Best Hair Masks for Color-Treated Hair

Coloring, and lightening especially, changes the structure of the hair. Lightened hair is more porous: it takes on water quickly, loses moisture quickly and breaks more easily. A good mask addresses one of three needs, and choosing the right one starts with knowing which your hair has.

• Strength: hair that snaps, stretches when wet or feels gummy. Look for bond-repair or protein treatments.
• Moisture: hair that is dry, rough or frizzy but not breaking. Look for hydrating masks with oils and butters.
• Tone: blonde that has gone warm between appointments. A toning mask deposits a little color while it conditions.

How we chose

• The brand lists the mask as safe for, or made for, color-treated or chemically treated hair.
• Currently sold, checked on the brand's own site.
• A mix across strength, moisture and tone.

At a glance

1. K18 Leave-In Molecular Repair Hair Mask

K18 is built around its own peptide, applied to shampooed, towel-dried hair without conditioner, left for four minutes and not rinsed out. The brand lists it as color-safe and says it targets damage from bleach, color, chemical services and heat. K18 recommends using it for the first four to six washes after a salon service.

Good for: lightened hair in the weeks after a big blonde appointment. Brand page

2. amika the kure intense strength repair mask

amika's mask combines what it calls bond-fortifying technology with borage oil, shea and mango butters and sea buckthorn. It is a weekly ten-minute treatment, and amika says it is clinically tested safe for color-treated hair.

Good for: hair that needs both strength and moisture. Brand page

3. Briogeo Don't Despair, Repair! Deep Conditioning Mask

Briogeo lists this mask as safe for color-treated, keratin-treated, chemically treated and relaxed hair. Its formula includes B-vitamins, rosehip and argan oils, algae and biotin, and the brand says it is 98% naturally derived. Use it weekly or every two weeks.

Good for: anyone who prefers a mostly naturally derived formula. Brand page

4. OLAPLEX Rich Hydration Mask

A hydration mask with avocado and shea, which OLAPLEX lists as color-safe and suitable for chemically treated hair. It is meant for medium to coarse hair and is used weekly for three to five minutes. It replaces the brand's discontinued Nº.8 mask.

Good for: thick, dry, lightened hair. Brand page

5. Moroccanoil Restorative Hair Mask

Argan oil and proteins in a five-to-seven-minute treatment with no heat required. Moroccanoil says it reduces damage caused by chemical treatments.

Good for: a classic, reliable repair mask. Brand page

6. Moroccanoil Platinum Color Depositing Mask

Not a repair mask: a toning one. It deposits temporary cool color while conditioning, to refresh an icy or cool blonde between salon visits. Moroccanoil says it is for light-to-medium blonde hair and is not formulated to color grays.

Good for: cool blondes stretching the time between glosses. Brand page

How often to use a mask

• Once a week is right for most colored hair. Follow the brand's timing.
• More often right after lightening, when hair is at its most fragile.
• Less often if hair starts to feel heavy, limp or coated. That is a sign you are overdoing it.
• Rinse cool afterward, which helps the cuticle lie flat.

A mask supports color; it does not repair a formula that went wrong. If hair is breaking badly after lightening, stop heat styling and talk to your colorist before the next appointment.

Pair a mask with the rest of a color-care routine: how to make balayage last, the best purple shampoos for blonde hair and the best heat protectants for beach hair. For the color itself, see color and blonding.