7 Reasons Why You Should Use Hair Serum

If you think that you’ve got your hair care routine down but you’re neglecting to use a hair serum, you’re missing out. That’s because when used after shampoo and conditioner, but before styling, hair serums can have some pretty cool hair care benefits. 

If you’ve never used a hair serum before then it’s understandable if you’re not exactly sure what one can do. Perhaps you have oily hair and thought hair serum would only add to the grease 一 but that’s not necessarily the case. Maybe you’ve even used a hair serum and you liked it but it just feels like yet one more step in your hair care routine so you tend to skip it. 

But you’re missing out on what a hair serum can afford you. To learn all about why you should use hair serum and how to use a hair serum, keep reading. Plus get the scoop on some of the best hair serums for your healthy hair journey, based on your hair type and needs. 

Is Serum Good for Hair?

Like facial serums, hair serums are often packed with ingredients that target concerns and supply nutrients that nourish the hair and scalp. As long as you’re using them the right way, serums can be really great for hair. Of course, just like with your skin you want to take your hair type into consideration when choosing a hair serum for your needs. Once you have the right serum for your hair type and hair concerns, you’re well on your way to healthy, soft hair with shine.

When Should We Use Hair Serum?

As we said, hair serum can have many benefits that contribute to you reaching your hair goals quickly and on your own. They can also be helpful when styling your hair. Check out seven times to add a hair serum into your hair care routine.

1. To Tame Frizz and Flyaways

Frizz and flyaways are never fun to style around. In fact, we’re tempted to say that they’re a major culprit of bad hair days. But before reaching for hairspray, consider that using a hair serum can help nourish and tame frizzy hair. Think of hair serum as your first line of defense, and hairspray as the finishing touch to help tame any rogue or stray hairs. 

2. To Add Shine

Besides their ability to help manage frizz and flyaways, hair serums can also help boost your hair’s shine. Use a shine-boosting serum for nourishment before you shampoo, before styling to control hair and polish your strands, and as a lightweight finishing touch for softness and a luxurious, glassy shine.

3. To Nourish Dry Hair

In addition to dry hair feeling rough, when your hair is parched, it can often look dull and lifeless, which isn’t exactly a confidence booster. A good serum formulated with hydrating ingredients can give the hair a moisture boost while also camouflaging obvious signs of dryness and damage, such as frizz, breakage and split ends. 

4. To Shield Against Humidity

If your hair poofs up the minute you walk outside on days when air moisture levels are high, we totally feel your pain. While you can’t change having thick or poofy hair, you can help change the way it responds to environmental elements like humidity and artificial heat. Using the right hair serum can help you do just that.

5. To Soften Your Strands

When hair becomes dry or damaged, it can also feel brittle — not to mention suffer from breakage — and nobody wants to run their hands through that. Using a pump of hair serum can help bring life back to your strands, making your mane softer and easier to manage.

6. To Help With Damage

When hair is colored or over-styled with hot tools, it can become damaged. Using a hair serum is a great way to bring moisture back to your strands when they’ve lost their natural oils, and help to seal the hair cuticle which is disrupted by damage. 

7. To Detangle Hair

Working to remove tangles from your hair after washing it can be a real pain. But applying a few drops of hair serum to towel-dried hair can help make the detangling process easier. The slip from the serum helps your fingers or brush glide through your strands more easily.

Which Type of Hair Serum Is Best?

Now that you’re ready to add a hair serum to your routine, you’re likely wondering which serum is the right one for you. Take your pick from three of our favorite hair serums, below. 

L’Oréal Paris Elvive Dream Lengths Frizz Killer Serum Leave-In

This serum polishes the hair and smooths frizz while fighting static. It has a lightweight formula that doesn’t weigh down the hair, and it’s made with glycerin and castor oil to provide moisture and softness. It’s part of a “long hair, don’t care” system that restores hair health and fights damage, alongside the L’Oréal Paris Dream Lengths Restoring Shampoo for Long, Damaged Hair and L’Oréal Paris Dream Lengths Conditioner for Long, Damaged Hair.

L’Oréal Paris Elvive Hyaluron + Plump Moisture Plump Serum

If you’re on the hunt for the best serum for dry hair, you’ve met your match with this hydrating formula. Made with a hyaluronic acid complex that delivers a boost of moisture to your mane, it keeps hair hydrated for up to 72 hours. Inspired by skin care, it supplies hair the nourishment to feel as good as it looks. Use it with the L’Oréal Paris Elvive Hyaluron + Plump Hydrating Shampoo and the L’Oréal Paris Elvive Hyaluron + Plump Hydrating Conditioner for maximum benefits.

L’Oréal Paris EverPure Sulfate Free Simply Clean Midnight Color Care Serum

Refreshing your hair and boosting its shine can be done while you catch some much-needed beauty rest. Just reach for this shine-enhancing serum formulated with rosemary essential oil for a naturally sweet fragrance. It’s made without parabens, sulfates and dyes so it’s gentle on color-treated strands. Pair it with the L’Oréal Paris EverPure Sulfate-Free Simply Clean Shampoo with Essential Oil and the L’Oréal Paris EverPure Sulfate-Free Simply Clean Conditioner with Essential Oil.

How to Use Hair Serum

We’ve saved this for last since adding these serums for hair into your daily or weekly regimen is as easy as these basic steps outlined below.

Step 1. Wash Your Hair

Start with freshly washed hair whenever you can to allow the hair serum to do its best work. If your serum of choice comes as part of a system, pair it with the corresponding shampoo and conditioner and use the products in the right order.

Step 2. Add Your Serum 

Most serums can be applied to damp strands, so after you’ve towel-dried your hair a bit, add your serum. You can apply a pump or two to your hands, rub it between your palms and run it through the lengths of your hair. Unless it’s specified as a scalp serum, concentrate the formula to the lengths and ends of your strands — otherwise you can massage it into the scalp as well.

Step 3. Style and Add More Serum

Some serums can be used on dry hair and are a key part of the styling process. Whenever that’s the case (of course, read the directions on the package to be sure), add a pump or two of serum to your hands and run it through your hair while you’re styling. Some serums, like the L’Oréal Paris Elvive Dream Lengths Frizz Killer Serum Leave-In, will also act as a heat protectant so be sure to keep these on hand for those days you absolutely must enlist the help of your hot tools.

Next: What Are the Benefits Of Micellar Shampoo?

Edited by: Shalwah Evans, Photographer: Eric Yuhsing Lin, Art Director: Hannah Packer, Associate Creative Producer: Becca Solovay, Prop Stylist: Katrina Rozeville, Prop Assistant: Carrie Cabalse