For the longest time, the only way you could revive fatigued, damaged hair was by penciling out an entire day from your schedule and leaving your hair in the hands of an experienced hairstylist. While there is no denying the care that your strands can receive at the salon, there’s a host of products that—if added to your haircare routine—can steal the crown.
Once considered the remit of licensed professionals, bond repair products have stepped into regimens around the world. Ahead, we round up everything you need to know.
Finally, finish off with a lightweight hair oil to amplify the glass-like shine. Olaplex No.7 Bonding Oil offers a highly concentrated yet weightless formula that reduces frizz, repairs damage, and leaves your hair looking smooth, silky, and radiant.
The name may give it all away—products that repair hair bonds, d’uh—but it’s helpful to understand why the new category has emerged in the haircare aisle.
The easiest way to understand hair bonds is to think of micro links in the hair shaft that are invisible to the naked eye, but are responsible for giving your hair its strength and elasticity. Unfortunately, frequent heat exposure, environmental aggressors, chemical treatments and colour treatment can wear down these bonds over the course of time. The result? Flyaways, frizz and breakage that affect the integrity of the hair shaft. All hope is not lost, though. This is where bond repair products enter the chat—they repair these frayed bonds and restore the structure of the hair.
While bond building products cannot undo the clock on years of damage altogether, they can serve as a helpful band-aid. By penetrating deep into the hair shaft, these formulas work on fusing broken fragments of the hair bond back together to make it healthier and more resilient to environmental factors than before. Amino acids serve as a key player in the bond repair category, with keratin following hot on its heels for improving hair structure.
Even as bond repair hops to the top of everyone’s haircare wishlist, it helps to opt for some introspection before adopting any new trend. As a rule of thumb, bond repair products can work on chemically treated as well as heat-exposed hair. And if you feel like environmental aggressors have ravaged the health of your hair—think prolonged exposure to the sun or chlorine in the swimming pool—these products can offer up a shortcut to healthy, stronger strands.
However, the world of bond repair is not created for everyone. If your hair feels relatively undamaged, you might want to sit this one out. Those with fine hair may also find that bond repair products tend to weigh their strands down. And while these products can work wonders, being overzealous with their usage can do more harm than good for those with damaged hair. Most bond repair products recommend a weekly usage of once or twice, but it helps to double-check by reading the specific instructions on the product label.
Ready to get started? Once you’ve done your due diligence to understand whether these maintenance products are right for your hair type and specific needs, you take heart in the fact that most formulas don’t require a major overhaul of your existing haircare routine.
It’s helpful to start with a clean base, so you’ll want to shampoo as per usual and rinse out any residue with lukewarm water. Once done, you can reach for your chosen bond repair hero and run it through your hair from the mid-lengths to the ends. Depending on the formulation, you can rinse it out after the recommended time or leave it in and carry on with your styling routine as per usual.
Most bond repair products will leave your hair feeling softer and less brittle after the first use. With a consistent routine, you’ll find that your hair has grown stronger and more resilient against damage over the next two to three weeks.
The name may give it all away—products that repair hair bonds, d’uh—but it’s helpful to understand why the new category has emerged in the haircare aisle.
The easiest way to understand hair bonds is to think of micro links in the hair shaft that are invisible to the naked eye, but are responsible for giving your hair its strength and elasticity. Unfortunately, frequent heat exposure, environmental aggressors, chemical treatments and colour treatment can wear down these bonds over the course of time. The result? Flyaways, frizz and breakage that affect the integrity of the hair shaft. All hope is not lost, though. This is where bond repair products enter the chat—they repair these frayed bonds and restore the structure of the hair.
While bond building products cannot undo the clock on years of damage altogether, they can serve as a helpful band-aid. By penetrating deep into the hair shaft, these formulas work on fusing broken fragments of the hair bond back together to make it healthier and more resilient to environmental factors than before. Amino acids serve as a key player in the bond repair category, with keratin following hot on its heels for improving hair structure.
