Key ingredients: alpha keratin protein, fructooligosaccharides, peptides, beetroot extract, red clover flower extract | Who it’s for: people with thin or thinning hair | Fragrance-free: no | How often to use: once or twice per week
Best Overnight: Aveda Nutriplenish Replenishing Overnight Serum
Why it’s worth it: Your hair is tired, so let Aveda’s Nutriplenish Replenishing Overnight Serum take the night shift. This hydrating treatment is packed with pomegranate seed oil, mango butter, and coconut oil to replenish lipids, mend brittleness, and seal cuticles for added strength and shine. It’s “pillow-proof,” meaning no greasy residue on your precious linens, and the lightweight goodness absorbs swiftly and sticks around for eight hours of hydration while you snooze. Pair it with the rest of Aveda’s Nutriplenish collection, like this matching shampoo and conditioner, for even more hydration.
Key ingredients: pomegranate seed oil, mango butter, coconut oil | Who it’s for: people who want an overnight option | Fragrance-free: no | How often to use: as often as desired
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the benefits of using a hydrating hair treatment?
Here’s the deal—extra moisture leads to healthy hair and softer strands. Mona Gohara, MD, a board-certified dermatologist based in Connecticut, highlights the power of humectants like hyaluronic acid (commonly found in skin care) in hair care. “It revives dry strands and restores softness in just one minute,” she explains. “Just like your skin, your hair loses moisture daily—from heat styling, environmental stressors, and even washing. Without proper hydration, it becomes dry, brittle, and prone to breakage.”
According to Emily Claire, a colorist and Davines educator at Rob Peetoom Salon in NYC, treatments typically fall into two categories. “The first is surface-level cosmetic treatments, like hair masks and leave-in conditioners, that offer temporary shine and softness. The second is bond-building reparative treatments, like K18 Leave-In Molecular Hair Mask and Olaplex No. 3 Hair Perfector, which work at the molecular level to repair serious damage,” she explains. Still, whether the benefits are short-term or long-term, any hydrating hair treatment can be valuable.
How are hydrating hair treatments different from regular conditioners?
“A hair mask [for example] is very similar to a daily conditioner in that it restores the hydration of the hair after shampooing,” New Jersey-based hairstylist Michelle Cleveland told Allure. “However, a mask contains higher concentrations of vitamins, oils, and butters that will penetrate deeper into the hair when left on for longer periods of time than a traditional conditioner,” she said. “The result is a higher level of hydration to the hair which ultimately leads to repairing dry, damaged, and/or dehydrated hair.”