12 Best Bond-Repair Treatments to Help Heal Damaged Hair
Bond-repair products are everywhere. These formulas can deliver real results, according to GH Beauty Lab scientists.
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When hair starts to feel dry, damaged or lacking its usual silkiness, don't fret: There's actually a way to help fix your damaged hair without getting a trim. The science of stronger hair is all about bonds, part of hair’s structure, and the buzzy category of “bond-building” products that claim to repair damage.
But what exactly are hair bonds, how do they break and can they be mended? Here, GH Beauty Lab and hair scientists explain what to know about bonds and bond-repair treatments — and whether they’re really the key to healthier hair.
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Hair bonding treatments work to undo the breakage and dullness caused by coloring hair, heat styling and the environment. Every product is different in how it “bonds” the hair back, but essentially, these treatments repair hair from within by mimicking internal chemical bonds, according to Good Housekeeping Institute Beauty Lab Director Sabina Wizemann.
Translation: Added proteins help re-form the hair structure with temporary strength and elasticity, and amino acids and peptides help to add moisture and hydration. "When the bonds in the hair are repaired to the hair fibers, the moisture of the hair stays better, creating shiny, silky and stronger hair, and prevent hair color from fading as fast," adds Michelle Hong, founder and creative director of NYC The Team.
Once reserved for in-salon use, bond-repair treatments are now available as at-home formulas designed to give you a shinier finish and softer texture right after use, says celebrity hairstylist Bradley Leake. Just note that these treatments do have their limitations, though. “They have been successful at minimizing damage from chemical hair processes, but may give a false sense that all damage can be totally reversed,” Wizemann says.
Our GH Beauty Lab scientists did the research to find the best bond-repair products to help you achieve your hair goals.
One of the original bond-repair treatments, buzzy haircare brand Olaplex’s proprietary molecule, bis-aminopropyl diglycol dimaleate, reconnects severed disulfide bonds to revive the look and feel of hair. After frequent periods of using hot tools, one GH staffer reaches for this bond builder to replenish her dry ends as she finds it immediately yields silky, smooth ends.
Protect colored hair on a budget with L'Oréal Paris' EverPure bond-repair pre-shampoo treatment. Pair it with the brand's shampoo and conditioner, which is made with superstar moisturizing ingredient glycerin and softening emollient cetearyl alcohol. Our pros also appreciate the brand's sister sulfate-free shampoo and the EverPure line for nourishing dry strands and extending color.
Redken Acidic Bonding Concentrate Shampoo, Conditioner and Leave-In Treatment Set
Redken Acidic Bonding Concentrate Shampoo, Conditioner and Leave-In Treatment Set
This GH Beauty Award–winning trio reduced visible split ends by 82%, and 93% of testers said their hair felt moisturized immediately after use, Lab data analysis confirmed. Redken's bonding trio impressed our beauty pros with its non-greasy, creamy formula that conditioned bleached, damaged hair. "Results were transforming and long-lasting," one tester adds.
A GH Beauty Award winner, this mask used in place of conditioner impressed Lab experts. Performance data showed it restored 82% of the strength of overbleached hair samples in two uses.
Other GH staffers have seen major payoff from extended use. "Before using K18, my hair always felt rough and a bit like hay, but now I have the softest locks," says Senior Analyst Emma Seymour. "My hairstylist even commented that my hair has never felt stronger at my last trim!"
Made with blue sea kale and kelp extract to protect against color fading and breakage, this leave-in conditioner was clinically tested to reduce comb-induced breakage by 50% in just one use, according to the brand's own data. The Color Wow strengthening cocktail helps protect from hot tools and its anti-static, conditioning formula is designed to soften fine to medium hair types, including porous curly hair.
Hong recommends Shu Uemura's leave-in bond-repair treatment for strengthening and preventing further breakage. The star ingredient, Japanese rice extract,works to soften and detangle.
"[It] has tons of hydration and nourishes hair while leaving it in overnight with no rinse," she says. One online reviewer with dry, brittle hair agrees: "A little actually goes a long way even with my hair type, which isn't typical. It worked so well at calming my strands making my hair much more manageable and smooth."
Matrix's Unbreak My Blonde collection caters to those who have undergone any sort of chemical lightening service, not just blondes. The three-part system, consisting of a shampoo, a conditioner and a leave-in treatment, is meant to revive hair damaged by chemical lightening — leaving hair soft and shiny. It's also made with coconut oil to prevent protein loss and strengthen against mechanical damage.
