Overnight Hair Treatments For Damaged, Overcoloured Hair: How To Use And Which To Buy

Sometimes going to the hairdresser can feel a bit like a visit to the dentist.

Instead of a new look and a scalp massage, it can end up being a stern look and a telling off.

If you're anything like us - Natasha and Kim of the Yahoo Lifestyle team - the desire to follow hair trends has meant chopping and dyeing and straightening and all sorts, on a regular basis!

Between us, we've been every colour on the spectrum between platinum and purple.

And while we might have looked great from a fashion perspective, our poor locks have gone gradually from thin and dry to damaged, broken and reluctant to stay on our heads.

Gulp.

So what should we do?

Well, given the preaching we've both received from salon professionals, the answer seems to lie in overnight hair treatments.

And apparently we should be using them at least once a week.

This has had us thinking though - are ALL overnight hair treatments worth using, or does the holy grail of hair repair exist only among a precious few products?

We have endeavoured to find out.

The Cheapest Ones

Just about every hair brand worth it's salt will have a "hair masque" of some description.

Unfortunately, we'd suggest that when it comes to treating really damaged hair, it's probably worth shelling out a little bit more.

We won't name names, but often with the more mainstream, cheaper options, they're likely to smell nice and do very little. Bulked out with lots of unnecessary ingredients and occasionally using sulfates and silicones which aren't so good for healthy locks, these products won't provide the solution to your hair's distress.

So Which Ones ARE Worth Paying For?

We decided to take a selection of slightly more expensive offerings and put them to the test, to see which of them we'd suggest for our readers.

Here's what we found out:

Kiehl's Magic Elixir - So this isn't actually advertised specifically as an overnight treatment, but loads of people use it as such. It's great for those with very brittle hair as it's an oil rather than a cream.

I was worred that it would be really difficult to wash out in the morning and my hair would end up looking greasy for the rest of the day but this isn't an issue at all. In fact, my hair was so clean after the wash that I then worried I'd undone all of the good effects of the Magic Elixir by washing it straight back out again!

It doesn't smell as sweet and lovely as some of the others - but rather, it smells a little bit like what you might use to baste a salmon or some veg in, before roasting it in the oven. I didn't mind this, as it happens, but others might.

8/10.

Kiehl's Magic Elixir - £25

Grow Gorgeous - This is lovely. It smells delicious (with scents designed to help you sleep) and doesn’t feel sticky or oily on the hair. It massages in well and was dry, but not crunchy when I woke up.

It only took one wash to get out using "normal-greasy hair" shampoo and didn’t leave any greasiness or residue. And my hair felt super soft and looked shiny and healthy the next day.

No complaints!

9/10

Grow Gorgeous "Overnight To Gorgeous" masque - £21.99

Phyto 'Secret De Nuit'- I absolutely love this one, but you need a lot of it. It is made with about 92 per cent natural ingredients, so no nasty parabens or silicones and it smells absolutely divine.

But the BEST thing about this product is that you don't have to wash it out at all. You spread it through your hair and massage into the ends, then leave overnight. In the morning, it is a little crispy at first, but you have the choice of either washing it out or brushing it through and leaving it in the hair. When brushed, if you haven't used too much, you can totally get away with just leaving it there.

9.5/10

Phyto 'Secret De Nuit - £28

Sachajaun - This felt very scientific and like it was going to seriously mend my hair (might have been the minimalist packaging). It smelt nice - not too heavily scented, but pleasant. I used quite a lot of it on my mid-length hair as it seemed to be thirstily absorbed.

It was a little greasier than others I’ve tried, but wasn’t hard when I woke up.

The first time I used it I felt it left the hair a little greasy, so I washed it out a couple more times when I tried it again and that did the trick. Perhaps not one to use if you’ve got an important meeting and need to look definitively non-greasy the day after.

After a couple of washes I could feel the improved condition of my hair.

7/10

Sachajaun Hair Treatment - £23

Philip Kingsley - I had the 'Elasticizer' recommended to me by top stylists at a salon that specialises in celebrity hair extensions. They see a LOT of extreme damage done by bonded extensions, so they definitely knew what they were talking about.

