It all started with Olaplex and now every brands is coming out with their own spin on the bond repairing. I, as a 2B wavy girl, was very curious about the bond repairing products and this new Inkey List addition just tilted me enought to buy it and see for myself how these work.
The Inkey List PCA Bond Repair Hair Treatment is a bond repairing spritz suitable for all hair types but best for damaged, bleached, dyed and heat styled hair. It's a lightweight spray that helps to strengthen and protect the hair. It comes in a aluminum 100ml bottle with a spritzer and it retails for 13 Pounds. I bought mine on Cult Beauty.
The formula contains Granrepair Powerbond® which is clinically proven to be helpful in repairing damaged hair from within the hair shaft. There are three types of bonds in the hair and this product says to repair hydrogenic and ionic bonds which can be damaged by bleaching, dyeing the hair and also heat. It also protects disulphide bonds from damage. It can act as a heat protectant too and it also contains an ingredient that helps against damage from UV rays.
The application is fairly simple, you just spray it on freshly washed hair as a leave-in treatment. You should shake it well before using and cover your hair with it (not the scalp) focusing on damaged areas. There are 4-6 sprays suggested for short, fine hair and 6-10 sprays for long, thick hair.
You may or may not know that I do the Curly Girl Method with a couple modifications and I do want to look at how this products works with CGM. It does contain protein in Aquarich® which contains a lot of amino acids. It also has pea protein in the ingredients. The formula contains water-soluble PEG-12 dimethicone and also amodimethicone which is accompanied by the important ingredients which make it water-soluble as well. Therefore there are no "forbidden" silicones in the formula if you're fine with using water-soluble ones.
First time using
I usually style my hair and use leave-in treatments just as I get out of the shower which means that my hair is usually very wet/dripping and my hands are usually a little wet as well. That turned out to be a big problem because the spray is impossible to press fully with wet hands, it just cannot be done. It's a very fine mist and I like that because I can apply it to my hair right from the bottle but it's really hard to manipulate.
Eventually I made it work and sprayed the product all over my hair. It didn't feel like anything and it didn't really seem to weight my hair down at all. It's basically a water in terms of consistency so I believe it should be perfectly fine to use if you have very fine hair. In terms of the feeling of my hair, I didn't really notice much difference. The washday was pretty good and I liked the results but with the amount of products I use each washday it's quite difficult to say which product causes what. The waves were forming quite easily though so I think that this product could have a little effect.
Month of using
I decided to use this treatment for multiple wash days to see if I notice any difference with different product combinations. I had a great success right after I had my highlights done and my hair was very tired from all that bleach. I was pretty sure that it will take me a milion years to revive those curls but the Giovanni Nutra Fix Repair Mask and this leave-in treatment brought them to life after the first wash day. I was very impressed. Especially by the front pieces that have been cut a lot. I sprayed quite a bit of that treatment on those and they curled like never before.
I came to the conclusion that my hair is very needy when it comes to protein and since this product has the pea protein which is very strong and also some amino acids which my hair loves...it just leads to better definition and better protein/moisture balance in my hair. Now it's winter and my hair really need proteins every wash day in majority of the product so this is a very nice leave-in I can add to any other product because it's very thin and I can partially adjust my routine by using this protein and repairing boost.
Final thoughts
Overall I feel like this product is one of my favorite from the Inkey List's hair range. As I said, my hair need protein big time because it's bleached and quite often colored and toned. It's also very strong and thick but it still needs a lot of care and protein to make up for that damage.
By itself this treatment doesn't do quite enough for my high porosity hair so I like to use it with combination with my other leave-in conditioners. It has a lot of protein so I use it more as a "booster" to my other products and I don't swap out creams or other leave-ins and replace them with the PCA Bond Treatment. It has very thin and lightweight consistency so if you have very fine hair you might be able to use it by itself. But my hair is very thirsty and high porosity so I need something extra with this treatment.
That being said I think I can feel a difference when I use it, similar to when I use the right amount of the right types of protein. It usually means more definition for me and better curl pattern. If you're looking for something very lightweight, protein heavy and repairing then this is a great and affordable product for you. If you want to add more protein into your routine, this is a nice product you can mix with other that is going to help you hair get that protein. Another great usecase is if you're looking to repair your hair after some heat damage or color treating. Overall I like this product and I will continue to use it in my routine and I think it's perfect for the winter as my hair demands protein a lot more.
Have you tried The Inkey List haircare? Let me know in the comments and thanks for reading!