We put our hair through a lot—bleaching, heat styling, UV rays, and even brushing too hard. The result? Damage. Luckily, repairing damaged hair is easier than ever with a variety of hair treatments, from hair masks to heat protectors. There’s a hair repair solution for you, whether you’re battling dryness, breakage, or chemical damage. Here’s your guide to finding the right products to restore your hair’s health and shine.
How to Repair Damaged Hair
Wondering how to repair damaged hair? It’s easy to get confused about the best ways to repair your hair, with so much advice out there, and new miracle hair treatments appearing on our FYP daily. But it’s simpler than it seems. We’ve cut through the confusion to bring you our top tips and practices to follow for healthy happy hair here. Here are some tried and trusted tips to get you started…
Reduce heat styling: Save heat tools for special occasions. Leave your hair natural most days, cutting down on heat styling will really help curb heat damage to your hair. For the days you need to style your hair, make sure you use a heat protector.
Use a hair mask: A weekly mask hydrates and nourishes, making your hair smoother and shinier. Putting time aside to do one weekly will do wonders for hair repair.
Incorporate protective products: Always use a heat protector and adjust your routine for environmental factors like UV exposure. That means using products that protect your hair from the sun next time you’re sunbathing.
Get regular trims: Keep split ends in check with regular trims. They’ll make your hair look fresh and healthy. Keeping your hair well trimmed will also reduce hair shedding and make it easier to manage. So, stop putting off that haircut.
Avoid tight hairstyles: Not even Ariana Grande does that face-lifting ponytail anymore. Swap tight elastics for clips or satin scrunchies to avoid breakage. Being more gentle with your hair will reduce and prevent hair damage, plus avoiding tight up-dos won’t leave you with a headache either, a win-win.
Condition every time: Never skip conditioner, even if you have oily hair. Avoiding it will leave you with frizzy dry hair, more prone to breakage and damage. Conditioner helps repair damage whilst preventing even more. It’s a must-do.
Hydrating Treatments: Include hydrating treatments like hair oils and leave-in conditioners to keep your hair soft and strong. If you are already suffering from dry damaged hair using these treatments can make a huge difference to your hair health.
The Best Products for Damaged Hair
Now you know all the best steps to take and adjustments to make on your hair repair journey, it’s time for product recommendations. Look for formulas with glycerin, keratin, tea tree oil, shea butter, and coconut oil—these ingredients work wonders for hydration, heat protection, and bond repair. You’ll find them across our picks for the best hair repair products…
Best Hair Repair Shampoos and Conditioners
When searching for the best products for damaged hair, focus on finding shampoos and conditioners that hydrate, strengthen, and protect while gently cleansing. If your hair is brittle, dry, or damaged from bleach, chemicals, or heat, it’s essential to switch to a repair-focused duo. Look for products free from sulphates, parabens, phthalates, and phosphates to avoid further damage and enhance repair. To help you out, we’ve handpicked the top hair repair shampoos and conditioners from our favourites.
OLAPLEX Daily Essentials Duo: This powerhouse OLAPLEX duo—No.4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo and No.5 Bond Maintenance Conditioner—relinks broken bonds, tackles split ends, and leaves your hair shinier and stronger. Suitable for all hair types. You’ll find that plenty of OLAPLEX products repair damaged hair so, so well, thanks to their patented technology.
By BEAUTY BAY Strengthen + Hydrate Duo: Affordable yet effective, this duo softens and strengthens damaged hair, protecting it from further harm.
Sol De Janeiro Strengthening + Smoothing Shampoo and Conditioner: Packed with Brazil Nut oil and buriti fruit, this set cleanses without stripping moisture, leaving hair smooth and shiny. It also uses SOL Seal Technology™, keratin-like plant-based microcapsules which help to repair damage and prevent future hair damage. Bonus: it’s scented with the iconic Cheirosa 62, Sol de Janeiro’s most beloved scent, so your hair will smell amazing.
Best Treatment Hair Masks for Damaged Hair
Hair masks are an excellent way to combat damage. These intensive treatments deeply condition, targeting dryness, breakage, and restoring moisture, elasticity, and shine. Adding a hair mask to your routine is a no-brainer. We recommend using one weekly, or twice for extremely damaged hair. If you’re into the ‘everything shower,‘ incorporating a mask (before or during) is easy. Hair masks are especially effective for dry, bleached, or chemically treated hair, so make sure to prioritise this extra bit of TLC for healthier, stronger strands.
OLAPLEX No.8 Bond Intense Moisture Mask: This reparative mask deeply hydrates and adds shine, making hair look salon-fresh. Suitable for all hair types, it’s a must for damaged hair. Learn how to use OLAPLEX No.8 in our guide for even more detail on how this mask can repair and protect your hair.
