Here Are 5 Really, Really Good Hair Treatments That Also Happen to Be Vegan

Deciding what beauty products to spend your hard-earned cash on is like dating - we all have our own list of boxes to be ticked.

Do they look nice? What are they promising? What do people say about them? Do your friends like them? What do your family think? How expensive are they? Are they ethical? Will they look good in your shower?

We're still talking about beauty products, right? Good.

In 2024, we've never been more conscious of what we're putting on our faces and bodies, including our hair. And for many, that means making the switch to cruelty-free and vegan hair care products. But... do vegan hair products actually work?

Short answer: YES. Especially vegan hair treatments and vegan hair masks, which is great news now most of us are spending a lot more time on self-care than we used to allow ourselves.

Whether vegan sits at the top of your must-be list or is a very welcome added benefit, we've rounded up five particularly great vegan hair treatments we're loving at the moment. You're welcome.

Side note, we share some top tips on choosing the right conditioner for your hair type in this YouTube video below!

The Best Vegan Hair Products in Australia - Masks & Treatments.

1. The Vegan Hair Mask for Coloured Hair.

Colour and toning treatments are all about refreshing and revitalising your colour at home between salon visits. As hair gets washed, exposed to the sun and styled with heat, the colour starts to fade or change.

A colour or toning hair treatment neutralises brassiness, revives your blonde (or brunette or red!), brightens up your highlights, and gives your hair that glossy shine you see in hair commercials. Hands down, they are some of the best vegan hair treatments we stock for highlights.

Our pick:

Mr. Smith Blond

Why it's so good:

One of our favourite vegan hair masks for coloured hair, Mr. Smith Blond is a toning treatment in a bottle. As an added bonus, it’s also a great vegan hair protein treatment, containing wheat proteins to strengthen hair.

The vegan hair treatment contains blue-violet pigments that counteract any brassiness and unwanted warm tones for a cooler, ashier colour. And yes, while the name may call out to blondes, Mr. Smith Blond also works well on brunette hair.

Made in Australia from locally-sourced and naturally-derived ingredients, it includes almond, lavender and orange peel oils to calm the scalp, and wheat protein to strengthen and repair damaged cells.

Designed to be used in between your shampoo and conditioner steps, apply to hair and leave for 30 seconds to three minutes depending on your hair porosity and the level of toning you’re after. Then, rinse and admire the results of this fabulous vegan hair mask.

2. The Ultra Hydrating Vegan Hair Mask.

Perfect for dry, frizzy, heat-damaged or bleurgh hair, a hydrating vegan hair treatment can help bring it back to life.

Like a big glass of water (or eight) for your strands, it can help control frizz, nourish dry ends, and keep hair soft and healthy-looking for longer.

Plus, it's also a great vegan scalp treatment for those with dry scalps!

Our pick:

O&M Seven Day Miracle Moisture Masque

Why it's so good:

This cruelty-free (and PETA-approved) intensely hydrating moisture masque is perfect for dry, damaged, flat and heat-damaged hair. Designed to replenish your stressed or dry hair with a unique blend of Australian native oils, it’s a vegan hair mask that can be used by all hair types.

Key ingredients include:

• Macadamia seed oil and certified argan oil to intensely hydrate.

• Rapeseed for added hydration.

• Natural silica to add shine and gloss.

• Vitamin E.

• Vitamin B5.

Best used once a week, apply after shampooing and conditioning and leave on for 10 minutes for a deep conditioning treatment.

3. The Vegan Hair Protein Treatment.

Protein hair masks and treatments are the quiet achievers in the haircare world.

They aren't showy and shiny like hydrating masks - nah, they're too busy rebuilding your hair from the inside for that. That's why we love vegan protein hair treatments like this.

If you have super dry or frizzy hair that needs extra nourishment, a leave-in protein hair treatment gives you the extended benefits of a hair treatment as rinsing off too early means you don’t reap the rewards of the super hydrating ingredients. It helps keep hair silky, protected from damage, and - good news - reduce tangles, too.

Our pick:

VIRTUE Un-Frizz Cream 60ml

Why it's so good:

Another of our favourite vegan hair styling treatments comes from VIRTUE.