Those with chemically damaged hair may find a new favorite in the Amika bond repair shampoo and conditioner. It's made with soothing antioxidants like avocado oil and rosemary oil, plus moisturizing humectant glycerin. In a clinical test, this duo left hair 87% more repaired, according to the brand's own data. "It cleans so well," one Sephora reviewer wrote. "I double cleanse and don’t feel like my hair is being stripped or dried out with this."
Let IGK's overnight hair mask ease you into beauty rest. The brand claims its vegan silk proteins soften hair while the spray application gives deep hair repair without the mess. Spray on dry hair and brush through immediately before going to bed. Wake up, comb hair and voilà; hair does not need to be washed or re-styled. "Smells great and when you don't want to do a mask while in the shower, this comes in hand," one Ulta reviewer wrote.
From hair thickening products to hair powders, Bumble and bumble consistently performs well in our Lab tests. This weekly bond repair treatment combines moisturizing emollients and humectants. Its main ingredient of honey bond-building complex aims to build new bonds and repair hair from the cortex to the cuticle while the honey ferment is said to improve hair's elasticity to prevent breakage.
Leake says this is his secret haircare weapon. The one-step bond repair kit offers deep repair for chemical, mechanical and thermal damage between salon visits. It comes with a concentrate mixed with water in a refillable spray bottle. Spray it on, let it sit for at least 10 minutes, then wash your hair and style it as usual. "I recommend doing it once a week. It takes your hair back to healthier, younger days," he adds. One GH staffer said she could feel marked results after just one use.
Hairstylist Sam Stahl names the BLONDME Detox Shampoo her top pick for "detoxing, strengthening and brightening" hair. Despite its name, the shampoo is formulated with all hair colors and hair types in mind. It also mixes in exfoliating malic acid, which can target dry, dandruff-ridden scalps. For fine, coarse hair types, hairstylist and color specialist Alwyn DiGregorio recommends the brand's Fibre Fibre Clinix Tribond Treatment.
What are hair bonds?
Bonds are attractive forces between atoms in hair (like hydrogen and sulfur) that hold its structure together.
“Hair is primarily made of the protein keratin,” says Bridgette Hill, a certified trichologist (hair expert) in New York City and Palm Beach, FL. “Bonds connect keratin proteins, forming the structure of the hair fiber.” They allow strands to be altered by heat, cold, chemicals and tension, and contribute to the superficial repair of hair as well as moisture retention and elasticity, she explains. When bonds are broken, hair can look and feel damaged, frayed, brittle and dry.
The three main types are:
- Hydrogen bonds: The weakest type of bond, prevalent throughout hair’s cortex (middle layer), helps give hair strength, elasticity and ability to return to its natural shape after exposure to elements like water and heat, Hill explains.
- Ionic bonds: While these bonds “aren’t as abundant in hair as hydrogen bonds, they add to hair’s strength and elasticity,” says GH Beauty Lab Director Sabina Wizemann.
- Disulfide bonds: The strongest bonds, these “give hair structural support,” Wizemann says. “Their quantity and position also influence hair’s texture — the more disulfide bonds, the curlier the hair strand is.”
Some hair bonds are more easily ruptured than others. "Hydrogen bonds, the weakest, can be broken by exposure to water and heat," Wizemann says. "Ionic bonds are also broken by water and alkaline substances in chemicals treatments like permanent hair dye, which both change hair's pH." Strong disulfide bonds "can be severed by extreme heat and chemical treatments, including bleaching and those that alter hair's shape, like relaxers, perms and keratin treatments," she explains.
In addition, "bonds can be compromised by factors such as health, age and certain medications as well as by damaging styling techniques," Hill notes.
Can you prevent hair bonds from breaking?
Yes, by minimizing excessive shampooing and use of chemical treatments and hot tools (especially at high heat); and avoid putting tension on hair with tight styles; and use metal-free brushes, fabric hair accessories and silk pillowcases to reduce friction, Hill says.
Can hair bonds be repaired?
It depends on the type. Both hydrogen bonds and ionic bonds repair themselves. “Hydrogen bonds re-form when hair dries after water exposure and cools after being heated, and ionic bonds also re-form once hair is dry and the pH returns to normal,” Wizemann says. “Broken disulfide bonds cannot be repaired to their original state.” New haircare technologies found in bond “repair” products work by “depositing ingredients into hair to bond to the disconnected atoms and reinforce hair structure,” she explains.
How often should you use hair bonding treatments?
Overloading on bond proteins can make hair become flat and dull, advises Hong. Start with a once-weekly application and consult with your hairstylist or a trichologist so they can assess your hair's condition and provide personalized advice to address specific concerns. That also means sticking to a comprehensive hair care routine and scheduling regular trims to maintain healthy hair in the long run.
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