The 7 Best Moisturizers for Black Men’s Hair in 2024

With how many different moisturizers there are for black men’s hair, it’s not always easy to find the right one for you.

Knowing where to look and what to look for is half the battle, so all the information we cover in this list will work towards making it easier for you to find a moisturizer you like!

What’s the Best Moisturizer for Black Men’s Hair?

There are a lot of great moisturizers that you can find with just a simple google search, but before you can determine what moisturizer is best for you, you have to know what you want first.

Many moisturizers have specific offerings that make them unique, so the more sure you are of what qualities you want in a moisturizer, the easier it is to pick out the best one.

Don’t worry if you don’t know what specific things you want in a moisturizer, though. We’re here to help with that, and our top seven picks cover a wide range of offerings to choose from.

Our Top 7 Picks for the Best Moisturizers for Black Men’s Hair:

1. Best Overall: Bumble and Bumble Grooming Cream
2. Best for Dry Scalp: Tgin Butter Cream Daily Moisturizer
3. Best for Dreadlocks/Braids: Carol’s Daughter Hair Milk Moisturizer
4. Best for Hair Growth: OKAY Black Jamaican Castor Oil
5. Best for Thinning Hair: Cantu Shea Butter Leave-In Conditioner
6. Best for Frizzy Hair: Maui Moisture Vanilla Bean Hair Butter
7. Best for Color-Treated Hair: Alikay Naturals Moisture Rich Parfait

As you can see from the list, there’s a lot of variety when it comes to moisturizers for black men’s hair. We’ll get into the finer details of each of these products soon, but let’s first talk about the importance of a moisturizer.

Why You Need a Moisturizer for Black Hair

For hair in general, moisturizers are one of the main ways to maintain health long term. Without them, hair is much more prone to becoming dry, brittle, and frizzy.

For some people, washing and conditioning are enough to keep hair moisturized well, but that does not apply to everyone because no two people have the same hair.

Washing and conditioning will often leave a person’s hair moisturized for a couple of hours, and then after that, the effects wear off, and the hair becomes dry.

Using a moisturizer in tandem with washing and conditioning provides an additional layer of moisture that can go a very long way in keeping hair healthy.

And for black men, more specific types of moisturizers that cater to black people’s hair are sometimes necessary. The ingredients in these moisturizers are usually not as common in moisturizers that are not specific to black people’s hair, so they naturally work better.

Also, suppose you wash your hair frequently because you find that it becomes dry after a day or two. In that case, you absolutely should invest in a moisturizer.

Hair will suffer damage from too much washing, and undoing that damage is sometimes very difficult. Because of this, it’s better to save yourself from that potential damage by incorporating a good conditioner into your routine.

With all that in mind, let’s get on to covering our top seven picks for the best moisturizers for black men’s hair!

Best Moisturizer for Black Men’s Hair: Top 7 Picks

Here are our top picks for the best moisturizer for black men’s hair right now. You can find all these products on Amazon.

1. Bumble and Bumble Grooming Cream

Bumble and Bumble Grooming Cream takes the top spot on our list because it does a great job of moisturizing even the driest hair.

When you apply this moisturizing cream, your hair will have a mildly shiny look to it, which is not overpowering to the eye. So, not only will your hair feel better from having more moisture, but it will also look significantly healthier.

This cream lasts for quite a long time as well, and you only need to use about a dime-size amount unless you have a lot of hair. The cream is also perfect for those who like to style their hair.

It’s relatively expensive compared to other creams, as many customers’ reviews made mention of this when reviewing this product. Still, one tube lasts months, and you will get your money’s worth.

2. Tgin Butter Cream Daily Moisturizer

Tgin Butter Cream Daily Moisturizer specifically deals with dry scalps by providing super-rich and creamy daily moisture and makes it a breeze to manage hair.

It leaves your scalp free of grease and excess oil, so your hair will feel nice and light to the touch for the whole day after using this cream just once. The vitamin E in this moisturizer is great for improving hair growth and cutting back on hair loss.

