This $9 Hair Mask Got Me Through a Year Without a Salon Visit

For some, going to a hair salon is like going to church. Multiple times a year, month, or week, you retreat to your favorite hair-dryer-and-finishing-spray-scented oasis. The stylist spreads the good word, and in the end, you leave feeling reborn.

I'm the sort of person who views my hair appointments as a spiritual experience, and the last year has left me feeling like I no longer have a guiding light. Many salons have limited their hours due to the pandemic so that has meant that at-home haircare has pretty much been my only option. Luckily, there are some products that offer results so good that I'm convinced that missing one or two appointments isn't so bad after all. Plus, many of those products come at a fraction of the cost.

Enter: The Pantene Pro-V Soothing Recovery Mask for Unruly, Frizzy Hair. It's a deep-conditioning mask that you apply to your hair after shampooing, work through strands from root to tip with your fingers, and leave in for about five to seven minutes. Upon rinsing and letting your hair dry, you'll find that it's softer, shinier, and looking better than it has been in months. Basically, results that you would get from an in-salon deep conditioning treatment. And all of those results come at a price tag of just $9.

Buy It: $9; walmart.com

If you're not the sort of person who would describe your hair as "frizzy and unruly," don't count this product out. My hair isn't particularly frizzy, but it's quite thick, and tends towards dryness from years of dyeing. This mask adds an incredible amount of moisture, leaving my usually-coarse hair feeling silky and smooth, almost like a totally new head of hair. In fact, when I spread the good word of the Pantene mask to my friends and family, I often compare the results to an expensive salon Keratin treatment. Yes, it really is that good.

Shop the Pantene recovery mask for $9 at Walmart, and let your in-shower spiritual awakening begin.