4/5/2023
8 Hair Repair Products That Fix Damaged Hair
Zara Kenyon & Edward Sweeney
Is it time for a hair intervention? If you're dealing with dull, dry, damaged hair, it's important to switch up your hair care regimen – and fast – before hair strands become even more sensitized. It takes more than a cut to turn back the clock on over-processed hair, but the good news is that newly advanced care technology makes it easier than ever to repair a stressed-out mane.
So, below, we're revealing the eight hair repair products that restore strong, healthy strands, from a bond-strengthening treatment that boosts your color appointments to a regimen that repairs hair in 90 seconds¹...
But, First – How Can I Tell If I Have Damaged Hair?
There are a few telltale signs of hair damage, from hair that looks persistently dry and dull to strands that snap off through the lengths, leaving you with hair breakage and split ends. 9 out of 10 women do something to damage their hair every single day, and you might just be one of them. So, what are the signs of damage to look out for?
1. Hair Breakage
If your hair snaps easily through the lengths (not from the root) and you're constantly battling split ends, this is a big sign of damage that needs to be remedied as soon as possible. Breakage can also enhance the appearance of frizzy hair, due to wispy tips and flyaways. If the hair shaft is looking frizzier than usual, breakage may be messing up your style.
2. Hair Thinning
Breakage can also lead to hair thinning through the lengths, so look out for hair that appears to be fuller at the root but gradually gets thinner as you reach the ends. This can happen when the lengths have been exposed to hot tools, like a flat iron, or chemical treatments without the proper at-home care, such as heat protection sprays or nourishing hair masks.
3. Dry and Dull Hair
While hair dryness is often a result of genetics, it can also be a sign that damage is at play. Dry, brittle hair is also prone to dullness and may even leave you with overly warm, brassy hair color. This dryness can stem from daily wear and tear or even changing temperatures, with extreme cold and excessive sun exposure breaking down hair's protective outer layer.
4. Excessive Tangling
When your hair is dry and damaged, it tends to tangle up easily. This is because the frazzled hair cuticles are raised, making it easier for them to snag on each other and lead to knots. The more damaged your hair is, the more likely it will become tangled. So, if it's trickier than usual to run a comb through your lengths, your hair may need a dose of hydration.
How Can I Fix My Damaged Hair? 8 Hair Repair Products You Need
1. The Rich, Deeply Nourishing Shampoo
The Lowdown: The foundation of healthy hair is choosing the right shampoo for your hair type. When you have damaged hair, that means picking one that repairs from the inside out to leave your lengths soft, smooth and beautifully hydrated.
ULTIMATE REPAIR Shampoo does just that, with a sumptuously creamy formula that gently cleanses fine, thick, straight, wavy and curly hair. It removes breakage-causing impurities – including metals, product build-up, oils and pollution – so strands are ready to absorb the rest of your hair repair regimen.
How to Use It: Massage it into wet hair and rinse thoroughly for a nourishing cleanse. The satiny lather and silky results make for a truly luxurious hair-washing experience.
How Often to Use It: Every hair wash day.
2. The Creamy Deep Conditioner
The Lowdown: A hydrating conditioner is non-negotiable when you're dealing with damage. Why? Because after washing, it's vital to pack any lost nutrients back into your hair. When it's repair you want, ULTIMATE REPAIR Conditioner is your ideal formula, with a creamy texture that rinses completely clean, so even finer hair types can enjoy the benefits.
How to Use It: If your hair is too wet, the nourishing ingredients in your conditioner may be diluted. So, before applying ULTIMATE REPAIR Conditioner, gently squeeze out excess water or, better yet, blot your hair with a microfiber towel. Then, apply the conditioner to the mid-lengths and ends of your hair, and let it absorb for up to three minutes. You'll be left with silky, more manageable lengths from the moment it's rinsed.
How Often to Use It: Always after shampoo, unless you’re using a hair mask.
3. The Smart Conditioning Hair Mask
The Lowdown: Want more intense nourishment? At least once per week, use a deep conditioning mask, like ULTIMATE REPAIR Mask. It's packed with smart conditioning agents that are able to identify and treat the areas of hair that need it most. So, whether you have snapping through the crown from too-tight hairstyles or dryness through the lengths from chemical damage, this powerful hair mask gives you truly bespoke care and up to 6x easier detangling².
