If you care about hair care, you’ve probably heard about the magic of bond builders. We’ve recommended them over and over again, but I’d argue the trend started with Olaplex Hair Perfector No. 3, which was first released in 2014, and exploded in popularity and brought bond builders into the beauty spotlight. It’s been recommended by Rio Viera-Newton, I crowned it our best-in-class hair mask, and it’s a favorite of celebrities’, including Gohar World co-founder Laila Gohar. Since then, other brands like K18 and Living Proof have risen up to challenge Olaplex’s dominance with bond-building treatments of their own. They promise to repair hair from the inside out, for everyone from double-processed platinum blondes to brunettes with a blow-dryer-brush addiction, making hair shinier and healthier. But what exactly is a bond builder, and how does it work?
To start off, your hair contains three types of bonds — hydrogen, ionic, and covalent — which provide hair with its structural strength, elasticity, and shine, explains Ron McLaughlin, Living Proof’s senior vice-president of research and development. Over time, things like heat-styling, color services, and environmental aggressors like pollution can cause these bonds to break, resulting in weak, damaged hair that is prone to things like split ends and breakage. Unlike regular hair masks, which often just infuse moisture as a Band-Aid solution, bond-building treatments attempt to repair the root cause by fixing these broken bonds, penetrating the hair fiber and working from the inside out to restore the structural integrity of the hair, he adds.
“Bond builders contain specific active ingredients, like amino acids and protein, which is responsible for reconnecting and strengthening the disulfide bonds within the hair’s protein structure,” explains Min Kim, resident master color specialist and digital education director at NYC’s Butterfly Studio Salon and L’Oréal Professionnel global ambassador. By repairing these bonds, bond-building treatments can prevent breakage, improve hair elasticity and strength, and make hair smoother and softer. The products also typically contain other ingredients like conditioning agents more traditionally found in hair masks to further nourish and protect the hair. “After the cortex of the hair has been treated, smoothing and adding moisture to the outside, the cuticle, will help create a layer of protection to the hair to reduce future damage,” says Sarah Potempa, celebrity hairstylist and the Beachwaver Co. founder.
“Although we all have different hair routines, most of us experience some level of hair damage and can benefit from a bond-building treatment,” explains McLaughlin, especially those who regularly color or heat-style their hair. However, he cautions that it is possible to overuse the product, depending on the specific chemistry, and since bond-repair technologies vary widely, it’s important to follow the product’s specific usage instructions to make sure you don’t accidentally overuse it, he adds.
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