If you're looking to transform dry, damaged strands, incorporating a hair mask into your routine is one of the most effective ways to restore moisture and shine. For the best results, apply the mask to clean, damp hair from the mid-lengths to ends, allow it to sit for at least five minutes, and rinse thoroughly to reveal softer, healthier-looking hair.
To help you get it right, we connected with Michelle O’Connor, Matrix global artistic director and brand ambassador, to break down exactly how to use a hair mask for healthier, stronger-feeling hair at home. Here’s everything you need to know, including how often to use a hair mask, its benefits, and our must-have formulas for every hair concern. Take notes because hair mask 101 is officially in session.
Key Takeaways
• The Core Method: For the best results, apply your hair mask to clean, towel-dried hair from the mid-lengths to ends. Use a wide-tooth comb to distribute the product evenly and avoid applying it to the roots to prevent weighing them down.
• Frequency and Timing: Depending on your hair’s needs, use a mask anywhere from once a week to every wash day. Most formulas work in just 5-10 minutes, and some can even replace your regular conditioner.
• Choosing the Right Mask: To see real benefits, choose a mask that targets your specific concerns. Look for moisturizing formulas for dryness, bond-repairing ingredients for damage, and smoothing properties for frizz.
Your hair mask questions, answered
Who should use a hair mask?
According to O’Connor, almost every head of hair could use a bit of extra love regularly. If you’re questioning whether you need a hair mask, give your strands a quick feel. If they’re looking a little limp or those split ends are starting to bother you, it might be time to try a treatment on top of your regular system of products.
“The benefits to using a hair mask can include increased shine, improvement in the overall look of hair, and improved texture in hair,” O’Connor adds. Who doesn’t want that?
Your hair mask questions, answered
How often do you use a hair mask?
Depending on your hair type and concerns, you can use a hair mask as often as every wash day or once to twice a week. See what the label of your mask recommends or ask a trusted stylist.
Do you use a hair mask before or after shampooing?
Masking seems pretty straightforward, but there are a few application nuances you should be aware of. First things first, masks should always be applied on wet hair after shampooing (we’ll dive a bit deeper into this below). In general, washing your hair beforehand helps remove impurities and build-up that can prevent your mask from properly absorbing into your strands.
Now that shampooing is out of the way, you may wonder if you should complete your washing cycle before your mask. Questions like, “Do you use hair mask before or after conditioner?” are common salon inquiries. Most of the time, masks are intended for use before conditioner, though exceptions exist. In some cases, heavier masks can replace your conditioner altogether; doubling up on the two can make your locks greasy or weighed down. Read each mask label closely to understand the best possible usage.
Is it better to put a hair mask on dry or wet hair?
As we mentioned, hair masks are applied to hair after shampooing. However, you don’t want your hair to be so sopping wet that your mask slides right off. Experts recommend applying masks to towel-dried hair so the nutrients have a chance to penetrate strands.
Do you wash your hair after a hair mask?
Unless the instructions indicate the formula is a leave-in, you should always rinse off a mask after use.
How to Use a Hair Mask in 5 Easy Steps
Get hair masking just right every time in this five-part routine. Spoiler alert: It can take much less time than you think!
Wash your hair.
Cleanse with a shampoo based on your hair type and concerns. If the mask you use is part of a larger hair care range, use its complementary shampoo to ensure you get the best possible results from the entire system.
Wring out excess water.
After you’ve washed your hair, wring out excess water. You can do so by gently twisting your wet hair with your hands or by blotting your hair with a cotton T-shirt or microfiber towel. If you only have a terry cloth bath towel, carefully blot your hair with it instead of rubbing it back and forth. Terry cloth’s rougher material can create harsh friction against your delicate strands, resulting in frizz or damage.
Apply your mask.
Apply your mask in downward motions to the mid-shaft to the ends of your hair, avoiding the roots. The general rule of thumb is to start with a dime-size amount, but you can add more or less depending on your hair texture and length. Use a wide-tooth comb or your fingers to rake the product through, ensuring even distribution.
Relax and wait.
Play some tunes or shave your legs as you let your mask do its job. 5 to 10 minutes usually suffice (the perfect amount of time to watch a beauty tutorial video) but double-check with the product description. If you want extra spa vibes, wrap a warm towel around your head to help your mask sink in.
Rinse.
When the time is up, rinse every last bit of the product away. For this step, many experts advise turning down the temperature and rinsing with cool (if you can stand it) or lukewarm water. Hot water can dry out your hair. Cool water, however, can help seal hair’s cuticle to lock in all that shine and moisture you just infused into it with your hair mask.
Refocus Your Hair Care Routine With 10 of Our Favorite Hair Masks
If you need hair mask inspiration, here are ten innovative formulas you can shop now from the L’Oréal portfolio of professional brands. If your hair didn’t feel special before, it certainly will now.
Redken Acidic Bonding Concentrate 5-Min Liquid Mask
Best For: All hair types in need of quick, intensive repair and hydration.
The 5-Min Liquid Mask which is part of Redken’s beloved Acidic Bonding Concentrate collection, is crafted with the brand’s highest concentration of Conditioning Care Complex, offering immediate hydration and bond repair on any hair type or texture. Plus, its fluid texture quickly melts into hair, ensuring fast and uniform distribution that won’t weigh down your locks. Sounds too good to be true? Read one editor’s full review on the mask—including some pretty convincing before and after photos.