By BEAUTY BAY Repair + Strengthen Hair Mask: Infused with vegan keratin and coconut extract, this mask restores, rescues, shields and protects each strand and hair bond, while conditioning to help reverse signs of damage, all without breaking the bank. We love it.
Florence by Mills Mane Character Vibes Hydrating Hair Mask: With nourishing ingredients like watermelon seed, linseed, and rice bran oils, it conditions the hair, preventing dryness, frizz, and brittleness.This mask smooths and hydrates each strand while preventing flyaways and breakage. Simply apply to wet hair and leave it for five minutes to see the hair repair results.
Bleach London Reincarnation Mask: A cult favourite for those with dry, bleached, or coloured hair, this mask boosts elasticity and restores vitality. Made for coloured and bleached hair, it will give your chemically damaged hair a new lease of life. Meaning you can try out that new colour without facing even more visible hair damage.
Best Hair Repair Oils
The best oils for repairing damaged hair offer daily hydration, repair, and protection from further damage. These miracle oils prevent breakage, shield your strands from heat and environmental stress, and treat hair that’s been through the wringer with bleach, chemical treatments, split ends, and dryness. A good hair oil is worth its weight in gold and is a must-have for any haircare routine. We’ve rounded up our favourites—thank us later!
OLAPLEX No.7 Bonding Oil: This weightless oil repairs, strengthens, and adds shine to hair. It also offers heat and UV protection, making it a styling essential. Find out our top tips on how to use bonding oil, for even more reasons to add this oil into your haircare routine.
By BEAUTY BAY Nourish + Fibre Repair Hair Oil: This is hands down one of the best hair oils on the market (and we’re not just saying that!). Packed with hyaluronic acid, castor oil, borage oil, baobab oil, and fig oil, this powerhouse formula delivers stunning results. Say goodbye to dull, damaged hair and hello to visibly healthier, shinier locks—after just one use. It’s a game-changer, especially for curly, coily, or extra dry and damaged hair.
Mielle Organics Rosemary Mint Growth Oil: Loved for promoting hair growth and nourishing the scalp, this oil is perfect for textured and curly hair. This organic hair repair oil is made up of a nutrient-rich, intensive formula which works to enable length retention and deeply nourish hair follicles. From smoothing split ends to preventing dry scalp, this versatile oil uses natural ingredients and more than 30 essential oils to deliver results your hair will thank you for.
The Best Hair Repair Treatments
While shampoos, conditioners, masks, and oils are essential for daily hair repair, adding an intensive treatment is the real game-changer for restoring damage. Look for products with more powerful, concentrated formulas to give your hair that deeper repair, hydration, and protection it needs. And don’t forget to consider hair supplements—they’re an easy and effective way to boost hair repair and growth from the inside out. If your scalp needs some love, we’ve got a range of scalp treatments for that too!
OLAPLEX Restoration Duo: This two-step system—No.0 Intensive Bond Building Treatment and No.3 Hair Perfector—strengthens and repairs damaged bonds for visibly healthier hair. They’re designed to work together to strengthen and smooth the hair, while permanently rebuilding damaged and broken bonds, reversing the signs of bleach and chemical damage. Leaving hair feeling and looking visibly stronger. Learn how to use OLAPLEX 0 and 3 together for more reasons why you need them in your haircare routine.
UKLASH OMG! Hair Vitamins: These tasty gummies are packed with biotin, vitamins C and E, and folic acid to promote healthy hair growth from the inside out. They work to nourish and strengthen your strands, resulting in longer, thicker, and healthier locks. A great way to help look after your hair alongside repairing treatments.
The Best Protective Products for Damaged Hair
Once you’ve started repairing your hair, it’s all about keeping that newfound health intact. The best way to do that? Invest in good protective products —whether that’s a heat protectant spray for styling, an oil to shield against harmful UV rays, or a leave-in conditioner to fend off daily damage. Your hair will thank you!
OLAPLEX No.9 Bond Protector Nourishing Hair Serum: This weightless serum protects hair from heat, pollution, and environmental stress, leaving it shiny and frizz-free. Enriched with antioxidant-rich Red Algae Extract and scientifically proven OLAPLEX bond-building technology, it lasts up to 48 hours and protects your hair from up to 232°C.
By BEAUTY BAY Detangle + Protect Heat Defence Mist: Lightweight yet powerful, this mist protects hair up to 218°C and shields it from pollution, leaving hair smoother and shinier. An absolute must for those who regularly heat style their hair.
Beauty Works Ten-in-One Miracle Spray: Thanks to an argan and macadamia oil infused formula this multitasker nourishes, repairs, detangles, and protects hair, all while adding body and shine and so much more. It’s a true hair hero.
Using the right treatments and products will repair even the most damaged hair. The key is consistency. Once you know your main concerns—split ends, dryness, or dullness—you can tailor your routine to target those issues. Start your journey to healthier hair today with the best hair treatments for damaged hair.
