In the never-ending quest for luscious, healthy-looking hair, bond repair is the latest buzzword (or rather, phrase) making waves in the hair world. Bond repair treatments have allowed people to try vibrant salon colors and perfect their blowout skills without completely ruining their mane—it’s no wonder we’re all obsessed. But to better understand how bond repair products work their magic, we have to go back to the basics: What exactly is a hair bond?
We chatted with Seattle-based hairstylist Denise Welsh to find out everything you need to know about hair bonding. Keep reading to learn what hair bonds are, the different types of hair bonds, and what breaks and repairs them.
Good hair day by @beeblondor.
What Is a Hair Bond?
As a quick refresher, hair is mostly made up of keratin, a protein that’s also present in your nails and top layer of skin. These keratin proteins are then held together by chemical bonds, which dictate the structure and characteristics of your strands.
“There are actually three types of hair bonds; each behaves differently and serves a different purpose in building the structure of the hair,” Welsh explains. “They are responsible for the hair’s shape, strength, elasticity, and shine.”
Because bonds affect the look and feel of your strands, it’s important to have strong bonds in your hair.
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What Are the Different Types of Hair Bonds?
As Welsh explained above, there are three different types of bonds, each contributing a unique purpose to the composition and strength of your hair strands. Here’s what each bond does, per research published in Cosmetics and Toiletries:
- Hydrogen bonds: These bonds allow you to manipulate your hair's look and feel temporarily (think straightening curly hair with a flat iron).
- Ionic bonds: Sometimes also known as salt bonds, these are also temporary bonds that contribute to the strength and elasticity of hair.
- Disulfide bonds: These are strong permanent bonds that influence the shape and structure of your strands.
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What Can Break or Damage Hair Bonds?
Much like each type of bond has a distinctive purpose, different things can cause each of them to break. Hydrogen and ionic bonds are temporary, making them the easiest to disturb. Welsh says hydrogen bonds can be damaged by heat and water, which is why it’s easier to manipulate your hair when wet or when you’re heat styling. Ionic bonds, on the other hand, are primarily affected by changes to hair’s pH levels. Maintaining an appropriate pH balance with the right haircare products can help preserve the integrity and structure of these hair bonds.
Finally, there are disulfide bonds. These are much harder to break, but when they do rupture, the resulting damage is often permanent.
“Disulfide bonds are broken down by chemicals like coloring, lightening services, and relaxers or perms,” says Welsh.
While hydrogen and ionic bonds can be easier to repair, disulfide bonds require much more intensive, reparative care. This is why we always suggest heading to a salon professional for chemical services like hair coloring and perms. Your stylist will do their best to prevent and repair damaged bonds and send you home with a proper at-home haircare routine.
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How Can You Tell if Your Hair Needs Bond Repair?
The truth is that if you are dealing with any type of hair damage, your strands are likely in need of bond repair. If your hair looks or feels rough, dull, dry, or brittle, or you’re experiencing excessive breakage, your mane may benefit from bond-repairing products.
Welsh expands: “Your hair [may] need bond repair after highlights and coloring services, a chemical service like straightening or perming, using hot tools, or if your hair is brittle and weak.”
When in doubt about whether your hair can benefit from a hair bond treatment, schedule an appointment with a stylist and allow them to guide you.
Good hair day by @samanthasbeautyconfessions.
How Do You Strengthen and Repair Hair Bonds?
Repairing broken hair bonds often requires a two-pronged approach. First, consider hitting pause on the habits that can weaken your hair bonds. Try to avoid bleach, hair dye, chemical treatments, and hot tools as much as possible to help prevent damage from worsening. Next is to arm yourself with hair bonding products. If you’re unfamiliar with bond repair treatments, these formulas typically use acidic ingredients and help address damage from the inside out. They have the ability to target highly porous strands, excessive breakage, and major dehydration from overprocessing or other damage.
There are several bond repair ranges on the market that promise to rejuvenate the look and feel of your locks. We’ll get into a few of our favorite collections below and share some impressive editor reviews to back them up.
Redken Acidic Bonding Concentrate
“Redken’s Redken Acidic Bonding Concentrate line is formulated to help reinforce weakened bonds and provide strength repair,” says Welsh.
This system is made with citric acid, an alpha-hydroxy acid often found in popular skincare formulas and the brand’s Bonding Care complex. It’s designed to help rebuild hair’s strength and resiliency from the inside out. The six-piece lineup boasts a pre-shampoo treatment, a shampoo, and two conditioners—one for thicker hair and one for finer—a hydrating hair mask, and a protective leave-in treatment, which can all be mixed and matched to suit your needs.
Learn more: Redken Acidic Bonding Concentrate Review
Editor’s tip: If you’re not looking to switch up your entire haircare routine, Welsh recommends Redken Extreme CAT Treatment for some quick and easy bond repair. All you have to do is spray it onto damp hair after shampooing and rinse after five to 15 minutes.
Redken Acidic Bonding Curls
Those in need of curl-specific repair should consider the Redken Acidic Bonding Curls collection. The trio, which consists of a shampoo, conditioner, and leave-in, features the brand’s Curl Bond Technology and is specifically designed for textured hair types ranging from 3A to 4C. Together, the system can help restore the pattern of processed, damaged curls and coils for a healthier look and feel.
Learn more: Redken Acidic Bonding Curls Review
Matrix Instacure Build-A-Bond
The Instacure Build-A-Bond range is suitable for all mega-damaged, porous hair types and contains bond-repairing citric acid and strand-softening squalane. When used in conjunction, the shampoo, conditioner, mask, and balm can make hair 8x stronger and 94% smoother with a silky finish. Stay tuned for our full review of the line.*
*vs. non-conditioning shampooL’Oréal Professionnel Absolut Repair Molecular
This innovative collection from L’Oréal Professionnel can be used to restore brittle, damaged hair or strengthen less resilient hair before a major transformation (think bleaching). All four products are made with peptide bonders and five amino acids and work to reinforce hair’s natural structure. While the pre-treatment is salon-exclusive, you can purchase the shampoo, rinse-off serum, mask, and leave-in to use at home.
Editor’s tip: Use L’Oréal Professionnel’s salon locator to try the full system with a stylist in your area.
Learn more: L’Oréal Professionnel Absolut Repair Molecular Review
Biolage Professional Bond Therapy
Biolage Professional Bond Therapy is a bonding haircare line that also provides surface care for damaged, overprocessed hair. Like many other bonding collections, it features citric acid as its star ingredient but has the added bonus of conditioning coconut oil. In the lineup, you’ll find a pre-shampoo, shampoo, foam conditioner (perfect for those with finer hair), traditional conditioner, and smoothing leave-in to repair and condition your hair during every step of your wash and styling routine.
Learn more: Biolage Professional Bond Therapy Review
Good hair day by @beigeandsimple.
Kérastase Premiére
Another culprit of broken hair bonds is hard water in your shower. Hard shower is defined as H2O that contains a higher-than-usual amount of minerals, such as calcium. Repeated exposure to calcium can cause the mineral to build up on your hair shaft, leading to hair bonds that snap or splinter. The Kérastase Première system acts as the antidote to hard water, decalcifying your tresses and aiding in bond repair. If you suspect you have hard water in your shower, be sure to keep Premiére’s pre-treatment, shampoo, conditioner, mask, serum, and oil within reach.
Learn more: Kérastase Première Review
Next Up: How To Manage Damaged Hair In 8 Easy Steps
Interested in a professional bond repair treatment? Use our salon locator to book an appointment at a salon near you.
Header photo credits (left to right): @matrix, @xzoharri, Hair.com
