Repair hair damage in 4 minutes (seriously)

It sounds too good to be true, but the clinical studies prove it.

I’ve dealt with my fair share of hair damage over the years. Between regular heat-styling and going platinum (I still miss it), my strands have been subjected to more than their fair share of stress. Olaplex has been my go-to remedy both at the salon and at home, but it may be time for us to part ways.

K18’s Leave-In Molecular Repair Hair Mask has caused quite a stir since its salon-exclusive launch in 2020, and for good reason. Why? Because it’s clinically proven to reverse hair damage in four minutes. Yes, you read that correctly. The secret to this strand-smoothing and softening sauce is a unique peptide that penetrates to the core of the hair shaft and literally reconnects broken chains of keratin (the protein your hair is made of). Since the hair recognizes this peptide as a natural part of its anatomy (so to speak), it isn’t washed away by water or shampoo—and this translates to long-lasting repair and renewal rather than a temporary fix.

In my world, this is pretty major. However, this isn’t your typical once-a-week deep-conditioning treatment. For best results, the company recommends using it in place of your regular conditioner for the first four to six washes, and then every three to four after that to maintain your hair’s renewed strength. (Each bottle comes with 50 “doses,” which somewhat justifies the $80 price tag.) Just remember, this is a LEAVE-IN product, and it’s best to wait the full four minutes before adding any other product and styling as usual.

And to think this is only the first K18 product… I can’t see what the brand has up its sleeve for 2022!