Beauty editor Ash Cometti shares her top picks from 7 award-winning hair care brands.
Healthy, hydrated tresses have always been the goal when it comes to building out a hair care routine to suit both your hair type and lifestyle.
While that might sound simple, finding the right mix
This year’s Viva Beauty Awards 2025, presented by Glow Lab, aimed to shine a light on the high-performance hair care propelling the industry forward with their groundbreaking formulations that aim to meet the myriad needs of a multitude of hair types.
Whether that’s offering weightless hydration to coily or kinky hair types, or fending off breakage on fine hair, these pioneering products blur boundaries between hair and scalp care.
Read the full list of Viva Beauty Award 2025 winners here.
Below, beauty editor Ash Cometti dives into the 7 hair care brands that won their category in this year’s awards or were recognised as a runner-up, along with her recommendations of the best products to shop for from each.
CZE Hair
The cornerstone duo in celebrated hair stylist and entrepreneur Chloe Zara’s selection of hair care, the CZE Hair Silk Wash & Silk Condition Duo, $92, are treasured favourites of industry insiders and at-home hair care buffs alike. Rooted in Trico-Dermis Beauty, CZE Hair celebrates hair and scalp as one, with formulations that aim to support tresses from root to tip. Awarded as Best Shampoo & Conditioner Duo in this year’s Beauty Awards, Silk Wash and Silk Condition act as a two-step system to hydrate, strengthen and nourish hair with their blend of plant-based extracts, soy proteins and butters to remove impurities, fend off environmental stress and signs of hair ageing, plus hydrate the scalp and promote hair growth.
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Advertise with NZME.Another excellent pick from the Aotearoa-based beauty brand includes the Glossifying Mist, $59, a two-in-one leave-in conditioner which offers both UV and heat protection. The unique formulation highlights the brand’s Hair Oleobooster Hydrolysed Soy Protein plus calendula and chamomile seed oil to detangle, nourish, strengthen and hydrate hair. It’s perfect to spritz on to mid-lengths and ends whilst damp before heat styling, or on dry hair to hydrate and revive curly hair types.
Kerastase
French luxury hair and scalp care brand Kerastase was crowned not once but twice in this year’s celebrations – first as Best For Your Scalp Winner for its Genesis Anti-Fall Fortifying Serum, $107, and second in the Best Hairstyling Product Or Treatment category for its Nutritive 8H Night Hair Serum, $99.
The former continues to lead the charge when it comes to combatting hair breakage and adjacent hair fall on weakened hair, which is most common during periods of stress, postpartum or during hormonal fluctuations. It looks to edelweiss native cells and ginger root to help anchor hair at the root, fortifying the scalp to minimise ongoing shedding. The jelly-like serum formula is designed to be used daily across a six-week period to achieve best results.
Like beauty sleep for dry or depleted hair, the Nutritive 8H Night Hair Serum offers hair an overnight boost with iris root extract, niacinamide and a five-strong blend of vitamins to rebalance the hair’s nutrition levels over eight hours. Suitable for use on all hair types, the lightweight yet creamy formula combats daytime depletion and leaves hair hydrated, detangled and soft as silk come morning.
Dyson
Famed for its suite of styling tools that recruit airflow rather than extreme heat to tame tresses, the Dyson Airstrait, $799, was recognised as the Best Hair Tool To Try in 2025. It takes hair from damp to dry and naturally straight in half the time it would take to blow dry and straighten (depending on hair length and thickness) rendering it a must-have for the time poor amongst us who still wish to appear polished. It features a root-drying mode to boost volume and ensure the scalp isn’t left damp, a must if you’re washing your hair before bed. The air-powered straightener can also be used in dry mode to refresh day-old hair, leaving it soft, bouncy and smooth.
The wet to dry straightener pairs perfectly with Dyson’s recently released hair care range, which extends to two products designed to be used on hair both pre- and post-styling. The Chitosan range harnesses the restorative powers of mushrooms to achieve flexible, long-lasting hold throughout the different stages of styling hair. The Dyson Chitosan Pre-Style Cream, $99, is available in four variations to suit a range of hair types, from straight to wavy or curly to coily in either light or rich conditioning formulations. While the Chitosan Post-Style Cream, $99, which fends off frizz and flyaways even in the most humid conditions, leaves hair soft and shiny with all-day hold. Not to mention both are available as refills at a discounted cost of the full-sized vessel.
