of crunchy.
It doesn’t make my fine hair greasy at the roots, and most mornings I don’t have to bother styling at all.”
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Fast0absorbing
Smoothing effects build over time
Non-greasy
Best for Thick Hair: Moroccanoil Intense Smoothing Serum
Why We Love It: If you have thick, coarse hair, most serums just disappear into it. But not this one.
While this formula is mostly silicones (which is where hair products’ “slippery feeling” comes from), the addition of argan oil, Vitamin E, and squalane means that instead of coating your hair, it feels soft. Use a small amount on your hair before you blow-dry, or add it as a finishing touch, and your hair stays static-free for up to 72 hours.
Editor’s Experience: “While it’s generally recommended for thicker hair than my own, I still get loads of use out of this smoothing serum. I opt for less, applying a smaller amount on the ends of my hair before an at-home blowout.
It’s plenty enough to give hair a sleek, shiny look without making it fall flat by the afternoon. I usually reserve this for heat-styling, but my friends with denser scalps are huge fans of daily use.”
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Excellent frizz control
Viscose texture is best used only on coarse hair
Works well for thicker hair types
Best for Fine Hair: Oribe Hair Alchemy Treatment Serum
Why We Love It: Fine hair is the hardest case for serum, since anything too rich makes hair fall flat by noon. Oribe’s formula is light enough to disappear into damp strands while still strengthening hair that breaks easily. If you air-dry, this is the kind of solution that smooths after you apply it through damp mid-lengths and ends after washing.
Editor’s Experience: “I typically air-dry my hair and use this to smooth onto my damp ends. It dries soft and doesn’t get crunchy as some other hair serums do. I’m a huge fan of what it does to my waves and curls, adding shine and structure so they stay intact.”
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Won’t weigh down hair
Some hair types have potential for protein overload
Offers heat protection
Best for Styling: Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum
Why We Love It: Silicone serums work by coating hair to lock in moisture and smooth frizz, and that’s what makes blow-drying easier: your brush glides right through and your style comes out ten times better. This formula from Paul Mitchell is a classic: it contains lightweight isododecane to help the product spread thin and dry fast, while dimethicone and dimethiconol coat each strand to seal the cuticle, add shine, and keep humidity out.
Editor’s Experience: [Kiana TKTK]
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Can speed up blow-dry time
Silicone-heavy formula
Provides heat protection
Best for Damaged Hair: Olaplex N°.9 Bond Protector Hair Serum
Why We Love It: If your frizz is a result of damage from heat styling tools or hair color, Olaplex’s Bond Protector Hair Serum can help penetrate the hair shaft and protect it from further damage. Its formula contains red algae extract, an antioxidant the brand says shields hair from pollution for up to 48 hours, and Olaplex’s signature bond-building technology, strengthening weak, overprocessed strands. Bonus points for it doubling as a heat protectant.
Editor’s Experience: “In my opinion, Olaplex can really do no wrong. Whenever I use this product, my hair feels like it fully bonds together and frayed ends look so put together it’s as if I’ve just gotten a haircut. I love using this fresh out of the shower when I’m using my diffuser—my waves turn out so mermaid-like.”
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Heat and oxidative defense
Cumulative results overtime
Silicone-free formula
Best for Dry Hair: Rōz Milk Hair Serum
Why We Love It: A milky, in-between texture from celebrity stylist Mara Roszak’s line that hydrates without the heaviness of a straight oil. It works before air-drying or blow-drying, so it slots into either routine, and it’s the sort of formula that delivers moisture and slip in one step.
Editor’s Experience: “For days when my hair feels a bit oily, I opt for this milky serum that hydrates instead of adding oil. My strands can’t really take too much of a slick finish, so I like that this one dries soft and almost invisible. I work a little through my ends while my hair’s still damp, and it takes the edge off frizz without making my roots look like I skipped a wash.”
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Doubles as a hair milk
Not as suited for coarser hair types
Provides lightweight hydration