Davines organises its Essential Haircare into nine families, each built for one hair need. Pick DEDE for gentle daily washing, NOUNOU for damaged hair, MOMO for dryness, MELU for breakage, MINU for coloured hair, VOLU for fine hair, LOVE Curl for curls, LOVE Smoothing for frizz, and OI for all-round softness and shine.
That is the short answer. The longer one is worth reading, because the most common mistake with Davines is picking the wrong family and concluding the brand does not work for you.
How is the Davines range organised?
Unlike most haircare brands, Davines does not organise by product type. You do not start by looking for a shampoo. You start by identifying what your hair needs, choose that family, and then buy the shampoo, conditioner and treatment within it.
The families are named rather than described — NOUNOU, MOMO, MELU — which is charming but unhelpful if nobody explains them. So here they are.
The nine Davines families at a glance
| Range | Best for | Key ingredient |
|---|---|---|
| DEDE | All hair types, frequent washing | Noto olive extract |
| NOUNOU | Heavily processed, damaged hair | Fiascone tomato extract |
| LOVE Smoothing | Coarse, wavy, frizzy hair | Noto olive extract |
| LOVE Curl | Curly and wavy hair | Noto almond extract |
| VOLU | Fine or limp hair | Gentle sweet clover |
| MOMO | Dry or dehydrated hair | Yellow melon extract |
| MELU | Long hair prone to breakage | Spinach extract |
| MINU | Colour-treated hair | Tuscan sweet fennel |
| OI | All hair types, softness and shine | Roucou oil |
How do I know if my hair is dry or damaged?
This is the single most useful distinction, because it separates MOMO from NOUNOU and MELU — and getting it backwards is why people conclude an expensive mask did nothing.
Take one clean, wet strand and stretch it gently.
- It stretches a little and springs back, but feels rough and parched → your hair is dry. It needs moisture. Go to MOMO.
- It snaps almost immediately → your hair is damaged. It needs protein and structural repair. Go to NOUNOU, or MELU if your hair is fine or long.
- It stretches a long way and stays stretched, feeling gummy → over-moisturised and short on protein. Counter-intuitively, stop masking and use a repair range.
Dry hair treated with protein goes brittle. Damaged hair treated with more and more moisture goes limp and mushy. The test takes ten seconds and saves you a wasted bottle.
Which Davines range should I use for coloured hair?
MINU is the colour family, and its job is to slow down how fast your tone washes out. Every wash removes a little colour; a gentle, colour-safe shampoo removes less.
But be clear about what it does not do. MINU protects colour, it does not correct it. If your blonde has turned yellow or your brunette has gone orange, no protective shampoo will fix that — you need a toning product. Our guide to brassy blonde hair covers the difference, and why hard water in Cyprus makes it worse.
What is OI, and why does everyone recommend it?
OI sits slightly outside the problem-solving families. It is not built to fix one thing — it is built around Roucou oil to make hair softer, shinier and easier to manage, whatever type it is. That, plus a scent people become genuinely attached to, is why it is the range most often recommended first.
The OI All In One Milk is the usual entry point: a leave-in that detangles, gives heat protection and adds shine in one step. If you want one Davines product to understand what the brand is about, it is that one.
What about styling and sun protection?
Beyond the nine families, More Inside is the styling collection — clays, waxes, pomades, sprays and texturisers, organised by hold and finish rather than by hair type.
SU covers sun protection for hair and body. In Cyprus this is not a summer-only category: UV is strong here for most of the year, and it degrades hair protein and fades colour regardless of whether you are at the beach. If your hair has already had a hard summer, our recovery guide sets out a four-week plan.
And if you would rather not assemble a routine yourself, The Circles are ready-made sets that pair products designed to work together.
Is Davines worth the money?
Honestly, it depends what you are comparing it to. Against supermarket haircare, yes — the concentrations are higher and you use less per wash, which narrows the price gap more than the shelf price suggests. Against other professional salon brands, it is competitive rather than cheap.
What you are additionally paying for is the sustainability work: Davines has been a certified B Corporation since 2016 and has put real effort into reducing packaging plastic. Whether that is worth a premium is a personal call, not an SEO claim, and we would rather say so than pretend otherwise.
What Davines will not do is repair split ends, regrow hair, or permanently straighten curls. No haircare brand does those things.
Frequently asked questions
Can I mix Davines ranges?
Yes, and many people should. A common combination is a NOUNOU mask once a week with DEDE shampoo the rest of the time. Mixing a repair range with a moisture range is sensible; using two shampoos from different families in the same week is just confusing your results.
Is Davines sulphate-free?
It varies by product, so check the individual item rather than assuming. Davines formulates many products without SLS, but the range is not uniformly sulphate-free.
Which Davines range is best for frizzy hair?
LOVE Smoothing is the designed answer. It smooths the hair's surface so it lies flatter — but it is not a keratin treatment and will not permanently straighten anything. In Cyprus humidity, making hair more cooperative is the realistic goal.
Which Davines shampoo is best for hair loss?
None of the Essential Haircare families are designed for hair loss, and we would not recommend one on that basis. Thinning hair has many causes, most of which are not solved by shampoo. Speak to a doctor or trichologist before spending money on products marketed at the problem.
Do the refill pouches work out cheaper?
Yes, and they use considerably less plastic. If you have found your range and stick with it, refills are the sensible way to buy.
Where to start
If your hair is generally healthy and you just want it softer and shinier, start with OI. If you have a specific problem, pick the family named after it. And if you are still not sure, do the strand test above, or message us describing what your hair is doing — we would rather point you at the right bottle than sell you the wrong one.
Browse the full Davines range.
