Hair mask heaven: Hask Macadamia Oil Hair Treatment

I haven't had my hair cut or coloured in what feels like forever *sad face* so I'm always on the lookout for a good, nourishing mask to tend to my stressed out tresses. Yes, I know, I know, nothing gets rid of dry, split ends like having a little trim but I can't even afford that at the moment and I'm not very good with scissors... So a mask it must be. 

Hask is an American hair care brand sold in drugstores such as Walmart, Walgreens and Duane Reade, and they currently sell a selection of their products in the UK through Primark. I first came across Hask after hearing a bit about them in the beauty blogging world, and as they're such bargain products I thought I'd give them a go. I was able to find two mask varieties: the Macadamia Oil Deep Conditioning Hair Treatment and the Argan Oil Intense Deep Conditioning Hair Treatment. They retail at £2 each and come in handy, generously filled sachets, with enough in each to last three or four applications on my long hair.  

I decided to try the Macadamia Oil mask first because I haven't used any Macadamia products before. I've had a few Argan oil serums and oils so figured it might be nice to try something new. The product aims to 'rejuvenate dry, damaged, chemically treated or over processed hair' which sounds perfect for my frazzled strands. It contains Keratin to restore strength and Macadamia oil which apparently seals cuticles while making hair super soft and shiny. 

The full list of ingredients is as follows:

To be honest I don't really know what everything actually is, but I can spot Macadamia Nut and Keratin Protein! I really should learn more about the science behind beauty products.. But anyhoo, let's get on with the review. 

I cannot emphasise the following point enough: this mask smells AMAZING. It smells INCREDIBLE. It smells very strongly of nuts, sort of a nutty, sweet, creamy, nourishing smell. If that makes sense?! I pretty much wanted to scoop it out and eat it as soon as I opened the sachet, but obviously that's not advised. I settled for smoothing a large dollop onto my wet hair, concentrating on the tips and working my way up. I didn't put too much near my roots as my hair has been known to do the dreaded oily roots/dry ends combo at times, so I focused mainly on the ends to mid-lengths. The mask has a lovely thick consistency which I tried to capture in the following photo:

I appreciate that the photo may not do the product justice! But I'm hoping it gives a good impression of how thick and creamy it is. It smooths on really easily and the smell is just divine. I was reluctant to rinse it off after the required ten minutes but there's no need to worry as the smell lingers long after rinsing and drying. Phew! 

My first impressions when combing through my damp, towel dried hair with my beloved Tangle Teaser was that my hair felt incredibly soft and easy to comb. Usually I have one or two knots that need a bit of work but my hair was knot free. I let my hair air dry as I'm trying to avoid using heated appliances too often, and once dry my strands felt softer and smoother than before and looked very shiny. They also felt stronger and looked less frizzy. While it isn't a miracle worker in that the ends of my hair are still quite dry and tired looking, it does give a good boost and works as a quick fix if you're in need of a short term glossing effect. In this respect, it certainly fulfills its promises as stated on the packaging. My hair felt in much better condition than it did beforehand, and seeing as each mask only costs £2 I'd say it's definitely worth the money. 

I'll be trying the Argan Oil mask next week and will report back with how it compares. If it smells half as good as this then it's already a guaranteed winner! 

Find out more about Hask here.