How to Make Hair Soft, Silky, and Smooth

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Here’s a goal we’d bet a lot of us share: We want our hair to feel soft and touchable, with great movement. Happily, no matter the type or texture—from beautiful coils to a fine-strand pixie—there are now many smart ways to make your hair feel softer. For a quick Band-Aid, you can turn to rinse-out lamellar water treatments, which fill damaged areas with repairing ingredients (typically proteins) to make strands feel much softer (and look much shinier) in 10 seconds or less. However, long-lasting results require much more time and patience experts say. “Soft hair is all in the care you give it, no matter your hair type,” says celebrity hairstylist Andrew Fitzsimons.

Many factors influence softness, including overall health and the environment. “Hair tends to pull water from the environment, which is why it becomes frizzy in humid conditions,” says Leysa Carrillo, a hairstylist who specializes in curly hair and a Redken Brand Ambassador. Similarly, dry climates and environments can suck the water out of hair, making it feel more coarse and parched. Keeping your hair hydrated and healthy help prevent these environmental impacts—and, in turn, keep your hair at its softest.

Ahead, learn the best haircare tips to help you achieve soft hair. Whether you have 4C curls, fine hair, straight hair, or any texture in between, we all can benefit from these healthy hair habits.

Don’t go too long between washes

How you wash your hair and how often you do so directly impacts the look and feel of your strands. Delaying wash days greatly affects softness: “When you pile product on top of product without washing, you can clog your hair follicles and dry out your hair. Eventually it will feel very dry, and may even break off,” says Sassy Medchill, owner of Goldie & Co Salon and Covet & Mane educator. Your shampoo frequency depends on your texture, type, and concerns, but “my general rule of thumb is twice a week. Of course, that can vary depending on how dry or oily your hair is,” says Fitzsimons. If you have very dry, curly, or coily hair, then once a week or once every other week may be right for you, whereas oily or fine hair textures may need to wash more frequently.

A word about the shampoo use: “For soft hair, your shampoo should contain hydrating ingredients like hyaluronic acid or coconut oil,” says Fitzsimons. Redken All Soft Mega Curls Shampoo contains aloe and is perfect for severely dry, curly, and coily hair. Or Tresemme Rich Moisture Hydrating Shampoo is a good choice for all hair types.

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