Key ingredients: sea buckthorn extract, amino acids, hydrolyzed quinoa protein, hydrogenated castor oil, borage oil, shea butter
Best for Blonde Hair: Matrix Total Results Unbreak My Blonde Reviving Leave-in Treatment
Why it’s worth it: If you’re looking for an easy bond builder to incorporate into your routine, Bodt, who’s a Matrix Brand Ambassador, gives the brand’s Total Results Unbreak My Blonde Reviving Leave-in Treatment her stamp of approval, especially for blondes. After washing with a purple shampoo, conditioning, and towel-drying your hair, you can slather this leave-in treatment onto your hair for a boost of citric acid, which adds softness and shine while reinforcing bonds weakened from the bleaching process.
Key ingredients: citric acid
Best Multitasking Formula: Color Wow Dream Cocktail Leave In Treatment
Why it’s worth it: Color Wow’s Dream Cocktail Leave In Treatment is like a green juice for your hair, considering the fact that its main ingredient is kale. The superfood extract is rich in sulfur, which helps repair the sulfur-based bonds in your hair. It also contains amino acids to fortify bonds, so this leave-in provides a double-dose of bond-strengthening ingredients. As a delightful bonus, this heat-activated formula also acts as a heat protectant.
Key ingredients: kale extract, amino acids
Best for Dry Hair: Bumble and Bumble Bond-Building Repair Treatment
Why it’s worth it: Bumble and Bumble’s Bond-Building Repair Treatment is a weekly treatment that won’t weigh down fine hair types—yet natural hair textures will enjoy it just as much as their finer counterparts. This five-minute shower treatment utilizes a honey-based bond-building complex that reduces frizz and moisturizes the hair cuticle for a silky-smooth feel.
Key ingredients: honey ferment, wildflower ferment
Frequently Asked Questions
Can hair bonds really be repaired?
Though at-home formulas aren’t as potent as professional treatments, Bodt, whose client list includes Beyoncé, Kate Hudson, and Barbie Ferreira, says that at-home treatments can help repair and maintain hair bonds. Reinforcing bonds along the hair shaft is important for maintaining strength, malleability, shine, and color vibrancy. That’s why incorporating bond-supporting formulas into your routine is so important, especially for bleached, dyed, and heat-styled hair. “When the bonds in the hair are intact, it’s able to hold on to moisture and protein as well as prevent color fading,” says Bodt.
How do bond repair treatments work?
Missouri-based colorist Colissa Nole previously told Allure that bond builders target three different types of chemical bonds that naturally exist in hair. Disulfide, also known as an S-S bond, is the strongest bond and “stabilizes your protein chain,” she explained, adding that protein chains contribute to overall hair health and elasticity.
