Style
8 Hair Masks That'll Whip Damaged Hair Back Into Shape
After years of dyeing, flat ironing, highlighting, curling, bleaching, and even unicorn-ing our hair to our heart's content, using one of the best hair masks for damaged hair is pretty much the only way to achieve a hair do-over, unless you're fierce enough to get a buzzcut and make us all jealous.
It's easy for hair to become damaged from one too many chemical processes like repeated highlights or bleach, or from constantly applying intense heat to it — even worse when we forget to use heat-resistant sprays and creams. Some surefire signs that your hair may be unhealthy include split, frayed ends, limpness, brittle texture, and a flatness that fails to reflect light. The good news is that there are so many great hair masks on the market that serve one purpose and one purpose only: to restore your hair to its original healthy state.
Depending on your hair texture and type, the right hair mask can deep condition overly dry hair that has splits (though to truly repair split ends you will eventually have to trim or cut hair) seal hair cuticles for a glossier mane, and make hair look and feel smoother, less tangled, and more manageable.
Is there any reason not to use a hair mask if you have damaged hair? Nope, none we can think of — and these eight are among the best hair masks for a wide range of hair types in need of a little TLC.
1Hair Yogurt With Quinoa And A Blend of Six Botanical Oils
Project Beauty Hairgurt Deep Conditioner, $24 (Pack of 2 Tubs), Amazon
If you prefer to be able to identify most of the ingredients on your beauty product label, Hairgurt deep conditioner will make you a very happy beauty guru: it has yogurt protein (that nourishes dry hair), quinoa (which repairs strands from within), prebiotics, and a blend of six botanical oils like macadamia nut oil, raspberry seed oil, and sweet almond oil to radically improve the texture of hair and add unbelievable shine.
Use this mask twice weekly in place of your regular conditioner and get immediate help for dry, frizzy hair that has a mind of its own.
2A Weightless Mask For Fine Hair That Reduces Damage By 95 Percent
Living Proof Restore Mask Treatment, $25, Amazon
When you have fine hair, you're forever straddling the line between requiring moisture that prevents frizz and flyaways and weighing your mane down with excess oils that won't do you any favors. Living Proof Restore Mask Treatment is a lightweight, five-minute conditioner that you use once or twice weekly in place of your regular conditioner. It's sulfate-free and safe for color-treated or keratin-treated hair and can take hair that feels rough and brittle and turn it into silk.
Living Proof actually claims this product can make dry, damaged hair 20 times stronger with 95 percent less breakage after just one use. Sure, we can't prove these calculations are 100 percent accurate, but judging by the many, many glowing reviews, it's safe to say this stuff works.
3This Korean Hair Mask That Strengthens Hair With Egg Yolk Extracts
TONYMOLY Haeyo Mayo Hair Nutrition Pack, $11, Amazon
The mock mayonnaise packaging alone might be enough to sell you on this mask, but TONYMOLY Haeyo Mayo is more than just a cute looking product: it's a cream hair mask with incredible ingredients. A combo of egg yolk extracts, shea butter, and macadamia seed oil work together to nourish dry hair and help make it stronger. Apply this cream mask after shampooing your hair, massage it into your scalp and hair for three minutes, and then rinse it out.
Reviewers with curly, straight, fine, thick, and bleached hair agree this mask restores dry hair and gives it major shine — but if you have fine/thin hair you should go easy with the amount you use because it could leave you a little greasy.
4A Hydrating Argan Oil Mask For All Hair Types
Arvazallia Hydrating Argan Oil Hair Mask, $12, Amazon
So, your hair is so supremely dry and damaged that no amount of regular conditioner has been able to unearth any semblance of shine from it, right? We've all been there. Try this argan oil hair mask and you'll be amazed at how it revives dull hair (in just five minutes, by the way) and even shields it from future heat damage. Reviewers who have thick and course hair, fine hair, oily scalps dry ends, and even chemically processed hair all rave about how this mask leaves parched hair incredibly soft, glossy, and healthy looking. It's a universally well-regarded argan oil mask for all hair types.
5Jamaican Black Castor Oil For Chemically Treated Hair
SheaMoisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Intensive Strengthening Masque, $12, Amazon
Chemically processed, color treated, and heat styled hair often has to deal with signs of damage like brittle locks that are prone to breakage. This Jamaican black castor oil mask, which has Shea butter, peppermint, and keratin, serves three important functions: it makes weakened hair stronger, promotes hair growth and helps prevent breakage, and the peppermint oil stimulates your scalp and helps with dandruff. For the best results, apply this treatment from roots to ends after shampooing your hair, place a plastic cap over hair, and sit under a dryer for 10-15 minutes before rinsing it out. It can also be left on hair for up to an hour without heat.
6A Pure Coconut Oil Mask For Deep Conditioning And Major Shine
Majestic Pure Coconut Oil Hair Mask, $13, Amazon
There's so much goodness in this coconut oil hair mask that it's hard to know where to start: it's rich in vitamin E and fatty acids, which won't simply put a Band-Aid on hair damage but repair it; and boasts the incredible benefits of coconut oils to do everything from smooth frizz and split-ends to actually shield the scalp from lice and dandruff.
This mask is made for all hair types. Reviewers say it should only be used once or twice a week to avoid a greasy scalp, but that it has the power to tame flyaways and add intense moisture without weighing down hair.
7This Volumizing Mask That Prevents Hair Loss
Arvazallia Fortifying Protein Hair Mask, $14, Amazon
If you're worried about thinning hair or just want to give your locks a boost of volume, this Arvazallia hair mask infused with argan and macadamia oils contains a protein therapy formula that can help. The key ingredients here that help strengthen hair include hydrolyzed wheat protein, and aloe vera, while macadamia and argan oils seal split ends and make hair shinier and more manageable.
This mask is free of sulfates and parabens and ideal for all hair types — it can even be used on hair extensions. One reviewer says that, after letting this mask work its magic on her hair for 30 minutes, she saw "immediate results" and her color-treated, brittle hair looked revitalized.
8This Super Popular Hair Mask That Tackles 10 Hair And Scalp Concerns
It's a 10 Miracle Hair Mask, $21, Amazon
It's not just a name, it's a promise. The uber popular and highly rated It's a 10 hair mask blends linseed, almond, oat, and apricot extracts together to create a treatment that addresses 10 hair common issues: it detangles, restores moisture and elasticity, softens and smoothes hair, gives it shine and body, nourishes, defrizzes, and makes your hair color more vibrant.
Use it once a week and use only a small amount if you have thin or fine hair. Reviewers say this mask locks out humidity, helps hydrate a dry scalp to prevent dandruff, adds shines, and makes hair smooth and manageable. Oh, and a little goes a long way, which makes the price well worth it.
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