Because this cream has no sulfates, your hair and scalp will naturally feel less dry after use. It can leave a white residue behind, but it’s easy enough to wipe the stuff away regardless of whether you have short or long hair.

3. Carol’s Daughter Hair Milk Moisturizer

Hair Milk Moisturizer by Carol’s Daughter is a leave-in moisturizer that works wonders on dreadlocks and braids. It can work even if you don’t have dreadlocks or braids, but this moisturizer is at its best when you use it for curlier hairstyles.

This moisturizer’s formula combines agave nectar, cocoa butter, shea butter, and other healthy natural ingredients.

All of which are very effective for keeping dreadlocks and braids feeling soft. Many customer reviews refer to the smell of this moisturizer being either overpowering or nonexistent, so you will likely experience either one of the two extremes.

Despite that, there is no better moisturizer than Carol’s Daughter’s Hair Milk Moisturizer when it comes to catering to curly hair, dreadlocks, and braids specifically.

4. OKAY Black Jamaican Castor Oil

If you have healthy hair but are looking for a moisturizer that will help the growing process, look no further than OKAY Black Jamaican Castor Oil.

This oil brings a level of conditioning to all types of hair that is difficult to find elsewhere, and it contains lots of vitamin E and Omega 6 & 9 Fatty Acids that all work together to make hair grow faster and healthier.

This product has no sulfate, silicone, or paraben in its formula, making it even better for maintaining moisture in hair hours after use.

However, the texture of this moisturizer is reasonably thick, so if you prefer smoother and creamier moisturizers, you won’t get that with this one. It’s also important to note that the more you have, the less you will notice the thickness of the oil as it will spread across a wider surface area.

5. Cantu Shea Butter Leave-In Conditioner

Cantu Shea Butter Leave-in Conditioner is one of the most popular moisturizers for black men on the market. It works on all hair types and provides deep levels of moisture with its shea butter formula.

The hemp seed oil in this moisturizer also increases the longevity of the effects, making it so that you don’t have to worry about applying it multiple times a day.

This product’s lack of sulfates, parabens, and mineral oils also adds to the lasting moisture. Despite that, some customer reviews brought up the fact that their hair felt somewhat brittle after using this product.

However, since everyone’s hair is different, you likely will have a very strong chance of never experiencing such an issue when using this moisturizer.

Read Next: Is Cantu Good for Hair?

6. Maui Moisture Vanilla Bean Hair Butter

Maui Moisture’s Vanilla Bean Hair Butter is full of ingredients that make dealing with frizzy hair significantly less tiring. This butter’s formula contains 100% aloe vera, coconut oil, vanilla bean, and kukui nut oil.

Like many other moisturizers on our list, this one is also free of sulfates, parabens, silicones, and mineral oil. So, your hair will stay moisturized for longer.

Some reviewers do not recommend using this product as a deep conditioner because it left their hair feeling greasy afterward.

You can, of course, try using it as a deep conditioner regardless, but you find better results if you only use a little bit of it to add extra moisture to your hair. Because it contains multiple types of oil, you do not need to use this butter in excess.

7. Alikay Naturals Moisture Rich Parfait

If you have color-treated hair and are worried about a moisturizer affecting it negatively, Alikay Naturals’ Moisture Rich Parfait will erase that worry.

This moisturizer’s formula keeps the safety of color-treated hair in mind, all while bringing rich moisture that makes hair shinier, softer, healthier-looking, and more manageable. Some of the notable ingredients in this moisturizer include avocado oil, olive oil, coconut oil, argan oil, shea butter.

If you’re looking for a moisturizer with a creamier texture, Alikay Naturals’ Moisture Rich Parfait is not going to fit that bill, as it has a greasier feel. Still, it’s a high-quality moisturizer that the vast majority of product reviews rave about in spite of the greasy texture.

Finding the Best Hair Moisturizer for Black Men’s Hair

Hopefully, you now see what we mean when we say that there is a lot of variety in the types of moisturizers out there.

