Between colouring, excess heat from styling tools and freezing cold weather, it comes as no surprise that hair can often end up dull, limp, dry and prone to split ends. When conditioner just doesn’t cut it, stepping up your bath or shower routine with a restorative hair mask is the smart solution.
Thanks to the pandemic in particular, we’ve become more invested in scalp and hair health. More time at home means we’re suddenly able to spend 30 minutes in the tub and alongside bath salts, candles and under-eye patches, hair masks have become a must-have product.
The latest masks are like nothing you may have tried before. From Pantene to Cantu, formulas boast biotin for hair growth, shea butter for a surge of much-needed moisture and sunflower seed extract for a mirror shine, to name a handful of transformative ingredients. In other words, a 10 minute treatment takes lacklustre hair and makes it brand-new.
Scroll down to discover the best hair mask for your individual hair type and hair needs, whatever your budget.
Frizzy roots and frazzled ends don’t stand a chance against John Frieda’s deep conditioning hair mask. Vitamin E and avocado oil help mend surface damage caused by styling and environmental damage. It makes hair feel smooth and look glossy.
Arguably the best deep treatment on the high street, Aussie SOS transforms parched ends and frizzy roots in three minutes flat. Rake a dollop through wet hair, let it work its magic during your shower and it’ll make hair smooth, soft, detangled and easy to manage.
Bleach London Reincarnation MaskRefinery29’s fashion editor Georgia Murray touts this as the ultimate hair mask for breathing life into coloured and over-processed hair. Wheat protein strengthens brittle strands, sunflower seed extract moisturises deeply and glycerin locks in hydration so that hair emerges like silk.
This quenches parched hair in a matter of minutes and it’s all down to a rich helping of moisturising babassu butter. The addition of yellow clay lifts away product build-up as a result of heat protection spray, hairspray, oils and serums, as well as pollution and everyday impurities, which can otherwise make hair appear dull. A little goes a very long way.
Everyone’s Googling Coco & Eve’s Super Nourishing Coconut & Fig Hair Masque right now. Argan oil and shea butter melt into strands, taking dry, over-processed hair and making it feel like virgin hair: silky smooth.
Women with 4a, 4b and 4c hair rate this conditioning mask for hydrating and softening lengths. It’s very thick and has a lot of slip, so all strands are treated to the deeply moisturising effects of cocoa and mango butter.
Silicones aren’t exactly bad when it comes to haircare but if you find that they weigh your fine hair down and make it appear oily, this is the ultimate hair mask for you. Not only does it smell heavenly (that’ll be the rosewater) but it’s chock-full of lightweight, nourishing oils and moisturising B5 (otherwise known as biotin) which act like armour against damage from the environment and styling tools.
There’s a reason why this hair mask continuously sells out: it’s that good. Natural hair can be prone to dryness, eventually leading to breakage, but this mask is filled to bursting with deeply moisturising ingredients such as shea butter, avocado oil, glycerin and hydrolysed silk protein for hair that is softer, stronger and easy to style. If your hair is very dry and damaged, cover it with a cap and apply heat from a hairdryer, or leave it on overnight and rinse in the morning.
Olaplex No.3 is the undisputed saviour of bleached hair. The transformative ingredient has a complicated name (bis-aminopropyl diglycol dimaleate) but the way it works is pretty straightforward: it takes broken hair bonds and melds them back together, making hair feel brand-new. You can leave it in overnight or use it as a 10 minute flash treatment as and when your hair needs a boost.
Pureology Hydrate Superfood Deep Treatment MaskKeeping this hair mask in stock is no mean feat, as hair experts recommend it so often to clients with coloured hair. Shea butter, almond oil and glycerin are the three main ingredients that moisturise and protect hair. It’s sulphate-free, so you don’t have to worry about it accelerating colour fade, and it smells great.
This is excellent for curly hair. Although it features a mega-mix of deeply moisturising oils, from avocado to almond, it doesn’t make hair feel weighty, so curls keep their bounce. The five-star reviews speak for themselves.
Amika Soulfood Nourishing MaskAmika is still relatively under the radar in the UK but beauty editors across the pond can’t get enough of it. Not only does this mask leave hair smelling incredible but it makes thick, coarse strands feel so soft and smooth, you’ll wonder how you ever styled your hair without it. That’s all thanks to a good glug of jojoba seed oil.
Perfect for bringing damaged hair back from the brink, this rejuvenating pre-shampoo balm melts into strands to deeply moisturise, repair and protect against aggressors such as washing, styling and pollution. With a luscious blend of coconut and macadamia oils plus Oribe’s signature restorative and protective complexes, this is a luxurious addition to your hair care regime that will leave your locks soft, shiny and strong.
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