11 Hair Masks Bringing Our Damaged Hair Back to Life

Best Overall

Drunk Elephant Silkamino Moisturizing Masker

$30 at Amazon $30 at Sephora $30 at Ulta

Hair Type: All | Key Ingredients: Silk Amino Acids, Hydrolyzed Silk, Silk Sericin | Size: 7 oz. | Cruelty Free: Yes

"Soft" and "airy" are two words we've used to describe this mega-moisturizing mask from Drunk Elephant. It’s lighter than most conditioners and melts into the hair so well that we’ve applied it before work (in a tight bun) and spent a full eight hours in the office without anyone realizing we had anything on. The mask is so effective that it feels like it’s reversing years of heat damage and skipped haircut appointments. Seriously, we noticed once-dead, straw-like ends come alive again and feel silky smooth. The results are similar to a professional-level deep conditioning treatment: Never greasy, never weighed down, only bouncy, voluminous hair that’s easy to style. We think it's great for those looking to treat their hair in between heat styling, either as an all-day mask or a 30-minute pre-shower pick-me-up. While we haven’t noticed any, some reviewers say it leaves behind a waxy residue if you don’t wash it out completely. 

Best Splurge

Shu Uemura Ultimate Reset Hair Mask

$73 at Sephora $73 at Violet Grey View on Shuuemuraartofhair-usa.com

Hair Type: Damaged, Dry | Key Ingredients: Japanese rice extract | Size: 6 oz. | Cruelty Free: No

While this pick is pricey, it’s a great option if you want to invest in a mask that can really do it all. During testing, it scored perfect marks for how well it treats dryness, frizz, split ends, and damage all in one fell swoop. We credit the Japanese-sourced rice extract in the formula; it helps hydrate and protect the hair. The mask also smells amazing—the fragrance is a mix of fruity notes with subtle floral elements, sandalwood, and musk. It’s so creamy, which feels nice upon application, but you’ll want to make sure you rinse it out as best you can to avoid a greasy residue. 

Best for Damaged Hair

Olaplex No. 8 Moisture Mask

$30 at Amazon $30 at Sephora $30 at Ulta

Hair Type: All, Damaged | Key Ingredients: Bis-Aminopropyl Diglycol Dimaleate | Size: 3.3 oz. | Cruelty Free: Yes

Like most other products from Olaplex, the No.8 Bond Intense Moisture Mask has reached cult-like status—for good reason. It touts a proprietary technology that repairs the disulfide bonds that are broken when hair is colored or chemically treated, helping it stay stronger and healthier for longer. It’s super creamy but it’s easy to spread throughout the hair, regardless of length and texture. The bottle itself is relatively small, but a little bit of product goes a long way. Results do take time—you won’t notice anything much after one use—but the more you use the mask, the faster your hair will spring back to life. The intensive treatment also works wonders on split ends and tangles, reducing the amount of knots and shedding. Those with curlier hair might want to follow up with a hydrating leave-in conditioner after using the mask. Though curls are still receiving the intended bond repair and strengthening treatment, they might require a little extra moisture to avoid feeling coarse and dry.  

Best for Dry Hair

Christophe Robin Regenerating Mask

$69 at Amazon $69 at Dermstore $25 at Nordstrom

Hair Type: All, Damaged | Key Ingredients: Prickly pear seed oil, inula extract | Size: 8.33 oz. | Cruelty Free: Yes

This intensive mask from Christophe Robin boasts a creamy formula with prickly pear oil, an ingredient known to add shine, volume, and life to dull, brittle strands. It also includes ceramides which help smooth the hair shaft. It’s really blendable (no elbow grease is required to distribute it throughout an entire head of hair) and smells divine without being overpowering. The mask doesn’t have to be left in for a long time (a few minutes will do), so it’s a great choice if you're short on time or patience. After consistent use, it softened, nourished, and breathed life back into brittle hair. Let us be clear, though: It’s by no means a miracle split-ends treatment. You can tell a difference in the health of your hair when you stick to it, but nothing replaces a visit to your local hair salon for a much-needed trim. 

Best for Curly Hair

Pattern Treatment Mask

$28 at Amazon $28 at Sephora $28 at Ulta

Hair Type: Curly | Key Ingredients: Rice Water Ferment & Moringa Seed Extract | Size: 15 oz. | Cruelty Free: Yes

Curly hair comes with its own unique set of needs, and it’s imperative to choose a hair mask that's specifically made for your texture. Along with strengthening and softening (thank you, rice protein), this mask from Tracee Ellis Ross’s brand Pattern offers tons of benefits, namely elongating and defining curls, kinks, and coils. We love its watery, gel-like consistency that adds softness without weighing hair down. It’s a great detangler, too. And the subtle floral fragrance is just the icing on the cake. After applying the mask, you can expect hair to feel soft, light, and nourished; you might even notice a decrease in frizz and flyaways, too. 

