As beauty brands begin to wake up to the needs of women with afro hair, the British high street is slowly filling its shelves with products that cater to natural hair textures. Add to that dedicated online retailers, such as Antidote Street and Janet’s List, along with the long list of incredible black-owned hair brands and there’s now a lot more choice than there had been.

But where to start? We asked five content creators – Dior Bediako, Shahira Allen, Lesley Buckle, Winnie Awa and Nia Pettitt – to share the styling product they can’t live without. From intensive hair treatments to a multipurpose edge styler, here’s what they had to say…

“My hero product is the Everything Oil by Flo Beauty Co., £15. The brand’s founder Flo [Florence Adepoju, also founder of MDM Flow] is a beauty pro! She’s so tuned into the science, psychology and feelings that are tied into beauty products so I completely trust that her make-up and skincare products are crafted to work and leave you feeling great. I’ve been following her for years and feel like I’ve seen the brand grow and develop.

“In terms of the oil, I love how fuss-free it is. Some hair products cause people to break out on their foreheads but the Everything Oil can be used on your entire body. Also, the infusion of several oils means it checks many boxes in one.

“It’s so versatile. I use it as part of my mid-week ‘refresh’ where I use liquid, oil and cream to add moisture back to my hair. When I’m wearing my hair straight I use it as a hair polisher to add shine to my look and generally use it to keep my scalp and edges nourished.”

“My favourite styling product of all time is The Baby Tress Edge Styler in Lilac, £7.99. I discovered this product on Instagram. I follow loads of natural hair content creators and noticed one using this tool to style their edges.

“I love this product because it conveniently has all of the features I need to create fun and slick edge patterns with one handy tool. I like to use this with my favourite gel, ECO Styler’s Olive Oil Styling Gel, £3.99. It’s so easy to use and combined, the two give really great results.”

“The Bouclème Intensive Moisture Treatment, £22.10, is one of my favourites. I only discovered it last summer but I knew from the first try that it was a winner. Bouclème use lots of natural ingredients and this mask has a blend of flower and fruit oils like marula, mandarin, ylang ylang and rose.

“My hair can take a minute to drink it up but once it does, the tangles just melt away and my hair feels so hydrated. It conditions my curls without leaving my hair feeling greasy or lank, which is the main reason I love it. I usually apply it in sections after shampooing (I try to not be too heavy-handed as you really don’t need a lot of this) and leave it in for 15-30 minutes. I then rinse leaving some product so it acts as a leave-in conditioner before styling.”

“It’s so difficult to pick my favourite styling product but I’d have to say right now I am loving the evo Whip it Good Moisture Mousse, £17.18. I use it when my hair is soaking wet and I scrunch it in an upwards motion.

“Once the mousse is scrunched in, I let it air dry for 15 minutes and then I diffuse my hair for 25 minutes.”

Images: courtesy of Dior Bediako, Shahira Allen, Lesley Buckle, Winnie Awa and Nia Pettitt