Care
Care is everything that nourishes, repairs and protects your hair: shampoo, conditioner, masks, leave-ins, oils and serums. While styling determines how your hair looks today, care determines how it will look in six months. Choose based on your hair’s needs, not the brand — dry hair requires something different from colour-treated or fine hair.
A routine doesn’t have to be long. Shampoo and conditioner are the foundation, with a mask added once a week, and a leave-in or oil if your hair needs it. More products are not better — four products used consistently do more than ten used interchangeably.
You won’t see what works in a week. Hair grows about one centimetre a month, so what you do now will mainly show in the section that still has to grow. Judge a product after a month, not after two washes.
And the cheapest improvement isn’t on this list: less heat. A hairdryer setting lower and a heat protectant prevent more damage than the most expensive treatment can repair.