Best for Treated Hair

Davines Nounou Hair Mask

$40 at Amazon $40 at Nordstrom View on Davines.com

Hair Type: All treated hair | Key Ingredients: Fiaschetto tomato extract, jojoba oil, olive oil | Size: 1.5oz. | Cruelty Free: No

Color and chemicals can really do a number on your hair. But, the healthier your hair is, the longer your color (or style) will last, and the better it will look. So, it's a good idea to use a mask regularly if you’re coloring or chemically treating your hair. This one from Davines is ideal, helping to repair bleached, permed, or relaxed hair. We love how it restores hydration and volume with the help of antioxidant-rich Fiaschetto tomato extract from Italy and vitamin E while invigorating the scalp and keeping it free from irritation. The result is silky smooth hair. Our only bone to pick with this one is that it contains dimethicone, which is a non-soluble form of silicone that can lead to build-up, however, we didn't experience any during testing.

Best for Fine Hair

Amika The Kure Dream Routine Overnight Hydrating Hair Mask

$32 at Amazon $32 at Sephora $32 at Kohls.com

Hair Type: All, Fine | Key Ingredients: Hyaluronic acid, polyglutamic acid, coconut water, blue and green algae, sea buckthorn | Size: 3.3 oz. | Cruelty-Free: Yes

Choosing a mask when you have fine hair can be a bit of a conundrum given that the deep moisturization makes most options likely to weigh hair down. This overnight mask is an exception—it’s actually super lightweight and turned us from skeptics into believers. We could use it nightly and didn't even need to rinse it out in the morning. The mask contains hyaluronic acid and coconut water which help to nourish, intensely moisturize, and reduce damage as you get your beauty sleep. You can apply it all over your hair just before bed. We loved that it never left a greasy film on our tresses or pillowcases.

Best for Thick Hair

Fable & Mane HoliRoots Hair Mask

$36 at Amazon $36 at Sephora

Hair Type: Dry, Curly, Thick | Key Ingredients: Coconut cream, mango butter, banana | Size: 8 oz. | Cruelty Free: Yes

Unlike fine hair, thick hair can hold a ton of product without being weighed down. This mask from Fable & Mane doesn’t skimp on hydration—in fact, it’s so rich and creamy that it reminds us of body lotion except for your hair. It has a smoothing effect that eliminates frizz, flyaways, and other pesky signs of dehydration or breakage leaving hair silky and super-soft. Whether your hair type is curly, straight, or somewhere in between, you’ll appreciate how the coconut cream and mango butter-infused formula deeply nourishes dull, dry hair and brings it back to life. We personally didn’t mind it, but some say the fruity fragrance can be a bit overpowering. If you’re sensitive to fragrance, you may want to skip this one.

Best Plant-Derived

dae Deep Conditioning Treatment

$14 at Sephora

Hair Type: All | Key Ingredients: Moringa leaf extract, coconut oil, false daisy extract | Size: 10 oz. | Cruelty Free: Yes

We love this hair mask from dae because it foregoes any type of ingredient that leads to buildup on the scalp from sebum or products. Instead, it leans on ingredients like moringa leaf extract, coconut oil, and jojoba seed oil, each of which are rich in vitamins and antioxidants. We’re obsessed with the smell—it’s kind of like a fruity rainforest—and didn't bother even super-sensitive noses. After one use, we noticed immediate results in the form of soft, easy-to-manage hair. However, we also noticed that it doesn’t offer many long-term effects. To see continued progress, you’ll need to use the mask weekly. 

Best Strengthening

Briogeo Don't Despair, Repair! Mask

$15 at Sephora $39 at Ulta $39 at Dermstore

Hair Type: Dry, damaged, thick | Active Ingredients: Rosehip oil, algae, vitamin B | Size: 8 ounces | Cruelty-Free: Yes

Damage from hair treatments, pollution, and styling will keep coming back if you don't take steps to mitigate it. We love this mask by Brigeo as a weekly strengthener to keep your hair fortified against all these factors. When we tested it, we noticed it worked like a time machine, reversing the signs of damage like split ends, breakage, and dullness. The formula contains vitamin B and fatty acids like algae which help boost shine and smoothness. We found it worked well on most hair types, even super thick and coily. We love to use it with the Don't Despair, Repair cleansing system—an all-star from our fave shampoos and conditioners for dry hair.

Best for Boosting Color

Matrix Biolage ColorLast Treatment Pack

$17 at Amazon $17 at Ulta $15 at Jcpenney.com

Hair Type: Color-treated | Key Ingredients: Amodimethicone, candelilla wax | Size: 3.4 ounces | Cruelty-Free: No

If you color your hair on the regular, it's necessary to deep condition it from time to time to keep that color looking vibrant. However, if you're short on time, or want to multitask in the shower, this treatment from Biolage is the way to go. Not only does it boost shine and infuse dry, brittle strands with moisture but it also leaves your hair stronger (we legitimately noticed this during testing). We put the treatment on every few days for just three to five minutes, and after hopping out of the shower, our hair felt much healthier. And it never left it feeling greasy or filmy. Plus, who doesn't love a sustainable pouch that you can throw in your carry-on?