The best hair masks

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The best hair masks
  • Hair masks are an affordable and easy way to strengthen, deep condition, and nourish without going to a salon - especially in the winter when all the cold air is drying out your hair.
  • You can use one in the shower to treat your hair weekly, or if you have really damaged hair, every few days.
  • Our top pick is the It's a 10 Haircare Miracle Hair Mask, but we also like ones from Brigeo, Function of Beauty, Sephora Collection, and Olaplex.
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Between blow-drying, heat-styling, color processing, skipping hair cuts, and more, your hair can incur some serious damage. Thankfully, at-home hair masks are one of the easiest ways to give your strands a little TLC without leaving your house or breaking the bank.

Whether you want to repair, strengthen, add shine, or protect your hair from future damage, the right hair mask can help transform your hair and even improve its overall health. But with so many on the market, working out which one is right for you can be overwhelming.

So we did the research and put our own hair to the test to find the best hair masks.

Here are the best hair masks:

Prices and links are current as of 3/31/20.

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Disclosure: This post is brought to you by the Insider Reviews team. We highlight products and services you might find interesting. If you buy them, we get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners. We frequently receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. We operate independently from our advertising sales team. We welcome your feedback. Email us at reviews@businessinsider.com.

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The best overall

The best overall
It's a 10 Haircare Miracle Hair Mask does it all, transforming dry, damaged hair into super-soft and smooth strands while restoring elasticity.

It's a 10 Haircare Miracle Hair Mask is a sulfate-free conditioning treatment that was made to treat all types of hair. The mask contains linseed and apricot extracts, which help soothe and repair your scalp while leaving you tangle-free.

The mask also features almond extract to promote healthy and shiny hair, and oat extract, which strengthens and restructures hair to make it smooth and soft. The lightweight mask is versatile enough to be used as an everyday conditioner for hair, or as a periodic treatment.

A social media fellow on the Insider Reviews team has used and loved the mask. "My hair has never felt softer and the smell is amazing," she says. "Using this hair mask helps tame and moisturize my unmanageable, wavy, color-treated hair while also not making it feel greasy or weighed down. It's also made my hair noticeably less frizzy and repairs any split ends I may have, so I can go longer in between haircuts."

It's a 10 is definitely expensive, but it's been worth every penny. "At first, I was hesitant to spend $32 on a hair product, but after using this hair mask and seeing its effects on my hair, this mask has a permanent spot in my shower."

Pros: Leaves hair tangle-free and super soft, soothes and repairs scalp, treats damaged hair, can be used daily or periodically

Cons: Expensive

The best for deep conditioning

The best for deep conditioning
Briogeo Don't Despair, Repair Mask deep conditions for an extra boost of hydration and moisture.

The Briogeo Don't Despair, Repair Deep Conditioning Mask is formulated with ingredients like vitamin B, rosehip oil, argan oil, and collagen to help restore hydration and transform lackluster hair into shiny, healthy locks.

The mask works on all types of hair including chemically-treated, relaxed, and keratin-treated hair. It is also cruelty-free and made without any silicones, parabens, sulfates, and artificial dyes. In a blind clinical trial, 80% of women said they saw a "noticeable improvement in hydration".

The product was an Allure Reader's Choice award winner in 2017. It's expensive at $32 for 8 ounces, but you can purchase a mini 1-ounce bottle to test it out for only $9.

Pros: Makes hair super soft and silky, deeply hydrating, cruelty-free, makes hair shiny

Cons: Expensive

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The best personalized formula

The best personalized formula
If you're looking for a customized formula that addresses one or many concerns, try Function of Beauty.

Function of Beauty develops personalized hair-care products, including a hair mask. At $19 for a 7.5 oz jar, it's expensive, but it's also a weekly deep-conditioning treatment that's catered specifically to your needs, so I think the price is justified. There's also an option to subscribe to regular deliveries of each product, so you'd never run out.

To create your custom formula, you'd have to take a short online quiz and indicate your concerns and needs. I said that I wanted to hydrate and repair my dry, heat-damaged hair. I have fine hair so I also wanted to make sure the formula wouldn't be too heavy and weigh it down.

A few weeks later, the mask arrived at my door and I've been using it twice a week for the past two months. In the two months that I've been using it, I've used about a quarter of the product.

It's definitely made my hair feel stronger and healthier, with a lot more shine than it used to have. While each formula is made specifically for your particular hair needs, it generally contains hydrating Japanese sake extract, and argan and jojoba oils.

