This $8 German Conditioning Mask Completely Transformed My Dry, Brittle Hair

I moved to Berlin at the end of September, which, as anyone who lives here can attest, is pretty much the worst time of year to arrive: You have three lovely weeks of mild temperatures that get you excited to explore the city, then around late October, winter roars in without warning. What no one tells you is that this will also completely eff with your already dry hair. The dark forces of the city’s arid weather, plus severely hard water (no joke, you have to use anti-chalk tablets for your washer), my reliance on Aveda purple shampoo (great for brassiness, but drying as hell), and the cheap cotton pillowcases I bought for my sublet combined to make my relocation a nightmare for my very dyed platinum blond hair.

It wasn’t long after going for my first root touch up that my dry hair began to break and fall out—and we’re talking alarming amounts. Fistfuls. I don’t blow-dry or use heat tools, so it wasn’t like I could cut those out. And Olaplex probably could have solved my problems, but I felt lucky enough to find a hairdresser who spoke English and did a good job of picking up where my old stylist left off, so didn’t bother tracking it down. I started with a product the salon endorsed—a $20 deep conditioner that was meant to tone and hydrate, but it didn’t do much. That’s when I realized I had to re-think everything—and quickly.

On the way back from the gym one day, I stumbled into Rossmann—a CVS-type chain—and I was shocked at the amount of shelf space devoted to winter hair care. The amount reserved for just shampoo and conditioner at a normal American drugstore was here filled with masks, oils, deep conditioners, and other treatments. Sure, France might have the cosmetics we lust after, but Germany is where it’s at for hair care—not to mention it’s all crazy cheap compared to the U.S. I spotted a brand I recognized from home—Schwarzkopf—and the word “intensivkur” on the label sounded exactly like what I needed. Gliss Kur Ultimate Repair 1-Minute-Intensivkur was a one-minute mask that promised total repair for my brittle ends. Sold. And a full-size tube of it cost less than 3 euro (about $3.15).

For a treatment that only took one minute to work its magic, I was surprised at how silky my hair was immediately after my shower—the water is so hard here that it seems like it washes a conditioner’s softness away as you rinse your hair. Plus, the smell, like vanilla and coffee combined, was incredible. The best news of all though: Gliss just launched in the U.S. this year. While the line costs a little more than it does here in Berlin, you can find my very same mask at Walmart for $8 (truly, it’s worth every penny).

But I also needed something that would last me through day three post-wash—the mask’s effects began to wear off around day two, and I’m a three-times a week wash-my-hair kind of girl. I needed something for my no-wash days that built upon what the mask had done. I found it on German Amazon in a three-pack for 3 euro (thank you, holiday flash sales), but you can find it on American Amazon for $18: “Dove Haarpflege Entwirrendes Pflegespray Oil Care Nährpflege.” I thought it meant “miracle in a spray bottle,” but apparently the actual product is called Dove Nourishing Oil Care Hair Therapy Detangler. It rehydrates the hair incredibly well—and makes your hair look noticeably luscious.

After I began using the one-minute mask in the shower, plus the dry oil liberally and daily (applied to damp hair on wash days), everything changed. My hair looks like golden spun thread instead of could-catch-on-fire straw, and it’s back to its pre-dye level of shedding (sigh). I was even allowed to go a little lighter at my last hair appointment.

Since then, I’ve tried a few other hair masks—they sell them here in one-use sizes for less than a euro, which is heaven for a product junkie like me. But nothing works quite as well as this one-two punch. Motto of the story: Germany will both cause and solve all your hair problems—and if you happen to be heading to this side of the pond soon, leave extra room in your suitcase to stock up at the first Rossmann you see.

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