Redken

Half the products in this range have the word "Acidic" in the name, and that isn't marketing filler. Hair is naturally slightly acidic, and bleach, permanent colour and most shampoos push it the other way, which is what leaves it swollen, rough and prone to snapping. Redken's whole current platform is bringing the pH back down while reinforcing what's already broken. That's the thing to understand before you pick a line.

Acidic Bonding Concentrate: a system, not a bottle

This is the line for hair that's been bleached or coloured to the point of stretching when wet and breaking when combed. It works as a sequence: Pre-Treatment before you wash, then shampoo and conditioner, then Leave-In Treatment and the 24/7 Night & Day Serum. Buying only the shampoo is the usual mistake and the usual reason people say it did nothing. If you want one product from the line, make it the leave-in, not the shampoo. See Damage Repair and Treatments & Masks.

Acidic Color Gloss is a different job from bonding

Easy to mix up with the line above, because the names are so close. Color Gloss is about keeping colour from fading and keeping hair shiny — not repair. Shampoo, conditioner, and the Heat Protection Treatment, which is one of the better heat protectants here if you straighten often. See Color Protection and Heat-Damage Protection.

All Soft for dry hair, Extreme for weak hair

These two get chosen by name and it should be by problem. All Soft is about softness and manageability on coarse, dry hair — shampoo, conditioner, Argan-6 Oil and Moisture Restore Leave-In. Extreme is about strength for fragile hair that keeps breaking. And Extreme Length with biotin — the best-seller in this collection — is specifically for hair being grown long: the point is reducing the breakage at the ends that stops length from ever showing. Pair it with the conditioner. See Shine & Smoothness.

Frizz, brassiness, scalp, volume

Frizz Dismiss and its Instant Deflate oil-in-serum for humidity (Frizz Control). For yellow tones in blonde or lightened hair, Blondage High Bright and Color Extend Blondage deposit violet pigment to cancel them out. Amino Mint for an oily or heavy scalp (Scalp Care), and Volume Injection for fine hair that falls flat (Volume & Lift).

Questions people actually ask

Is this the same as a salon protein treatment?

No, and they're not competing. A salon treatment is a one-off intervention; the Acidic Bonding system is the maintenance that stops the result unravelling over the following weeks.

Can I use purple shampoo every wash?

Usually not. Violet pigment builds up on very light blonde and can read dull or grey. Most people alternate it with All Soft or Acidic Color Gloss and use the purple once or twice a week.

Redken or Olaplex for bleached hair?

Different chemistry aimed at the same problem. Olaplex is the more targeted bond repair; Redken's acidic system is easier to run as a complete routine because the shampoo, conditioner and leave-in are all designed together. If you already own Olaplex, the Redken leave-in still layers on top fine.

Where is Redken from?

Los Angeles. Founded in 1960 and part of L'Oréal's professional division since 1993.

Not sure which line your hair needs? Our team can help you work it out. Or start with the Acidic Bonding Leave-In and browse more in Haircare.