This balm suits people who want smoother, straighter-looking, frizz-reduced hair from an at-home blow-dry or air-dry routine, especially those with thicker, coarser, or curlier hair that takes a long time to dry and tangle easily. Because it's a leave-in, wet-hair styling step rather than a rinse-out treatment, it's meant to be used every time hair is washed, and the smoothing effect is described as building with continued, repeated use rather than working fully after a single application.

Rather than coating hair with a rinse-off treatment, this balm works as a wet-hair, leave-in step that's combed through before styling and never washed out -- so its smoothing polymers and botanical extracts (raspberry seed oil, hibiscus, nettle) stay on the hair through the whole blow-dry or air-dry. That's why the brand describes the straightening and frizz-control benefit as something that improves with continued use, rather than a one-time coating effect.

Apply to clean, wet hair after shampooing (with or without a conditioner).

1. Use a dime- to quarter-sized amount
2. Comb through evenly
3. Do not rinse out
4. Style as desired -- blow-dry or air-dry

As a leave-in applied to wet hair rather than a rinse-out treatment, this balm can smooth and add shine without needing a separate step, and it's light enough to use every wash without a rinse-out conditioner replacing it. Because it isn't rinsed out, using too much can leave hair feeling weighed down, and its hold is medium rather than strong, so it's not built to fully control very resistant, coarse curl patterns on its own. It also contains three different parabens, which matters to paraben-avoidant shoppers.

• Leave-in balm that smooths and speeds up drying time
• Effect builds with repeated, regular use
• Contains methylparaben, propylparaben, and ethylparaben
• Medium hold -- not a heavy-duty straightening treatment for very resistant curl