Even as bond repair hops to the top of everyone’s haircare wishlist, it helps to opt for some introspection before adopting any new trend. As a rule of thumb, bond repair products can work on chemically treated as well as heat-exposed hair. And if you feel like environmental aggressors have ravaged the health of your hair—think prolonged exposure to the sun or chlorine in the swimming pool—these products can offer up a shortcut to healthy, stronger strands.
However, the world of bond repair is not created for everyone. If your hair feels relatively undamaged, you might want to sit this one out. Those with fine hair may also find that bond repair products tend to weigh their strands down. And while these products can work wonders, being overzealous with their usage can do more harm than good for those with damaged hair. Most bond repair products recommend a weekly usage of once or twice, but it helps to double-check by reading the specific instructions on the product label.
Ready to get started? Once you’ve done your due diligence to understand whether these maintenance products are right for your hair type and specific needs, you take heart in the fact that most formulas don’t require a major overhaul of your existing haircare routine.
It’s helpful to start with a clean base, so you’ll want to shampoo as per usual and rinse out any residue with lukewarm water. Once done, you can reach for your chosen bond repair hero and run it through your hair from the mid-lengths to the ends. Depending on the formulation, you can rinse it out after the recommended time or leave it in and carry on with your styling routine as per usual.
Most bond repair products will leave your hair feeling softer and less brittle after the first use. With a consistent routine, you’ll find that your hair has grown stronger and more resilient against damage over the next two to three weeks.
The name may give it all away—products that repair hair bonds, d’uh—but it’s helpful to understand why the new category has emerged in the haircare aisle.
The easiest way to understand hair bonds is to think of micro links in the hair shaft that are invisible to the naked eye, but are responsible for giving your hair its strength and elasticity. Unfortunately, frequent heat exposure, environmental aggressors, chemical treatments and colour treatment can wear down these bonds over the course of time. The result? Flyaways, frizz and breakage that affect the integrity of the hair shaft. All hope is not lost, though. This is where bond repair products enter the chat—they repair these frayed bonds and restore the structure of the hair.
While bond building products cannot undo the clock on years of damage altogether, they can serve as a helpful band-aid. By penetrating deep into the hair shaft, these formulas work on fusing broken fragments of the hair bond back together to make it healthier and more resilient to environmental factors than before. Amino acids serve as a key player in the bond repair category, with keratin following hot on its heels for improving hair structure.
Even as bond repair hops to the top of everyone’s haircare wishlist, it helps to opt for some introspection before adopting any new trend. As a rule of thumb, bond repair products can work on chemically treated as well as heat-exposed hair. And if you feel like environmental aggressors have ravaged the health of your hair—think prolonged exposure to the sun or chlorine in the swimming pool—these products can offer up a shortcut to healthy, stronger strands.
However, the world of bond repair is not created for everyone. If your hair feels relatively undamaged, you might want to sit this one out. Those with fine hair may also find that bond repair products tend to weigh their strands down. And while these products can work wonders, being overzealous with their usage can do more harm than good for those with damaged hair. Most bond repair products recommend a weekly usage of once or twice, but it helps to double-check by reading the specific instructions on the product label.
Ready to get started? Once you’ve done your due diligence to understand whether these maintenance products are right for your hair type and specific needs, you take heart in the fact that most formulas don’t require a major overhaul of your existing haircare routine.
It’s helpful to start with a clean base, so you’ll want to shampoo as per usual and rinse out any residue with lukewarm water. Once done, you can reach for your chosen bond repair hero and run it through your hair from the mid-lengths to the ends. Depending on the formulation, you can rinse it out after the recommended time or leave it in and carry on with your styling routine as per usual.
Most bond repair products will leave your hair feeling softer and less brittle after the first use. With a consistent routine, you’ll find that your hair has grown stronger and more resilient against damage over the next two to three weeks.