Those of us with curly hair know it can be both a blessing and a curse. When it behaves, nothing's better than having a head full of perfect ringlets or waves that cascade over your shoulders. But when it's acting ornery or piqued — look out. Thirsty, frizzy, stressed-out curly hair is never pretty. And when we try to wrestle those same misbehaving curls into submission, it only makes things worse. (Because, really, the only thing that looks worse than fried curls are fried curls that have been further fried in an attempt to make them behave.)

The question then is, what's a curly girl's best plan of attack for keeping her genetically blessed curly hair in shape? And what about when she wants to tame her waves and rock a silky-smooth style? The answer is simple and complicated. These days there's no shortage of products designed specifically with the various needs of curly-headed women in mind. The scientists have arrived at the proper formulas, all you need to do is figure out which to use and you'll be set.

But with so many "curly this" and "curly that" products to choose from, your curly head might feel like it's going to explode. So in an effort to keep that messy scenario at bay, we took it upon ourselves to sift through legions of reviews of conditioners and styling aids to find out precisely which ones TotalBeauty.com readers deem worthy of their precious curls — in both their natural and straightened states.

The results on the following pages may surprise you, but remember, you're getting the info straight from other curly-haired women who've tried — and approved — each and every one of these stellar products. It's like having your very own curly-haired sounding board. So what are you waiting for? Get clicking and find out which of these 20 curly hair products you need to add to your arsenal.

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