If none of the moisturizers on our list appeal to you, don’t worry! We have some easy tips you can keep in mind to help narrow down your search for the best moisturizer for black men’s hair.

Specialty

The specialty of a particular moisturizer will play a significant role in whether you buy it or not. For example, suppose you often get dandruff and want a moisturizer to help remedy that issue.

In that case, if you find two moisturizers that are virtually the same, except one has an anti-dandruff formula while the other has an anti-scalp acne formula, you’ll pick the first one.

Most of the time, the supplementary offerings of a moisturizer are helpful, and it’s always good to read up on what they are, but the primary offering is always the most important.

The companies that manufacture these moisturizer products know this. Otherwise, they would not go out of their way to include the primary offering of a moisturizer at the top of the product page on Amazon.

Sulfates

Keep an eye out for sulfates in products and do your best to avoid them. Sulfates are ingredients that come in many hair products, especially shampoos.

Their primary purpose is to bring in oil and water to help wash the dirt off hair and skin. On the surface, this is a beneficial aspect.

However, the issue with sulfates is that they often remove too much oil from your scalp and hair. This results in your hair becoming dry faster, and it is why many people opt for only using sulfate-free products in their hair.

If a moisturizer has sulfates in it, the ingredients list will always list them, so ensure you check to see if this is the case. Sometimes, it’s okay to use a product with sulfates if you have to.

But if you suffer from dandruff or have an extremely dry scalp, it’s best to steer clear of products that have sulfates. They will only work against all the effort you put in to make sure your hair has a healthy amount of moisture.

Scent

If you ever read product reviews for shampoos, conditioners, moisturizers, oils, or any other hair products, you’ll always find people either raving or complaining about the smell of the product.

Unless a product advertises itself as having no scent, you will always have to deal with a smell that you’ll either like, dislike, or feel indifferent towards. And even products that claim to have no scent sometimes have a smell anyway.

However, unless the manufacturer puts actual perfume as one of the main ingredients in a moisturizer, the smell of a moisturizer is never overpowering.

Even so, if there is a distinct smell that you do not like, you should try to avoid products that have it. Fragrance might seem like a small matter in the grand scheme of things.

But keep in mind that because moisturizer goes in your hair, you’ll be smelling it a lot. On the bright side, most moisturizers do not have as strong scents as some shampoos and conditioners.

Products Reviews

We always recommend looking at product reviews to gain additional information on a product that you might not get from just reading the product description. Disingenuous reviews will always exist.

But you should not let those drive you away from customer reviews entirely. And, of course, put more stock in the reviews that contain more specific details about the product.

Don’t pay much attention to the one-liner reviews regardless of whether they’re positive or negative. They won’t give you any valuable information or insights, so it’s best not to waste your time with them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Hopefully, our buying guide gave you plenty of helpful information, but here are some answers to additional questions you may still have.

Should black men moisturize hair every day?

Yes, moisturizing hair every day is a good rule of thumb. Unlike washing your hair daily with shampoo, using moisturizer daily will not lead to negative effects like severe dryness and brittle hair.

Is Shea Moisture good for black men’s hair?

Yes, Shea Moisture’s hair care products are often very high quality. They also have a wide variety of offerings to meet as many people’s needs as possible, so you won’t have a difficult time finding a moisturizer of theirs that you like.

What’s the difference between conditioner and moisturizer?

Moisturizer and conditioner serve similar purposes, but the former is better at providing moisture to the hair, whereas the latter is better for detangling hair. This is why it’s always good to use moisturizer regardless of whether you use a conditioner or not.

So, What’s the Best Moisturizer for Black Men’s Hair?

With so many moisturizers on offer from so many different companies and brands, it can take quite a bit of time and research to track down your dream moisturizer.

Of course, that does not mean you’ll necessarily find the process difficult or tedious, especially if you take the information you’ve learned in this list and apply it effectively.

Remember to have plenty of patience and persistence, and keep yourself open to trying many different moisturizers because you won’t know how well a moisturizer will work until you try it.

So, expect to have to buy and try at least a handful of them before you find one you feel good about settling on.

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