Benable — create shareable lists of things you recommend!
E.g., products you love, local businesses, travel recs - you can add anything to a Benable list!
Heat Protectants & Blowout Prep at Ulta: Thermal Styling Essentials
22
items Heat damage sneaks up slowly: the ends go straw-like, the shine fades, and the flat iron suddenly seems to do less. These Ulta heat protectants, bond oils, smoothing serums, hot tools and gentle accessories are sorted so you can protect hair before t...
A hot-air brush is the fastest way I know to a smooth blowout, but it puts heat right against the hair, so I never use it without a protectant first. Mist, section, brush through, and the finish looks salon-smooth for a fraction of the price.
Revlon One-Step Volumizer Hair Dryer Brush
This is a dry spray, so it never leaves hair feeling wet or weighed down before the iron comes out. It protects up to 450 degrees, and I love that I can spray it onto already-dry hair for a quick touch-up curl.
Moroccanoil Perfect Defense Heat Protectant
If your hair frizzes the second humidity hits, this leave-in cream is worth the splurge. It gives 450 degree heat protection and a little goes a long way, so a small bottle lasts through a lot of blowouts and air-dry days.
OLAPLEX No.6 Bond Smoother Styling Cream
The extra-long barrel lets you wrap wider sections, so I get a soft wave in one pass instead of going over the same piece of hair again and again. Fewer passes means less heat on strands, which is exactly the point of prepping with a protectant.
T3 SinglePass Curl X Ceramic Curling Iron
This starts as a cushiony pearl gloss and melts into an oil when you warm it in your palms. Smooth a pea-sized amount through damp mid-lengths and ends for heat protection to 450 degrees, then use a touch afterward for a glossy, polished finish.
Briogeo Style + Treat Supreme Shine Strengthening Oil
Fine, flat hair needs a protectant that adds lift instead of weight, and this jelly does both. Work a medium amount through damp hair, blow dry with a round brush, and the roots stay bouncy well into the afternoon.
Redken Big Blowout Heat Protectant Jelly
An LED temperature display is the feature I would not buy a flat iron without. Set it to 340 to 450 degrees depending on your hair, apply your protectant, and stop guessing at the heat that your fine ends can really handle.
CHI Keratin Infused Ceramic Flat Iron
This one preps damp hair for a blowout with lift and body but no crunch, and it protects to 450 degrees. I spray it root to ends section by section, and the 2 oz size is cute for a gym bag or weekend trip.
amika Brooklyn Bombshell Blowout Spray
Sectioning is the secret to protecting hair evenly: you spray, comb and style one small piece at a time, so nothing gets scorched twice. These rust-free metal clips have a strong hinge and hold wet or dry hair without slipping.
Kitsch Metal Styling Hair Clips Set
When I want one product instead of four, this is it. It smooths, conditions, adds volume, protects from heat and blocks UV, all without silicones, so hair feels clean and light instead of coated.
Living Proof Perfect Hair Day 5-in-1 Styling Treatment
Prep is not only the product. Working a protectant evenly through wet, tangle-free hair means every strand gets coated, and this brush glides through knots without the snapping and pulling that causes breakage before you even pick up a dryer.
Tangle Teezer The Ultimate Detangler
A smoothing serum for humid days that gives 450 degree heat protection and lasting frizz control. Apply it before you dry or straighten and it keeps the sleekness going through several shampoos, which makes the straightening effort last longer.
Matrix Mega Sleek 96H Anti-Frizz Topcoat Serum
Four attachments in one body covers drying, straightening, curling and volume, which keeps a bathroom drawer from turning into a tangle of cords. It uses air plus active heat, so a protectant on damp hair is still step one every time.
Drybar All-Inclusive 8-in-1 Air + Active Heat Multi-Styler
Curls and coils need a protectant made for their texture, and this one is built for stretched styles, silk presses and blowouts. It adds a healthy luster without leaving hair greasy, and the $22 price keeps it an easy repurchase.
PATTERN Heat Protectant
After all that heat, I tie freshly styled hair up with silk instead of a regular elastic. Silk is smooth, so it does not tug or leave dents and breakage at the ponytail, and the set of four is easy to keep in a purse and a car.
Slip Pure Silk Skinny Scrunchies 4-Piece Set
Thick or dry hair soaks this up like a drink of water. It works as a leave-in conditioner and heat primer in one step, so frizz calms down and the ends feel softer even before any heat is involved.
Bumble and bumble Hairdresser's Invisible Oil Primer
Longer plates cover wider sections, which is how you straighten thick hair without hitting the same strand three times. It is an investment, but fewer passes is genuinely kinder to your ends.
T3 SinglePass Smooth X Flat Iron with Extra-Long Plates
A lightweight blowout primer serum made with just three essential ingredients, with no dye and no fragrance. It speeds up drying time and adds shine, which is a good choice if your scalp is sensitive to heavily perfumed styling products.
Paul Mitchell Clear Smoothing Serum
If you spend money on a color or gloss, heat is the quiet thing that fades it. This spray guards color and hair up to 450 degrees, so the shade lasts longer between salon visits, and a bright bottle is easy to spot on a crowded shelf.
dpHUE Color Fresh Thermal Protection Spray
A few drops of this concentrated, weightless oil go a long way before a blowout or after styling. It adds shine, softens flyaways, helps color stay vibrant and gives heat protection up to 450 degrees, and the 1 oz size is a nice way to try it.
OLAPLEX No.7 Bonding Hair Oil
Heat styling is only half the story: a blowout or curls last longer if you protect them overnight. This roomy, double-layered satin bonnet cuts friction against the pillow, so hair wakes up less frizzy and you can skip a second round with the iron.
Kitsch Adjustable Oversized Satin Bonnet
Unruly, frizzy hair gets the most from a cream that smooths and protects in one pass. It detangles, hydrates and holds heat protection to 450 degrees, so my coarse sections finally lay flat after a pass with the iron.
Redken Frizz Dismiss Rebel Tame Leave-In Cream