How to Use It: Squeeze the excess water out of your hair after shampooing, then apply a liberal amount of ULTIMATE REPAIR Mask to the mid-lengths and ends of your hair. While it absorbs, wrap your hair up in a warm towel and relax. (This is a great time for a face mask!) For the next 10 minutes, an injection of AHA and Omega-9 will transform stressed strands, leaving your hair luxuriously soft.
How Often to Use It: Once per week, after shampooing and in place of conditioner.
4. The 90-Second Leave-In Treatment
The Lowdown: A leave-in hair treatment stays on your hair for longer than a rinse-out conditioner, allowing it to deliver even more intense repair. And ULTIMATE REPAIR Miracle Hair Rescue takes leave-ins to a whole new level, with the potent mist repairing hair damage in 90 seconds¹ while leaving your hair 12x smoother² with 99% less breakage³. Straight hair appears sleeker, wavy hair looks more defined, and curly hair enjoys extra bounce. This game-changing hair treatment was made to nourish all hair types.
How to Use It: Apply 5-15 pumps to clean, damp hair – the longer and thicker your hair, the more pumps you'll need – and smooth it through your lengths with a wide-tooth comb. Let the supercharged treatment absorb for 90 seconds, then dry and style your hair as usual. It's that easy to transform damaged hair.
How Often to Use It: Every hair wash day while your hair is still damp.
5. The Multi-Tasking Hair Oil
The Lowdown: Your hair follicles produce a natural, protective oil called sebum, which is responsible for keeping hair healthy, strong and resilient. But, when damage happens, sebum may be stripped from the hair shaft, leaving it dry, frizzy and vulnerable to breakage. So, how do you restore the lost moisture? The key is to add nourishing oils back in.
That's where ULTIMATE SMOOTH Miracle Oil Serum comes in. Packed with Omega-9 and Squalane, it cares for dry lengths from the inside out, nourishing hair in 30 seconds for smoothness that lasts up to 3 days⁴ . Layer it over ULTIMATE REPAIR Miracle Hair Rescue for a damage-defying double act. ULTIMATE REPAIR takes care of the damage, while ULTIMATE SMOOTH locks in silky smoothness and shine.
How to Use It: There are five ways you can use ULTIMATE SMOOTH Miracle Oil Serum, making it one of the most powerful hair healers in your kit. Try it:
- as a pre-shampoo oil to protect lengths on hair wash day;
- mixed with ULTIMATE SMOOTH Intense Mask for added nourishment;
- smoothed through damp hair to pave the way for a glossy blow-dry;
- directly on dry hair in between washes for instant frizz control.
How Often to Use It: As much or as little as you want. Apply the oil whenever hair needs an added dose of nourishment.
6. The Hero Heat Protectant
The Lowdown: If there's one styling essential everyone needs in their kit, it's a heat protectant. Trust us: you don't want to be heat styling your hair without one. Try EIMI Thermal Image, which features a bi-phase formula you shake up and spritz. One half is a weightless protective liquid, while the other half is a shine-boosting hair serum. Mixed together, they're able to shield the hair shaft from heat up to 428°F while heat styling. This is a must-try hair product for straight, wavy, curly and coily hair, safeguarding strands from future damage to maintain a healthy mane.
Struggling with frizz? Then use ULTIMATE SMOOTH Miracle Oil Serum as your heat protectant. Not only does it veil hair in mirror-like shine, but it also prevents heat and UV damage. Apply it before using heat tools to guarantee the glossiest results, then add another drop or two after styling to give your hair the sleekest finish.
How to Use It: Apply your chosen heat protectant product to damp or dry hair before using any hot tools. For extra protection, adjust your drying technique when styling damaged hair. After washing, let hair air-dry 50% of the way before you pick up your hair dryer, so you won't be blasting it with excess heat for too long. You can also reduce exposure to high temperatures by using the lowest heat setting. These simple changes can make all the difference to the condition of brittle hair.