I didn't think it was quite the "miracle" that it was hailed as, but I absolutely saw a marked improvement in my hair. And, in fact, after consistent weekly use, I ventured back to the salon and was informed by the stylists that they too thought my hair had really improved.

The product works much as the name suggests - by increasing the elasticity of your individual hair fibres, meaning it's less likely to break under pressure.

It takes time to see results, but I would say it was the best value for money.

9/10

Philip Kingsley Elasticizer - £16

Ayumi - This brand does a number of products, as you can see, but they largely hinge on coconut oil. We've extolled the virtues of coconut oil for years now, so it's obviously a great option and coming in at a lower price than the others, it's great for those on a budget.

We used the hair repair oil - It doesn't have the science behind it that some of the other do and, of course, there's an argument for just using pure coconut oil and saving even more money, but it smells nice, it's a very natural option and it's affordable.

6/10

Auymi hair repair oil - £7.99

Hairy Jayne -  One of my favorite hair masks! This is also works as a standard conditioner, so is great if you don’t like piling on the products or mixing up scents. It smells floral and pretty and washes out like a dream with the adjoining product. Plus it leaves no greasiness on the hair and makes it super shiny.

10/10

Hairy Jayne Treatment Conditioner - £8-16

Tips And Tricks For Applying Overnight Hair Treatments

Overnight hair treatments are great, as we've shown and can definitely improve the condition of damaged, overdyed hair.

However, you're only likely to see a marked improvement if you use them properly and in connection with other hair-protecting activities.

Much like exercise only effecting weightloss when coupled with the appropriate diet, so hair treatments must go hand in hand with regular trims and less straightener use.

Tips For Application

• Apply treatments to DRY hair. Towel dried or sopping wet hair means water will get in the way of the product's proper absorption, so you're best applying it to bone dry locks. Pay more attention to the ends than the roots, as this is where the damage will be concentrated.

• Add some heat! Heating the ahir opens the pores and lets the product in. There are a few ways you can do this. Firstly, put a plastic shower cap over your hair to trap the moisture (if you don't have one to hand, you can use cling film). Then either make use of a microwavable cushion (such as this spotty pink one) or, failing that, dampen a small towel, pop it in the microwave for up to three minutes and then wrap around your head on top of the cling film.

• Leave the heat on for 15-20 minutes, then remove the cling film and go to bed.

• When washing out in the morning, aim to shampoo only the roots. The shampoo will wash through the hair when you rinse, so there's no need to rub it into the ends as this will end up stripping too much moisture and conditioner from your hair.

More Than Just A Treatment

Healthy hair is more than just a treatment away.

Overnight hair treatments are a fabulous way of helping the healing process, but they're better used in connection with a healthy hair routine.

• Don't brush too often. And when you do (once or twice a week), do so from the ends up, preferably when you have conditioner in.

• Get your regular trims. I avoided getting my hair cut for about a year and a half or two years, because I was determined that I wanted to grow it out and I thought the need for regular trims was a myth made up by salons to squeeze more money out of us. It was a stupid mistake - my dry, brittle hair only ended up getting more damaged and thinning out. It definitely didn't get any longer either as so much of it was breaking off part way up the hair shaft. Now, I get my hair trimmed regularly (every three months) and already I can tell it seems to get longer MUCH faster and it's definitely thicker.

• Only use shampoos with heavy detergents like sulfates (eg. sodium lauryl sulfate) once every couple of weeks as they tend to strip a lot of moisture out. For more information about this, take a look at our article on sulfate and paraben-free shampoos.

• Yep, you guessed it - limit the use of hair straighteners and heat styling tools. If you're like us, you won't be able to cut them out entirely, but try halving your useage and making sure you use a really good heat protector on the hair first.

And there you have it!

[Multi-Purpose Beauty Products: 9 Versatile Buys UNDER £9]

[Celebrity Favourite Beauty Products Under £10]

Was this article helpful to you? Let us know in the comments!