Our hair is quite resilient, especially considering all the torture we put it through in order to get our desired style. From hot tools to hair dyeing, it’s clear why we might end up with fried, dry, frizzy hair. How to heal the hair and restore its smoothness and shine is not so clear, however.
That’s why I tried out two viral hair treatments that both claim to repair damaged hair and restore its smoothness. The catch? One is $75 and the other is only $10.
Ahead, learn about the difference between K18’s Leave-In Molecular Repair Hair Mask and L’Oréal’s 8 Second Wonder Water Lamellar Rinse and which might be worth it for you and your hair.
K18 Leave-In Molecular Repair Hair Mask vs. L’Oréal Elvive 8 Second Wonder Water Lamellar Rinse at a glance
The leave-in treatment is easy to use and makes a noticeable difference, leaving hair smoother and softer. K18 is a top pick for damage repair, but it comes with a luxury price tag.
This award-winning rinse-out treatment acts fast to restore strength and shine to damaged hair.
Quick comparison
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K18 Leave-In Molecular Repair Hair Mask
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| Size | 1.7 fluid ounces |
| Formula | Cream |
| Treatment | Leave-in |
| Key ingredients | K18 peptide |
| Benefits | Damage repair, smoothing, softening |
| Fragrance | Jasmine and peony |
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L'Oréal Elvive 8 Second Wonder Water Lamellar Rinse
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|---|---|
| Size | 6.8 fluid ounces |
| Formula | Liquid |
| Treatment | Rinse-out |
| Key ingredients | Lamellar water and amino acids |
| Benefits | Damage repair, smoothing, detangling, shine-enhancing |
| Fragrance | Peach, coconut, mandarin, vanilla |
Different formulas, similar benefits
When it comes to damage repair, there are several ways to treat the hair. Bond building formulas, like K18’s Leave-In or the popular Olaplex No. 3, strengthen the protein chains that hair fibers consist of. When the bonds are broken — whether from heat damage, chemical processing or other factors — this can result in visible changes to the hair’s shape, elasticity or strength. The K18 Leave-In is especially great for chemical- or color-treated hair because it targets disulfide bonds, which are broken by those processes. And since it’s so concentrated, you can skip the conditioner when you do the K18 treatment.
Lamellar water originated as a Korean beauty innovation that has become widespread for its reparative ability. The water-soluble treatment is lightweight and easily penetrates damp hair in the shower. Like bond repair treatments, it’s best for dyed, damaged hair, but anyone can benefit from it. It’s made with hydrating ingredients and amino acids that treat the damaged part of the hair, filling the hair cuticle and restoring smoothness and shine. As the lamellar water is activated, it can cause a warming sensation that is actually kind of pleasant. Since it’s a rinse-out treatment, it can be used a couple of times a week and isn’t a replacement for traditional conditioner.
I found both products easy to incorporate into my hair care routine. The K18 is nice because it essentially replaces the conditioning step, and you apply the cream to towel-dried hair once you’re out of the shower. After letting it penetrate for four minutes, you can add your other preferred styling products on top of it and either air-dry or blow-dry your hair.
Likewise, the Wonder Water was just as easy to apply in the shower. I like that you can feel the liquid formula working as it warms up your strands, and you only have to leave it in for eight seconds. If you have super-dry hair, you can also use your regular conditioner after rinsing out the lamellar water.
Easy-to-measure doses with L’Oréal’s bottle
Figuring how much product to use can be a guessing game that can skew results the first time you try a product. Too little and you might not feel a difference at all, too much and you might feel product buildup on your strands. I appreciated the measuring marks on the back of the Wonder Water bottle that easily let you gauge how much product you’re using. It’s recommended to use one dose for fine to medium hair and two to three doses for thick to curly textured hair. I have medium-thick hair that tends to feel coarse, so I met in the middle and tried one-and-a-half doses for my first treatment. After I styled my hair post-treatment, it looked noticeably smoother.
With K18’s Leave-In, it took a bit more trial and error to get the right dosage. The directions say to start with just a dime-sized amount of the product, which is about one pump. According to the brand, two dime-size amounts is the average usage because the formula is so concentrated. I tried out applying just one pump, focusing the application from the middle to ends of my hair since my major concern is split ends from heat damage. This wasn’t enough, though, and I didn’t feel any difference at all after the first use.
My next wash day, I used two-and-a-half pumps, since I have waist-length hair and felt that I needed to get more coverage from the product. This time, after styling my hair, it felt noticeably smoother and looked it too.
L’Oréal’s formula might make your hair feel dry — but that’s not a bad thing
While the goal of both products is to make your hair smoother, stronger and healthier, already-healthy hair or minimally damaged hair might not experience the same results. With K18’s formula, if there aren’t broken bonds to repair, you won’t feel a dramatic difference.
The second time I used the Wonder Water, which was five days after my first use, I didn’t get the same smoothing results. My hair felt drier and a bit stiff. I did some sleuthing and found that protein overload might be the cause.
Since lamellar water is water-soluble, it will still penetrate the hair cuticle when applied to wet hair and deposit its proteins. If your hair isn’t very damaged, these extra proteins can “overload” your hair; if you’ve done other protein treatments, you may experience protein buildup, resulting in hair that feels dry or brittle. So if you experience this instead of the smooth, shiny hair you’re after, it’s likely that your hair just isn’t the best candidate for lamellar water and you may want to try a bond-building treatment or adding moisture back in with a conditioning hair mask instead.
Going forward, I’m spacing out my Wonder Water treatments to every two weeks to avoid this.
Bottom line
For severely damaged hair, both products are worth a try. If you’re after a quick fix, I would start with the Wonder Water, especially since it’s a fraction of the price. Its fast-acting formula is patented by L’Oréal, so you won’t get the same results elsewhere. The lamellar water is easy to use and you can adjust your treatment as necessary.
I will note, however, that my results with the Wonder Water didn’t feel as long-lasting as those with K18’s Leave-In. The day after I used the Wonder Water, my hair felt back to normal. With K18, the smooth feeling lasts until my next wash. Because it is such a concentrated treatment, I think it’s best for a long-term plan to restore hair health.