How Often to Use It: Every time you use heat styling tools, whether that’s a hairdryer, flat iron or curling iron.
7. The Protective Overnight Serum
The Lowdown: Some of the worst hair damage happens when you're tucked up in bed, sleeping. As you toss and turn, friction from your pillow roughs up the cuticle, leading to split ends and breakage. But, with the help of an overnight hair breakage treatment, like ULTIMATE REPAIR Night Serum, you can keep hair lengths protected all night, and wake up to a more manageable mane.
The weightless formula is packed with defense polymers that shield strands and keep knots at bay. Meanwhile, it softens, smooths and nourishes for hair that looks and feels healthier. So, whether you struggle with morning frizz, tangling, or you just want to prevent future damage, it lets you rest easy, knowing your hair is well taken care of.
How to Use It: Pump ULTIMATE REPAIR Night Serum into the palm of your hand, then apply to the lengths and ends of your hair. That's it – that's the whole process. For extra overnight protection, sleep on a silk pillowcase.
How Often to Use It: Every night.
8. The Nourishing Styling Kit
Once you've completed your hair repair regimen, you'll have the perfect canvas for any style you want, whether you love sea-breezy waves or a super-smooth, sleek finish. ULTIMATE REPAIR Miracle Hair Rescue and ULTIMATE SMOOTH Miracle Oil Serum are both wonderfully weightless, so you can layer them with your go-to styling products to achieve the look you want.
For beachy waves, try: EIMI Ocean Spritz, which encourages surfer-inspired texture with grip and guts, all while protecting hair from dehydration. You can mist it into slightly damp hair and scrunch or braid for dreamy waves. It's also suitable for spraying through dry hair to amp up hair texture. Blow-dry it in for a chunky, piece-y look.
For boosting volume, try: INVIGO Volume Boost Leave-In Spray, which amps up hair thickness and bids farewell to bad hair days. As a rule of thumb, it's best to work into clean, damp hair from roots to ends, then blow-dry while wrapping hair around a round brush. Lift from the root to lend extra height and volume, then curve at the ends for added bounce.
For defining the shape of curls, try: NutriCurls Curlixir Balm. It gives your hair soft hold, definition and bounce. Consider it the remedy to frizzy days, as it reveals the beautiful shape of curls on both fine and coarse hair types. Apply it evenly to curls while they're damp and blow-dry with a diffuser or (very gently) scrunch it into dry hair in between washes.
Do Hair Repair Products Actually Work?
Yes, hair repair products work – as long as you're using the right formulas. Look for a regimen with proven results, like ULTIMATE REPAIR, which has been rigorously tested to repair strands from the inside out. It gives you:
- hair damage repair in 90 seconds¹;
- 12x smoother hair²;
- 99% less breakage³;
- and strong detangling power on wet hair.
What is the Best Ingredient for Extremely Damaged Hair?
To repair damaged hair, you need ingredients that work on both the inner and outer layers. That's why we formulated the ULTIMATE REPAIR regimen with a skincare-inspired blend of AHA and Omega-9.
AHA, or Alpha Hydroxy Acid, is an organic acid that's small enough to penetrate the hair at the deepest level. Once there, it rebuilds hydrogen bonds in the cortex for a stronger core. Meanwhile, Omega-9 is a bio-identical lipid that targets the outside of the hair fiber. It coats the surface and fills in the cuticle to re-create a protective barrier.
Whether you're using ULTIMATE REPAIR Shampoo or ULTIMATE REPAIR Miracle Hair Rescue, your hair is treated to this damage-defying duo, so you get an inside-out transformation you can see and feel.
We hope you found this article helpful for defying the signs of hair damage. For more tips on enhancing your dedicated hair care regimen to protect hair from damage, check out our full collection of hair care articles.
¹ When using ULTIMATE REPAIR Miracle Hair Rescue.
² Vs. non-conditioning shampoo.
³ When using ULTIMATE REPAIR Miracle Hair Rescue, instrumental test vs. non-conditioning shampoo.
⁴ When using ULTIMATE SMOOTH Miracle Oil Serum, if unwashed for 3 days, vs. untreated.