If Your Hair Looks And Feels Dry Or Damaged, You Need These Treatments

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Imagine a treatment that allows you to strength train your strands, fortifying them from the inside out in the same way that lifting weights builds muscle. It’s not magic; it’s called bond building—and you can add products featuring this new technology to your shopping cart right now.

Just as the term suggests, these masks, pre-shampoos, and serums are designed to improve your hair’s overall toughness and manageability by repairing broken bonds deep inside each strand—connections that hold hair together but can become compromised by color, chemical straighteners, or heat styling.

Once available only as professional salon services, bond-building products are popping up everywhere, powered by consumers who are “becoming more concerned about their hair health” rather than just the style, says Beth Labrecque, a product development scientist with Dove Hair, which recently released a first-to-drugstores bonding collection.

But what’s the science behind these hair healers, and how can you put them to work for you? Good questions! We'll get into all that, but first: Meet the miracle workers that will enhance your hair from its very core.

Hair Perfector No 3 Repairing Treatment

The pioneer of the category is designed to fix breakage and split ends before you shampoo. Apply to wet hair, wait ten minutes, then rinse.

Fructis Hair Filler + Bonding Inner Fiber Repair Pre-Shampoo Treatment

The first in a four-step system, this five-minute pre-shampoo treatment gets deep—seven layers!—into the cortex.

EverPure Sulfate Free Bond Repair Pre Shampoo Treatment

Before washing, coat your hair with this affordable option that has a reparative complex that includes citric acid.

10-in-1 Bond Strength Serum Mask

The peptide-rich mask provides double-digit benefits (detangling, frizz reduction, and breakage prevention among them) in only a minute.

Sulfate Free Bond Repair Shampoo with Citric Acid

This budget-friendly strengthening wash proves that a heavy price tag doesn't always have to stand in the way of you and healthier hair. "The citric acid in this product rebuilds and strengthens inside and out, even on chemically damaged or bleached hair," celebrity hairstylist Priscilla Valles says of the mask. The result? Smoother hair that’s easier to detangle and less prone to damage and breakage.

Bond Repair Treatment Starter Kit

This kit is a favorite of celebrity hairstylist Matt Rez, since it comes in handy when he's doing intense color changes. "Even with the most sensitized hair, I'm able to lift lighter miraculously without causing more damage," he says.

The kit comes with a spray bottle for easy application: just pour one of the vials into the bottle, and then mix with water before spraying your entire head. It can be used as a quick mask or an overnight treatment—just be sure to wash and condition once your rinse it out.

CurlBond Re-Coiling Treatment Mask

This formula is a standout to hairstylist and curl expert Latoya Moore because it fights damage and frizz for up to 50 washes. "It re-coils curls from the inside out, rebuilding broken bonds while leaving hair healthy, strong, soft and moisturized, and shiny," she says. It's made with a patented CurlBond Complex that's meant to seal split ends and reduce the appearance of frizz and flyaways, and while the product was made with curly hair in mind, it's suitable for all hair types.

Amino Bond Intense Bonding Treatment

After shampooing and conditioning, slather on this amino acid–based leave-in and style as usual.

Acidic Bonding Concentrate 5 Minute Liquid Mask

Want stronger, healthier hair in five minutes? This fact-acting mask adds shine, helps detangle, and gives fried hair a big moisture boost in no time.

Triple Bond Complex Leave-In Hair Treatment

This no-rinse formula uses a special, patented technology to repair the inner fibers of the hair and smooth out the cuticles, ultimately providing your strands with some defense against heat, color, and chemicals—all things that have likely stressed it out in the first place.

Leave-In Molecular Repair Hair Mask

K18 is a pioneer in the bond-building category, so it's no wonder that this once-viral hair repairer—made with special peptides that mimic the hair's structure in order to reverse damage in minutes—comes highly recommended by Valles.

"Even with hair that’s been damaged from consistent coloring or heat styling, you’re able to see lasting results that leave hair looking bouncy and silky, which I feel is the ideal look we’re all after," she says.

Botanical Repair™ Bond-Building Flash Treatment

Smoother hair in a (literal) flash? Okay! Vegan lactic acid in this formula helps seal the cuticle, sending frizz and dullness out the door. Just apply in shower after shampooing and conditioning, and rinse after ten seconds.

How we chose the best bond building treatments

For the past few months, Women’s Health editors, including senior beauty editor Danielle Jackson, have been researching the bestselling, most popular, and top-rated bond-building hair products. Our team consulted seven experts for opinions, and then evaluated thousands of customer reviews and ratings to narrow down the best bond-building hair products for a wide range of needs and preferences.

