Fashion

Have You Been Applying Your Hair Masks All Wrong?

by Madison Fraser

Hair masks are those sort of magical products that seem to do the work for you – or, at least we all thought so. According to writer Samantha Johnson from XoVain, scrunching your hair with a towel before applying a hair mask can make all the difference. If you were previously getting good results just slapping on some product at night, following her technique could be the secret to doubling your results.

Johnson swears that her bleached hair has become "softer and healthier than ever before" after learning this trick at a salon last year. Before applying a restorative hair mask post shower, she takes a small hand towel (that she scooped up for 75 cents from IKEA) and scrunches it dry from ends to roots, rather than leaving to air dry or rolling it up in a normal towel. It may not seem like a lot, but it makes all the difference.

"Scrunching — not rubbing — the excess water out of your hair before applying the mask allows the mask to penetrate your hair more deeply than if you were to just apply it to wet hair," she wrote. After you wait ten minutes, then all you have to do is rinse the mask out and dry as normal.

I'm not sure whether the texture of the specific IKEA towel contributes to the results, but I imagine it has more to do with soaking up the water and that the technique may work equally as well with any sort of small cloth you have on hand. (Besides one made of wool – don't try that).

HÄREN Washcloth (Pink), $2.99 for a pack of four; IKEA.com

Either way, I'm all for this "less tangles, more shine, stronger hair" stuff that Johnson is preaching. If this is what it takes to have Pantene ad worthy hair (AKA, the ultimate #hairgoals), consider me sold.

Here are some bestselling masks to try out with the technique. The writer swears by Davines, but rest assured that there's a product for every girl out there.

For smoothness and shine:

Kiehl's Smoothing Argan Mask, $25; barneys.com

Klorane Magnolia Mask, $24; sephora.com

Living Proof Restore Mask Treatment, $42; sephora.com

For moisture:

Marula Deep Moisture Hair Mask $36; sephora.com

For colored hair:

Davines Minu Hair Mask, $32; barneys.com

For curly hair:

Ouidad Curl Recovery Melt-Down Extreme Repair Mask, $44; sephora.com

Images: Courtesy Retailer (7)