The $16 Hair Mask That Revived My Dry Summer Strands

Avoid bad hair days with this Sephora super-product that's well worth the hype.

With all of the benefits that summer brings (hello, dewy skin, fresh produce, and frozen drinks), it’s easy to dismiss the drawbacks associated with warmer months. Everyday heat and humidity can wreak havoc on even the healthiest hair, and dry, brittle strands are practically unavoidable between the months of June and September.

During those first few months of summer, my once-wavy, semi-agreeable tresses quickly turned into an unruly mess, and come August, it became clear that my bad hair days were showing no signs of stopping. Because I was sick of styling hair that refused to comply (and because I wanted to justify a leisurely trip to Sephora), I popped into a store near my office a few weeks back, and walked out with a game-changing hair conditioner in hand.

While Moroccanoil needs no introduction (it’s been a beauty mainstay since the brand’s inception over a decade ago), I was too busy stocking up on the brand's argan oil treatment ($44; nordstrom.com) to pay any attention to its repairing hair masks. But since Sephora likes to stash the travel-sized beauty goods within arm’s reach of the checkout counter, I left the store clutching a miniature tube of Moroccanoil Intense Hydrating Mask ($16; sephora.com).

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The label indicated it would help hydrate and condition dry hair, so I gave the argan oil-rich mask a try almost immediately upon arriving home to my apartment. After showering and towel drying my hair, I applied a generous amount of the mask throughout my ends, paying extra attention to my roots as well. Applying conditioner directly to the hair’s root isn’t for everyone, but since I was desperately in need of all the moisture I could get, I worked the cream into my hair, threw everything up into a bun, and sat back to let the mask work its magic.

It was love at first scent, and the hair mask’s consistency was just thick enough to reassure me that it would do a solid job of restoring my hair back to a more manageable state. Once 10 minutes went by, I hopped back into the shower to rinse out the remaining product, and allowed my hair to air dry before bed. The next morning, my color-treated hair felt significantly softer, and I was able to wear it wavy without the assistance of styling tools.

Fortunately, I’m not the only fan who reaped the benefits of the moisturizing mask (over 20,000 customers have pledged their allegiance to the product on sephora.com). “I’ve been bleaching my hair for years and the damage has definitely taken a toll,” wrote one shopper. “This hair mask did wonders for my dry ends in just one use.”

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“The mask feels like a deep-conditioning spa treatment, and the smell is lovely but strong,” wrote another. While the scent of the mask lingers well into the next day, the effects are well worth the price of commercial-worthy tresses.

Created for straight, wavy, curly, and coily hair, the high-performance mask is meant to be used one to two times per week. In search of even deeper hydration? Moroccanoil recommends adding a few drops of its oil treatment to hair when using the mask for optimal results. Purchase a tube of the intensive mask on sephora.com for $16, or spring for a 8.5-ounce tub of the cream for your best hair yet.