Grace Lindsay
When it comes to dry and damaged hair, using one of the best hair masks is a bit like a sports massage for your lengths. And we're shopping them more now than ever before.
A bit like a very concentrated version of your best conditioner, hair masks are packed with nutritive ingredients that target your hair's biggest concerns, whether that's helping to repair damage, moisturise your curls or protecting and adding brilliance to coloured hair.
Here at Marie Claire UK, we are all about caring for our hair, and we've tried our fair share of masks over the years. Therefore, we thought it was only right to share our favourites with you. Keep on scrolling to shop, and for more inspiration, don't forget to check out our edits of the best dry shampoo and the best leave-in conditioners. Trust us, your hair will be singing your praises.
How to use a hair mask
After washing with your best shampoo, apply your mask of choice and leave on for around ten minutes, or as the packaging advises – though you're unlikely to do any harm by leaving on for longer.
"A lot of people skip this step and just add a lot of serum at the drying stage, but then you lose the lightness and freshness of the blow dry," says hair expert and Creative Director at John Frieda, Zoë Irwin. "The secret weapon is definitely a hair mask!
"For very dry hair, I would even recommend 'double masking' – so applying a mask, rinsing and then repeating a second time for ultimate hydration."
The best hair masks to buy now
When testing the below hair masks, we looked at everything from how our hair felt after using, if the product helped with our hair concerns, the price, packaging and more. These are the ones that came out on top.
1. Olaplex No.3 Hair Perfector
It wouldn't be a hair mask roundup without Olaplex. Ok, technically it's more of a treatment than a mask, but there's no denying that it's one of the best products for damaged hair in many an expert's eyes. What was once a take-home treatment for salon customers, after having their hair coloured alongside Olaplex 1 and 2, is now available for anyone and everyone to shop.
The formula works at a molecular level to repair damaged bonds within your hair, which are synonymous with long-term colouring and/or heat styling – and the brand itself has confirmed that you don't need to have used the first two steps on your hair to reap its benefits. A little goes a long way when it comes to this miracle treatment, so don't panic that it's such a dinky bottle: you don't need a lot to help repair your hair from the inside out.
2. Pureology Hydrate Superfood Deep Treatment Mask
Pureology masks all come with the added benefit of helping to protect coloured hair, thanks to their signature anti-fade complex. But this mask in particular is our go-to for thirsty hair. The superfood formula is like a green smoothie for your lengths, containing both avocado and coconut oils for a hydration and shine boost. That dry feeling will be pretty much gone after just the one use, leaving you with touchably silky, soft hair.
3. Bumble and bumble Curl Butter Mask
This Bumble and bumble mask is one of our top choices for curly hair. Not only does it contain avocado, coconut and jojoba oils, but it also contains shea and cocoa butter to hydrate thirsty curls. Plus, it leaves you with the most wonderful shine.
4. Color WOW and Chris Appleton Money Masque
If your hair is lacking in shine, then this is the mask for you. It claims to give you "expensive-looking hair", and after trying it out ourselves, we can confirm that it does just that. By adding moisture back into the hair, you are left with a silky soft, glossy-looking 'do that will leave you feeling like a million dollars.
5. Philip Kingsley Elasticizer Intensive Treatment
This is one of the greats for bouncy and soft hair. Sure, it's a pre-shampoo mask rather than a deep conditioning situation, but that's not to say that it's not effective. It floods the hair cuticle with moisture and contains hair-loving ingredients like castor oil, olive oil and hydrolysed elastin for weightless bounce. We don't think we've met anyone who doesn't love it.
6. VIRTUE Restorative Treatment Mask
VIRTUE hair products are some of the best around in our opinion. This hair mask is perfect if your hair needs a bit of TLC, infused with the brand's Alpha Keratin 60ku® complex to care for your lengths.
7. Sisley Hair Rituel Regenerating Hair Care Mask With Botanical Oils
This Sisley hair mask is hands down one of the best masks we have ever used. Our hair has never looked or felt so good afterwards, thanks to four botanical oils working to strengthen and nourish the hair fibre. It is very expensive for a hair mask, but a little goes a long way, so if you are looking to treat yourself, we would definitely recommend.
8. K18 Leave-in Molecular Repair Hair Mask
We love the K18 hair mask so much that we even wrote a whole review on it. The clever thing about this is that you actually apply it when you're out the shower, leave it in for four minutes and then style your hair as normal. There's no need to rinse it out which makes it so much easier to use. As for the result? Soft hair that is much more manageable.
