If you colour or frequently heat-style your hair, then you'll know how quickly your hair can turn from soft and glossy to brittle and dry. Plus, on top of that, our hair can become damaged thanks to a combination of hard water, diet, UV exposure, pollution, harsh temperatures, stress, and hormonal imbalances. Coarse, thin hair which easily tangles, frizzes, and splits at the ends neither feels or looks good.
There's no denying that prevention is always better than cure, especially because the effects of damaged hair can be so long-lasting—an efficient daily and weekly hair routine is always recommended. However, to repair and replenish damaged hair, hairstylist Hadley Yates advises that using bonding hair products can massively help. Designed to work by rebuilding the broken bonds within hair's molecular structure, these potent treatments work hard and fast—and can be the answer to restoring smoothness, shine, softness, and health to damaged hair.
Scroll down for Yates' intel on how bonding hair products work, plus our roundup of the best bonding hair products for 2024.
The Best Bonding Hair Products:
- K18 Leave-In Molecular Repair Hair Mask
- Olaplex No. 3 Hair Perfector
- Redken Acidic Bonding Concentrate Leave-In Treatment
- Living Proof Triple Bond Complex
- Epres Bond Repair Treatment Starter Kit
- Philip Kingsley Bond Builder Restructuring Treatment
- Beauty Pie Super Healthy Hair Elastic Repair Treatment
- Davines Heart of Glass Bonding Glow Treatment
- Coco Eve Bond Building Pre-Shampoo Treatment
- Aveda Botanical Repair Bond-Building Flash Treatment
- Amika The Kure Intense Bond Repair Mask
- Bumble and Bumble Bond Building Repair Hair Treatment
What are hair bonds and how do they break?
"Hair bonds are the chemical interactions between protein chains in our hair fibers—essentially, they are what gives our hair its structure, strength, shine, and elasticity," explains Yates. "Hydrogen bonds are delicate and can get damaged simply when they are wet, ionic bonds can be damaged from a change in pH (which can also be caused by health / hormonal problems) and the strongest (disulphide) bonds, get damaged when exposed to chemical processing and excessive heat."
At the very core of these bonds is the polypeptide chain, which Yates refers to as the 'building blocks of hair'. It's these chains which the best bonding hair products will target in order to have a long-lasting impact upon hair health.
How do bonding hair products work?
"Bonding hair products work at the cortex of the hair to strengthen weakened bonds and restore hair strength and shine," says Yates. "They do this by mimicking the natural chemical bonds, however this also means that they can wash out and don’t always have long lasting results."
Yates adds that one of the most important things to consider when choosing bonding hair products is a formula that works by actually rebuilding the structure of the polypeptide chain. "This means the damage is reversed at the very most inner layer and is long lasting."
When should you use a bonding hair product?
According to Yates, everyone can benefit from using bonding hair products; even if you don’t colour or heat style your hair, because things like hard and chlorine-filled tap water can damage hair bonds.
"You should use bond repair products as a treatment, not as daily use, so you can just choose to use them when you feel like your hair needs some help," Yates himself uses and recommends K18 Leave-In Molecular Repair Hair Mask (£70). "You use the treatment products for 4-6 washes in a row to get your hair to a level of health you’re happy with, then reduce down to once a week, once every two weeks or however often you feel like your hair needs it, depending on the level of hair damage and what your hair is exposed to each day," he explains. "K18 also have a daily shampoo and conditioner for use in between treatments which help to prevent damage occuring in the first place."
How long do bonding hair products take to work?
"It really depends on the level of damage to your hair; you can see results after just one use with some products, but if you have very damaged hair, you might need consecutive uses before you start to see results," says Yates. "You can also visit your local salon for a treatment, as often the professional products are greater in strength and can work faster. On my clients I do the K18 Repair Service that uses their professional-only hair mist, but there are lots of brands and options to choose from so I’d recommend asking your stylist."
The Best Bonding Hair Products:
1. K18 Leave-In Molecular Repair Hair Mask
Yates' bonding hair product of choice, K18, is also one of my personal favourites—not only because it's effective but because it's so easy to use. You simply apply it to freshly-washed hair and let it sit for four minutes before blow-drying—no rinse required.
2. Olaplex No. 3 Hair Perfector
Perhaps one of the most famous bonding hair products on the market, Olaplex is another hairstylist favourite. It's designed to be used weekly to restore and maintain hair health, and is particularly beneficial for colour-damaged hair.
3. Redken Acidic Bonding Concentrate Leave-In Treatment
This lightweight leave-in treatment adds instant shine and softness, and also helps to reduce the risk of colour fading—making it another great option for freshly-dyed hair.
4. Living Proof Triple Bond Complex
Designed to protect and repair hair from mechanical, chemical, thermal, and environmental damage, this multitasking treatment leaves hair up to eight times stronger and is proven to visibly reduce split ends.
5. Epres Bond Repair Treatment Starter Kit
If you're low maintenance when it comes to haircare then the ease of use of this product might just make it a winner for you—the formula can be sprayed onto wet or dry hair and doesn't need to be rinsed out. It uses a unique patent-pending molecular technology which repairs disulfide bonds, leading to softer, stronger hair with less breakage and frizz.
6. Philip Kingsley Bond Builder Restructuring Treatment
This pre-shampoo treatment reinforces existing bonds and repairs broken ones in order to strengthen and protect strands from future breakage as well as address existing damage.
7. Beauty Pie Super Healthy Hair Elastic Repair Treatment
Price shown is member price.
This affordable reparative treatment works to both protect hair from heat and colour damage as well as to address existing signs of heat and colour damaged hair. Used twice a week, hair is left stronger, shinier, and healthier.
8. Davines Heart of Glass Bonding Glow Treatment
Bleached hair in particular is rarely left without damage after a colouring session. Fortunately, that's exactly what this product was formulated for. A biacidic bond complex and amino concentrate works to strengthen and repair hair fibres, boosting shine, and preserving colour intensity.
9. Coco Eve Bond Building Pre-Shampoo Treatment
This is a great option for dry hair, since the formula not only works to repair damaged bonds, but also nourishes and hydrates with a blend of coconut, avocado, pomegranate, and apricot oils.
10. Aveda Botanical Repair Bond-Building Flash Treatment
This rinse-out liquid conditioner might just be one of the fastest-acting treatments in this roundup—you apply it in-shower after washing and conditioning your hair, then rinse it straight out. The hero ingredient? A plant-derived bond-building molecule which builds new bonds in just 10 seconds.
11. Amika The Kure Intense Bond Repair Mask
Far more than just your average nourishing hair mask, this intensive treatment helps to repair broken bonds by gradually strengthening them.
12. Bumble and Bumble Bond Building Repair Hair Treatment
This lightweight solution builds new bonds and repairs hair from the cortex to the cuticle, as well as improving hair’s elasticity to prevent breakage. What's more, it adds major shine and softness.
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