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L’Oreal Professionel
A must-have for coloured hair, L’Oreal Professionel’s Metal Detox range helps to detoxify hair using glicoamine, a molecule which neutralises metal deposits in the hair fibre – often left behind following colour, balayage or lightening services. The Metal Detox Shampoo, $61, helps to gently remove the accumulation of metal particles, while boosting colour vibrancy and shine, leaving hair smooth, soft and nourished once more. Coupled with the Metal Detox Mask, $71, it supports the same mission set by the shampoo, but adds an extra layer of nourishment by sealing the hair cuticle post-cleanse and leaving it stronger and less prone to breakage. Better together, it’s little wonder this restorative hair care duo came runner-up in the Best Shampoo & Conditioner category.
For best results, consider adding the Serie Expert Metal Detox Oil, $77, which absorbs quickly into mid-lengths and ends without weighing hair down. The formulation highlights the same glicoamine molecule throughout the Metal Detox range, protecting hair from damaging metal particles that can negatively impact hair colour. It serves double duty to act as a heat protectant up to 230C, ensuring hair is nourished and healthy throughout the styling process.
Tangle Teezer
Its the hair care brand that boasts brushes in every shape and size, designed to gently detangle and smooth every hair type. But it was Tangle Teezer’s Scalp Exfoliator and Massager, $23, that earned the runner-up place in the Best For Your Scalp category – it’s pretty-in-pink option designed to detoxify the scalp and remove product build-up. It features the added benefit of offering your scalp a soothing massage, and comes highly recommend by the International Trichology Congress.
Struggle with knotty, matted hair? Consider the Tangle Teezer Wet Detangler in Black, $28, which features 325 teeth that gently flex over tangles and knots to help smooth wet hair without causing damage or breakage.
Garnier
Worth subbing into your hair care routine for the gourmand scent alone, the Garnier Fructis Banana Hair Food, $15, smells good enough to eat, let alone smooth on to hair. The multi-use mask was recognised as runner-up in the Best Hairstyling Product Or Treatment for its deeply nourishing formulation which revives dry hair. Banana is just one of the fruit infusions available in Garnier’s Hair Food flavours, including Macadamia for frizzy, dry hair; Watermelon for fine hair; Pineapple for long, dull hair; Papaya for damaged hair or Aloe Vera for normal to dry hair.
A newbie worth a look is Garnier’s Fructis Damage Eraser Keratin Filler, $17, which sees marula oil and a keratin repair complex combine to repair the hair from the inside out. The intensive treatment helps to replenish lost keratin and repair internal fibre damage – up to 10 layers deep. Not to mention it seals the hair cuticle on the outside, resulting in hair that’s smooth and shines with health.
GHD
A godsend for those with long, thick or curly hair, the GHD Chronos Max, $520, came runner-up in the Best Hair Tool To Try category. The wide-plate hair straightener is the fastest of any tool in the GHD styling stable, promising ultra-fast, one stroke styling for hair that’s sleek and straight for up to 24 hours. It does so without extreme heat damage, too, instead the brand’s adaptive styling technology ensures an even temperature of 185C. The floating ceramic plates might be 85% larger than other GHD straighteners, but the thin, curved edges mean it’s size isn’t a barrier to getting close to the roots. Like other GHD stylers, the Chronos Max features a sleep mode which kicks into gear after 10 minutes of inactivity.
GHD’s latest innovation? The new GHD Wave Triple Barrel Hair Waver, $310, which creates loose beach waves with ease. It’s suitable for use on all hair types and lengths, creating undulating mermaid waves without the kinks or creases that other waving tools can cause. Like the Chronos Max, it’s temperature controlled at 185C and works in as little as three seconds of being gently clamped on to hair. The design highlights a cool tip so you can hold top and bottom as you style, and the built-in safety stand is a handy feature when setting the Wave down in between sections.
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