Backman also likes that the serum provides heat protection up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, since “preventing additional damage is particularly important when the individual fibers are already becoming more vulnerable.” The numbers are impressive, but there’s some fine print worth flagging: Oribe reports three times less breakage after one use when the serum is paired with its Strengthening Masque, while the claims of 133% stronger hair and 2.9 times more elasticity come from using the Shampoo, Conditioner, and Serum together for five washes. In other words, “the strongest numerical results aren’t from the serum used entirely by itself,” says Backman. Though getting those headline-worthy results requires committing to multiple products, which can make this a pretty pricey routine to maintain, fans of Oribe’s luxe formulas and signature scent may still find the strengthening results make the splurge worth it.
And one last distinction is worth making, particularly for mature hair. “With aging hair, I think it’s especially important to distinguish hair loss from hair breakage,” Backman says. “A cosmetic serum that isn’t acting like a drug can’t reverse follicular miniaturization or treat an underlying cause of thinning, but it can help hold on to the lengths you have.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Does hair breakage mean I have broken bonds?
Hair breakage doesn’t automatically mean you have “broken bonds,” at least not in the way the term is commonly used in hair-care marketing. “You can define hair breakage as the result of the hair fiber becoming weaker than the forces being placed on it,” says Backman. That weakening can come from chemical treatments, repeated heat styling, UV exposure, brushing, tight hairstyles, rough towel-drying, certain health conditions, or simply the cumulative weathering that hair experiences over time.
Hair itself is a complex structure: Keratin proteins are organized by strong disulfide bonds as well as weaker hydrogen bonds, ionic interactions, and other forces. While damage can involve disruption of these bonds, Backman says it can also involve “loss of cuticle, protein erosion, lipid loss, increased porosity, and the development of tiny cracks and defects in the fiber.” In other words, a strand can eventually snap simply because its protective cuticle has gradually worn away and left the cortex underneath more vulnerable.
What’s the difference between bond builders, proteins, conditioners, and oils?
Bond-building ingredients work within the hair fiber, reinforcing damaged areas or improving how strands handle stress when they’re bent, stretched, or brushed. “The key distinction is that these technologies work within the hair fiber rather than simply coating the surface,” says Dobos. Proteins and peptides can strengthen damaged hair, too, by depositing onto the cuticle or interacting with compromised areas to fill microscopic defects and improve resistance to breakage. The categories aren’t always clear-cut, though: “Some newer peptide technologies blur the line between proteins and bond builders,” Dobos says, and not every protein qualifies as a true bond-building system.
Conditioners and oils generally do more of their heavy lifting at the surface, smoothing the cuticle, adding lubrication, and reducing friction. That might sound less hi-tech, but don’t underestimate a deep-conditioning treatment: “Hair breakage often occurs when fibers snag and experience excessive mechanical stress during brushing, combing, and styling,” Dobos says. By adding slip and making tangles easier to work through, conditioning agents, silicones, and oils can prevent strands from snapping without changing their internal structure. Ultimately, there isn’t a single “best” category—the most effective formulas often combine strategies to support the fiber while protecting its surface from everyday wear and tear that can lead to breakage.
Which ingredients actually strengthen hair versus simply making it feel softer?
“There is an important distinction between making damaged hair stronger and making damaged hair feel better,” says Backman. Bond-building technologies, certain hydrolyzed proteins and peptides, and some polymeric treatments can actually improve a strand’s resistance to breakage or reinforce damaged areas of the hair fiber. These are the ingredients to look toward when you’re talking about strengthening rather than simply achieving softer, smoother-feeling hair.
That doesn’t make conditioning ingredients any less important for preventing breakage, though. Silicones and conditioners such as amodimethicone, dimethicone, behentrimonium methosulfate, and cetrimonium chloride can “dramatically reduce fiber-to-fiber friction and combing force,” Backman says. Translation: If your brush glides through with less resistance, you’re putting less stress on already-fragile strands. Silicones—and some silicone alternatives like squalane—can also form a super-thin lubricating film that reduces friction and protects hair during brushing and heat styling. “This is a legitimate damage-prevention mechanism,” Backman says, even if it isn’t repairing bonds.
How should you treat breakage in curly or coily hair?
Curly and coily hair may require a little extra care to prevent breakage. “Every bend in the fiber creates another potential stress point,” says Backman, noting that tightly coiled hair can be especially susceptible to mechanical damage. Natural scalp oils also have a harder time traveling down a curved strand, which can leave lengths and ends drier and more prone to snapping. For curls and coils, Backman recommends putting extra emphasis on lubrication, conditioning, and gentle detangling, looking for fatty alcohols, conditioners, silicones or silicone alternatives, slip-enhancing polymers, and, depending on your hair’s density and texture, oils and butters. And don’t underestimate the power of slip: Shrinkage and tangling can make aggressive detangling particularly damaging, so “an effectively formulated detangler or conditioner may prevent more breakage in this situation than a bond-repair treatment used as a standalone,” she says.
Meet the experts
- Sherry Backman, a cosmetic chemist based in Brattleboro, Vermont
- Kelly Dobos, a cosmetic chemist based in Cincinnati
- Amanda Lam, a cosmetic chemist at Azelis based in Los Angeles
How we test and review products
We always enlist a range of testers for our makeup vertical, but hair-care products and tools are another story. While there are certainly products that can be used across different hair textures, lengths, curl patterns, thicknesses, colors (natural and unnatural), and needs, hair products are often created with specific consumers in mind. Many are created in order to address a concern (dandruff, breakage, brittleness) or to work most effectively for a specific hair type (4C curls, wavy hair, gray hair). You wouldn’t want to pick up a purple shampoo that’s only been reviewed by someone with, say, auburn hair, or a diffuser that’s never been tested by anyone with curls—right?
For our review of the best products for hair breakage, we enlisted the help of multiple editors, writers, contributors, dermatologists, and hairstylists—all of whom want a deep cleanse without drying out their hair. Testers considered performance across four primary categories: efficacy, texture and experience, fragrance, and packaging. For more on what’s involved in our reporting, check out our complete reviews process and methodology page.
Our staff and testers
A beauty product is a personal purchase. You might be searching for a face cream to address persistent dryness or a new nail product to add to your Sunday self-care routine; you may simply be browsing around for the latest launches to hit the hair market. No matter what you seek or your individual needs and concerns, Allure wants to ensure that you love anything we recommend in our stories. We believe that having a diverse team of writers and editors—in addition to the wide range of outside testers and industry experts we regularly call upon—is essential to reaching that goal.
After all, can we really say a skin-care product is the “best” for people over 50 if the only testers we’ve solicited opinions from folks who have yet to hit 30? Can we honestly deem a high-end diffuser worthy of your hard-earned cash if it’s never been tested on curls? We’re proud that our staff spans a wide range of ages, skin tones, hair textures, genders, and backgrounds, which means that we are able to fairly assess any beauty product that comes into the beauty closet.