Redken All Soft Heavy Cream Mask
Best For: Very dry, brittle hair in need of deep moisture and softness.
If running your fingers through your hair makes you a little afraid it’ll all just snap off, it’s time to try a mask tailor-made for brittle strands. Redken’s All Soft Heavy Cream Mask is made with argan oil, formulated to infuse straw-like hair with moisture, and improve softness and shine. Use it daily or weekly—whatever you feel is best. Pair the mask with Redken’s All Soft Shampoo, Conditioner, and Argan-6 Oil for extra soft results.
Kérastase Nutritive Masquintense Hair Mask
Best For: Severely dry hair that needs strengthening, detangling, and shine.
The Nutritive Masquintense Hair Mask is specially formulated for severely dry hair, so it’s a healing treatment for locks that undergo rigorous styling every day. It’s infused with plant-based proteins and niacinamide (B3) and helps strengthen, detangle, and add shine to dry hair.
On a side note, we can’t get enough of the way this hair mask smells. If you’re already a hair mask fiend, you’re probably well aware of the Kérastase’s cult-status formula and scent. The scent is rich, floral, and divine.
Matrix Miracle Creator Multi-Tasking Hair Mask
Best For: Anyone short on time looking for a quick, multi-benefit treatment.
Strapped for time? If you have even 60 seconds to spare, try Matrix’s Miracle Creator Multi-Tasking Hair Mask. This multi-tasking hair mask boasts 20 results and only has to sit on your hair for one minute. It smooths, detangles, controls flyaways, helps prevent split ends, and much more.
“A mask doesn’t have to be inconvenient,” expands O’Connor. “It [takes] you less time than it takes to make a bag of popcorn in the microwave.”
Boost the mask’s 20 benefits long after stepping out of the shower with a few spritzes of the line’s leave-in Multi-Tasking Hair Treatment. You won’t be sorry you did!
L’Oréal Professionnel Metal Detox Mask
Best For: Protecting color-treated hair from hard water and metal buildup.
Is hard water wreaking havoc on your hair color? Mask it away with L’Oréal Professionnel’s Metal Detox Mask. The formula is made with patented technology that helps remove the appearance of metal particle deposits from hard water on your hair, helping protect against metal-induced color fading and maintain the vibrancy of your salon color.
It’s a great detoxifying follow-up to the system’s Metal Detox Shampoo and an ideal precursor to the Anti-Metal High Protection Cream leave-in. Thanks to protection against UV impact, oxidation, and hot tool heat, this leave-in will have you looking like you just touched up your color at the salon—every day.
L’Oréal Professionnel Curl Expression Masks
Best For: Hydrating and defining curly and coily hair.
This one’s for the curls! L’Oréal Professionnel’s Curl Expression collection has two masks designed with curly and coily hair in mind. Opt for the Intensive Moisturizer Mask if you have sensitized curls that need lightweight hydration or try the Intensive Moisturizer Rich Mask if your mane is especially dry or unruly and in need of deep nourishment. Both will hydrate your hair and restore shine and softness, so you can’t go wrong.
Mizani Moisture Fusion Intense Hydration Mask
Best For: Dry or over-processed hair, especially curly, coily, and textured hair types.
Consider this creamy, buttery mask a tall drink of water for thirsty hair. Formulated with cupuaçu butter, argan oil, and honey, Mizani's Moisture Fusion Intense Hydration Mask envelops each strand in rich moisture, helping to restore softness and manageability to even the driest, most brittle hair. It revives the look and feel of your hair without weighing it down, making it a perfect weekly treatment for overworked strands.
Biolage Professional Strength Recovery Deep Treatment Pack
Regarding fragile hair, Biolage Professional’s Strength Recovery Deep Treatment Pack has your back. Vegan squalane, a natural emollient that protects and repairs hair, is the hero ingredient in this rich, creamy mask and helps reduce the look of breakage. When used with the Strength Recovery Shampoo and Conditioner, you can experience up to 3X stronger hair after one use, which means significantly less breakage.
Pureology Hydrate Hair Treatment Mask
Best For: Dry, color-treated hair in need of revitalizing moisture.
Give dry, color-treated hair a serious dose of hydration with the Pureology Hydrate Hair Treatment Mask. This rich and creamy formula is infused with camellia seed oil and vitamin B5 to deeply moisturize and nourish strands, all while protecting your salon color from fading thanks to Pureology’s patented Antifade Complex®. It also features the line's signature aromatherapy blend of lavender, bergamot, and patchouli, leaving hair feeling soft, shiny, and revitalized in just a few minutes.
Shu Uemura Art of Hair Urban Moisture Hair Mask
Best For: Normal to dry hair exposed to urban environments.
With so many hair products available, choosing just one canbe overwhelming for those of us with hair that’s just in the middle. For manes that are neither extremely thick nor thin, neither coarse nor soft, invest in a hair mask for all seasons with Shu Uemura Art of Hair’s Urban Moisture Hair Mask.
It can also protect against environmental pollutants (think dust and smog) that may get lodged in your hair, a major bonus if you work in a busy city. You’ll be glad you showed your hair some extra love with some balanced hydration that’ll make your hair feel silkier and smoother without being weighed down.
Use our salon locator to book a professional hair mask service near you. And check back on Hair.com for all the latest hair trends, tutorials, and advice.
