Best bond repairing haircare to heal damaged hair

Price: £14-£168

The story of Olaplex is what beauty dreams are made of. On the hunt for hair products that “would make hair great”, founder Dean Christal and his two-man chemist team created the patented formula that we know and love today. This was back in 2014 and since, it has become the best-selling hair brand at both Space NK and John Lewis, beloved for its ability to fortify the strands and leave hair shinier and healthier – no mean feat.

Beginning in salons, the at-home range is a less potent but still powerhouse collection of shampoos, conditioner, and pre and post wash treatments that are made up of the brand’s trademarked Bond Building Technology that combats damage caused by chemical, thermal, mechanical, environmental and physiological reasons. It finds the broken bonds, repairs them and as such tames frizz and strengthens dry, coloured or overprocessed manes.

The range is helpfully numbered so you know what order to use them in and includes the No 0. Bond Builder to be used in tandem with the No. 3 Hair Perfector to prime and prep, the No. 4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo and No. 5 Bond Maintenance Conditioner, and the No. 6 Bond Smoother and No. 7 Bonding Oil as the game-changing styling creations. No.8 is a mid-wash mask. Newer additions have seen No.4C and No.4P shampoos for clarifying and blonde toning respectively as well as leave-in serum, the No.9 Bond Protector.

How’s this for a fact that those of us with damaged hair won’t be able to resist: Living Proof’s Triple Bond Complex has been scientifically proven to make hair eight times stronger after just one use.

To be applied on hair wash day after your traditional shampoo and conditioner treatment, this formula contains a first of its kind molecule created in the brand’s own labs to repair all three of the bonds that make up the individiual hair strands; hydrogen, ionic and covalent .

Whether it’s to combat excessive heat styling or years of harsh dyes, this works to not just reduce the signs of damage in appearance but actually repair split end and shield from future stressors.

Price: £9.60-£65.60

The Botanical Repair is the bond-regenerating contingent of Aveda’s professional-level haircare collection. It is powered by plants to leave the hair stronger and healthier, while also being vegan and almost all naturally derived.

The offering is made up of a shampoo and conditioner and two types of masks – rich for thicker hair types and light for thin, fine locks – as well as an overnight serum that protects while you slumber and a post-wash leave-in treatment to shield against environmental aggressors throughout the day. Use together for best results.

The science-backed range was created to strengthen all three layers of the hair to leave it thicker and healthier, while also smoothing at the same time. Plus, the addictive aroma that you’ll catch a whiff off with every swish of your mane is always appreciated.

This treatment – as the name suggests – was created to be used in advance of your hair wash day to repair the hair bonds from the inside-out. So in demand was this product from Bali born and inspired haircare label Coco & Eve that there was a waistlist of over 20,000 people waiting to get their hands on the strengthening saviour before it had launched.

It uses a combination of the brand’s own Bond Building technology alongside an oil complex with coconut and avocado for a protein and vitamin-rich injection to the follicles and botanicals oils of pomegranate and apricot that create a barrier to prevent moisture loss.

In just one wash, you will feel the effects with silky, smooth and more manageable locks. Less breakage and the healthy sheen are more of the many benefits.

Philip Kingsley’s Elasticizer may be its most praised mask but its the brand’s foray into bond building that has caught our attention. If you’re finding that your locks are dry, frayed, frizzy and fried, reinforcements are certainly necessary and this intensive treatment gets to work repairing the individual strands with noticeable results.

Turn back the clock on curling sessions, dye jobs and slicked back chignons with the Advanced Bond Rebuilding Technology contained within this 10 minute treatment that reconnects broken bonds and, alongside panthenol, gives hair a moisture hit.

With a bottle that looks like it’s straight out of a lab, this is the potent treatment that your hair routine has been lacking to give stressed strands a new lease of life. The cocktail of the Redken Bonding Care Complex and citrus acid makes for an efficacious product that leaves your hair in a healthier condition – and really what more can you ask for in a treatment? With a lovely texture and pleasant subtle scent, it will become your go-to to transform overly processed hair.

This is the hero product in K18’s range and a holy grail among those in the know. The label uses sceintific evidence to craft its range where each product contains its trademarked K18Peptide. This ingredient is made up of amino acids that are able to penetrate into the hair shaft to repair at a molecular level – and it’s able to do so in just four minutes with this mask. Lustrous sheen? Here we come.

The Brooklyn-born label’s diverse product line-up has been created so that all hair types and textures can get in on the bond-repairing action. Its ‘the kure’ range is dedicated exactly to that aim and uses a specialised bond cure technology that minimises breakages and shields against further damage. This component is placed alongside nourishing plant butters and vegan proteins so that your mane is being supported from every angle and enriched with vitamins and minerals so you’ll be able to flick your hair with confidence.

Dousing your locks in bond-repairing treatments need not cost the earth as is shown by The Inkey List and its no-fuss, no frills approach to the technology. This differs from the majority of the other products on this list and comes in a spray mist format that protects the hair bonds with every spritz. The label opts for Granrepair Powerbond technology designed to penetrate even futher into the hair fibre so that no part is left untouched by the reparative formula.

Over at Aldi, you can find dupes for some of the best beauty products around and at the budget supermarket’s signature low price tags. When it launched its own range of hair-bonding products, it was an instant hit and sold out near instantly. If you can get your hands on the collection of shampoo, conditioner, pre-wash treatment and dry shampoo, you will be able to maximise the hydrating formula that has been created to leave your locks healthy and glossy. The combination of vitamin E, hyaluronic acid and hydrogenated castor oil is best suited to combat damaged, dull and frizz-prone hair.