Editor’s Note: I’m always on the go. Between work, hitting the gym, meeting up with friends, and finding time for myself, I basically neglect everything about my self-care routine–especially my hair. It’s dry, damaged, and looks as stressed as I feel.

What I Expected Out Of K18:

When I heard that there was a magic mask transforming hair in four minutes, my jaw dropped. I needed to know how to get my hands on it, but I also had serious doubts.

Four minutes fit perfectly into my already chaotic schedule, but I think K18 may be underestimating how damaged my hair was. I was a bleaching fiend for a few years and my hair never really recovered. It was fried, falling out constantly, and I definitely wasn’t doing it any favors by using cheap products and hot tools daily.

K18’s Leave-In Molecular Repair Hair Mask uses a patented peptide to reverse years of damage in just 4 minutes. Since the biomimetic peptide travels to the innermost layers of hair (the molecular level where all hair types are the same), it works to repair all hair types. Really—even curly–coily hair!

I liked the idea that you didn’t have to rinse it out after the four minutes, but I was pretty nervous about taking conditioner out of my routine–wasn’t that what gave my hair the tiniest amount of moisture it had left?! But I read that conditioner blocks K18’s biomimetic peptide from penetrating the hair, and that was all I needed to hear. Plus, you can add it after the 4 minute wait time if you feel like it.

I was desperate for a fix – and a four-minute fix sounded pretty great – so I went ahead and ordered the Leave-In Molecular Repair Hair Mask. I kept my expectations low since I currently have endless full bottles of hair products that never worked overflowing in my shower.

What K18 Actually Did:

As much as I would love to say it took me a few times to get behind K18, I’d be lying – after the first use I was hooked.

Taking conditioner out of my routine was actually beyond easy, and needless to say saved me time–bless! Once I got out of the shower I just towel-dried my hair ‘til it was damp, applied one pump of the mask to my hair (even the thickest hair uses just 3 pumps), and let it sit for four minutes. in-and-out-then-back-in-again dance like the other hair masks I’ve used. Once the four minutes were up, I just went on styling!

I could visibly notice a difference after just a few uses of the Leave-In Molecular Repair Hair Mask; my hair was softer, way less frizzy, and it just felt stronger—even my split ends were less noticeable. After using it for about six washes, my hair went through such a dramatic turn-around that now I only use the mask for a boost of strength, softness, smoothness, and bounce when needed. Which is every 3-4 washes for me.

I thought $75 for their full-size bottle was a little steep, but this highly-concentrated formula means you need less to do more. I can’t imagine I’ll need another bottle any time soon—especially since I only use it every 3-4 washes now.

Admittedly, I tried K18 because of the timeframe, but I’m staying for the incredible results. I’ve ditched all the random hair products cluttering my shower, gained at least another 30 minutes back into my routine, and have actually started to have a little bit of me-time—even if it is just for four minutes.

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