Put all your concerns about dull, flat hair aside - the nourishing creme is lightweight and instantly melts into your hair so it won’t pull down your strands. This vegan protein hair treatment smooths frizz, fights humidity and helps repair any damage to the cuticle causing frizz in the first place for sleeker strands.

Perfect for frizzy-prone, humidity sensitive, curly, coily and wavy hair types, this vegan hair product is also safe and suitable for colour and chemical-treated hair.

Key ingredients include:

• Patented Alpha-Keratin 60ku to help rebuild and repair hair strands - derived from ethically-sourced human hair, which is more effectively used by the body compared to animal sources of keratin.

• Pink pomelo to provide nutrients like vitamin A, C, B1, and zinc.

• Phospholipids to help fight frizz and protect against humidity.

• Gotu kola to support hair strength and smoothness.

Oh, and as you can see above, Drew Barrymore is a big fan of this vegan protein hair treatment too!

4. The Best Vegan Hair Mask All-Rounder.

Consider this vegan hair mask a multi-tasking hair saviour.

This kind of vegan hair treatment is perfect for when you’re short for time and want all the good things in one hit, or if you have a few concerns you’re trying to target.

Our pick:

Coco & Eve Super Nourishing Coconut and Fig Hair Masque

Why it's so good:

A five-in-one treatment, the Super Nourishing Coconut and Fig Hair Masque promises soft, shiny, hydrated and strengthened hair.

Inspired by the nourishing powers of Balinese coconut, this vegan deep conditioning hair mask fixes hair from the inside out. It conditions, hydrates, treats split ends and gives noticeable results after just one wash.

Cruelty-free and 100 per cent vegan, the hair masque is designed for all hair types - yes, that includes coloured hair - and is free from parabens, sulfates, phthalates and gluten.

Apply to towel-dried but still damp hair in place of your normal conditioner. If you've got dry hair, you can use this up to three times a week, while normal hair types benefit from just one to two weekly uses of this gorgeous vegan hair mask.

5. The Priming Pre-treatment.

If your hair is dry, brittle and has been compromised, a vegan hair mask or shampoo pre-treatment will help bring your hair back to life.

In terms of where it sits in your routine, it goes in before masks and shampoos and primes the hair for further conditioning and treatment products.

As far as good vegan hair products go, this one is an absolute winner.

Our Pick: Olaplex No.0 Intense Bond Building Treatment

Why it's so good:

Want to get the most out of your classic Olaplex Hair Perfector No.3 Home Treatment? This vegan hair product makes it so much better.

The Olaplex No.0 Intense Bond Building Treatment is a pre-treatment primer that should be applied to dry hair 10 minutes before using your No.3 Treatment.

Not only does it boost the efficacy of other Olaplex products, but it works to strengthen hair on a much deeper level.

Plus, it can be used on all hair types every time you use your Olpaplex No.3 Home Treatment Mask!

Vegan Haircare - What Makes It Vegan?

For a beauty product to be vegan, it must not use or contain any animal-derived ingredients. Some common animal ingredients or animal-derived ingredients include honey, beeswax, lanolin, collagen, carmine and gelatin.

What about cruelty-free beauty products, are they vegan? Often, but not always.

Cruelty-free means a product is not tested on animals. While most vegan brands don't test their products on animals, it's not guaranteed unless they have the cruelty-free symbol. Same goes for cruelty-free products being vegan.

Now, all that's left to do is choose the vegan hair product that best suits your hair needs... Like these hair masks perfect for damaged hair...

Because life's too short not to have great TV commercial hair and a guilt-free conscience, right?

Want more hair care product recommendations? Here are some great stories from our Adore Beauty team!

• Meet the New 'Plant-Powered' Bond Repair Hair Mask 6 Years in the Making

• The 8 Best Hair Masks for Damaged Hair

• This Blonde Haircare Routine Legit Saved My Brassy Platinum Blonde Hair

• We Need to Talk About This Hair Curler That Requires Zero Skill to Master

• The 11 Best Hair Treatments for Bleached Hair