It takes just a few minutes to work and it's easy to rinse out too. The one thing I'm split on is the plastic jar. I try to avoid plastic when I can, but I've dropped the jar several times in the shower and thankfully, it hasn't cracked or broken. Can you imagine what would've happened if it was made out of glass?

The Insider Reviews team has tested and reviewed other Function of Beauty hair-care products, here's the full review.

Pros: Personalized formula for your specific hair needs, has one-time or subscription option for flexibility

Cons: Is only available online

The best overnight hair mask

The best overnight hair mask
Sephora Collection's Hair Sleeping Masks work overnight as you sleep for intense repair with minimal effort.

If you are looking for an overnight mask that will target specific hair problems, try the Sephora Collection Hair Sleeping Masks. The line of masks was formulated to hydrate and repair hair as you sleep.

There are four masks to address different hair issues. Rose is used for smoothing and anti-frizz proposes, Acai brightens and protects color, Almond offers anti-breakage protection, and Coconut nourishes and repairs.

A writer for Allure tested out the Rose mask and said, "When I woke up the next morning and rinsed out my hair, it felt just as soft and wonderful as I expected it to. I felt as if the conditioner had provided the extra smoothness it promised."

Each mask comes with a hair cap but there's always the chance the cap can shift while sleeping. To prevent any stains, try placing a towel over your pillowcase or use a bobby pin to secure the cap to your hair before you go to sleep.

Pros: Affordable, can target specific hair issues, hydrating, softens hair, four options

Cons: Can stain sheets if cap moves while sleeping

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The best strengthening hair mask

The best strengthening hair mask
If color-treating and heat-styling have weakened your hair, try a strengthening mask like Olaplex Hair Perfector No. 3.

Hair-care brand Olaplex is used in top salons, but the mask was created for general retail when the brand realized how many of its clients wanted to use it at home.

The mask is made with Olaplex's patented bond-building technology, which relinks the broken parts of hair caused by chemical, thermal, and mechanical damage. The mask works on many hair types from straight to tightly coiled and is formulated without parabens, sulfates, or phthalates.

If you have color-treated hair or regularly heat-style, Hair Perfector No. 3 is a great restorative treatment that will bring softness and shine back to your hair. Some users with particularly damaged hair recommend leaving it in for a bit longer than the instructed ten minutes.

The 100ml bottle does feel small for the price, and per the instructions, you're supposed to apply "a generous amount." Those with longer hair will likely go through the product quickly.

Pros: Repairs and strengthens hair, leaves it feeling soft and bouncy, professional-grade treatment at home

Cons: Expensive

Check out our other hair-care buying guides

Check out our other hair-care buying guides
The best curling irons

Out of all the heat styling tools you can use on your hair, the curling iron is the one that requires the most practice, particularly to see what type of curl and look you like. However, the results you can achieve are just as reliant upon the type of curling iron you choose. Whether you have fine hair, thick hair, or something that falls in-between, these are the best curling irons.

The best anti-frizz hair products

It's not just the summer heat and sky-high humidity that can wreak havoc on your hair. Rain and even damp weather can turn it from fabulous to frizzy in an instant. It's important to be prepared and have a good anti-frizz product in your beauty arsenal to stop yet another bad hair day. These are the best anti-frizz products.

The best heat protectant sprays

If you use any type of heat styling tool on your hair — whether it's a hair dryer, curling iron, or straightener — a heat protectant is a must-have. Without a properly applied protectant, the heat will dry out your hair, making it brittle and prone to breakage. These are the best heat protectant sprays.

The best hair dryers

No matter how many curling wands or straighteners you have in your arsenal, you need to have a quality blow dryer in the mix as well. It dries hair quickly, can tamp down frizz better than any styling product, and depending on your dexterity, can also help straighten or curl your hair. These are the best hair dryers.

The best straightening brushes

There's a new type of styling tool in town — the straightening brush. These handy styling tools provide a quick, easy, and effective way to get smooth, shiny hair with professional-looking results. These are the best straightening brushes.

The best anti-frizz products

It's not just the summer heat and sky-high humidity that can wreak havoc on your hair. Rain and damp weather can turn it from smooth to frizzy in an instant. It's important to be prepared and have a good anti-frizz product in your beauty arsenal to prevent bad hair days. These are our top picks.

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