Meet the experts

Crystal Aguh, MD, is a board-certified dermatologist and an associate professor of dermatology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Neera Nathan, MD, is a board-certified dermatologist and researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital and Lahey Hospital and Medical Center in Burlington, Massachusetts. Beth Labrecque is a product development scientist with Dove Hair. Isfahan Chambers-Harris, PhD, a trichologist and founder of Alodia Hair Care. Priscilla Valles is a celebrity hairstylist based in Los Angeles. Matt Rez is a celebrity hairstylist and colorist. Latoya Moore is a hairstylist and curl expert.

What are hair bonds?

First, picture what each individual hair strand looks like under a microscope. The outer layer, called the cuticle, resembles a shingled roof, and it protects the cortex—a collection of cable-like structures—from damage. “The cortex is primarily made up of a protein called keratin, which is separated into two amino acid chains that are held together by three different types of chemical bonds,” says Crystal Aguh, MD, a board-certified dermatologist and an associate professor of dermatology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. They are:

• Hydrogen bonds: “These are the most abundant, primarily contributing to hair’s hydration and texture,” Labrecque says.

• Ionic bonds: Also known as salt bonds, these give strands their strength.

• Disulfide bonds: Maintaining shape is their main job, says Labrecque, and they’re the strongest.

These bonds are responsible for maintaining the shape, strength, and integrity of your hair. In order to alter its look or feel—to, say, change your hair color or add some curl with a hot tool—these bonds must be broken, Dr. Aguh says. You may get the desired result, but the process can also make your locks feel brittle or dull. “Other environmental factors, such as exposure to UV radiation, can cause bond damage as well,” says Neera Nathan, MD, a board-certified dermatologist and researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital and Lahey Hospital and Medical Center in Burlington, Massachusetts.

How do hair bonding treatments work?

Though we know what bonds are, the exact science of how bond-building products work is tricky to pinpoint. Many of the most popular ones on the market—like Olaplex No. 3 Hair Perfector or the newer K18 Leave-In Molecular Repair Hair Mask—are made with proprietary ingredients.

Still, experts agree the main factor these formulas have in common is that they’re enriched with amino acids that penetrate the cuticle, fortifying the damaged cortex with protein and causing the bonds to reattach, which creates a thicker, stronger hair shaft, says Dr. Nathan. These amino acids often come in the form of peptides, but newer formulas also contain reparative ingredients such as hyaluronic acid (a hydrator that can reduce frizziness) or alpha hydroxy acids.

Are bond builders good for all hair types?

So who should be using these products? Anyone with hair, honestly. If you’re often styling with heat or coloring, it’s a no-brainer. But “certain bonds can also be broken simply by dry weather, combing or brushing, and just general aging,” Dr. Aguh says. Think of it like buying a moisturizer for your skin. “If someone has eczema, a great cream can help,” she says. “But even if you don’t have a diagnosed skin condition, you’d still benefit because it will make your skin feel better.” The same goes for bond builders: If your hair feels brittle, has split ends, or is frizzy or less shiny, a bonding treatment could be the fix.

How do you use bond building products?

It’s likely you’ll come across these products as masks, serums, conditioners, or pre-shampoo treatments, as well as full collections with complementary shampoos and conditioners. For the best results, use the treatment on wet hair (water causes the hair’s cuticle to open, making it easier for bond-building ingredients to penetrate) once a week, Dr. Aguh says. If you don’t have significant damage, or if heat, color, or chemicals aren’t something you frequently use on your hair, a monthly treatment will suffice. Don’t go overboard: Using these products more than recommended may result in protein overload, causing the hair to feel dry and brittle—exactly the problems you’re trying to fix, says Dr. Nathan.

You can use your preferred shampoo and conditioner or the products in a bonding collection, which, unlike the more intensive treatment products, “are designed for daily use and can safely be part of your regular routine,” says Isfahan Chambers-Harris, PhD, a trichologist and founder of Alodia Hair Care.

Can bonding treatments cause protein overload?

If bonding treatments have been your go-to, yet your hair still feels dry or damaged, it’s possible you erred on the side of being heavy-handed. “Proteins are essential for strengthening and repairing the hair, but excessive or frequent use can lead to an imbalance,” says Chambers-Harris. The biggest giveaways are “stiffness or brittleness, a lack of elasticity, increased breakage, and a rough feeling to the touch.” Fortunately, there’s an easy way to course-correct: Hold off on using your bonding treatment, replacing it with moisturizing and deep-conditioning products for a few weeks. Then get back on track, using the bonding items only as directed.

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