Give Your Hair A Facial With This DIY Recipe

Maybe it's the Polar Vortex, or maybe it's just that we used our curling irons one too many times, but our hair is looking wrecked right now. Frizz, breakage, dullness, split ends — we've got them all.

We've slathered our locks in oil, heaped on the masks, and turned our blowdryer settings down to low, but nothing seems to be helping. Well, just as your skin sometimes needs a little extra TLC, so too does hair benefit from extra pampering. Surprisingly, that respite comes in the same form for both: a facial.

The secret to what makes a facial so effective — the steam — can also work wonders on your frazzled locks. Salons around the world are catching onto the practice with intensive micro-mist technology treatments for your hair. By exposing dry, coarse, or unruly hair to a high concentration of moisture molecules, the steam breaks open the surface layer of your hair, locking luster in to even the most ravaged winter mane.

The best news: You don't have to go to a salon to get the benefits of this treatment. Just as you can steam your face at home with a bowl of hot water and a towel, so, too, can you give your hair an at-home steam treatment.

To start, you'll want to choose a mask or treatment. We're particular to Josie Maran's Argan Hot Oil Self-Heating Hair Treatment (great for overstyled and chemically processed hair) and Phyto's PhytoSpecific Ultra-Smoothing Mask (smoothes and softens hair like no other and boosts your color and shine in the process). Wash your hair and towel dry it, then apply your mask of choice.

Next, fill a large pot with a generous amount of water and put it on the stove, heating it up for three to five minutes. You could also fill a bowl with water and stick it in the microwave, if that's easier for you. Being extra careful not to burn yourself, submerge a towel in the hot water.

Grab the towel from the water (you might need to use protective gloves) and wring it out so it is not sopping wet. Once it's cooled enough that you can touch it to your skin without burning yourself, wrap the towel tightly around your hair and then pop a shower cap on.

Let the treatment sit for 10 to 15 minutes, then remove the cap and towel, and rinse the mask out of your hair. Boom. Your locks will be soft, supple, and shiny enough to see your reflection .

Josie Maran Argan Hot Oil Self-Heating Hair Treatment, $36, available at Sephora; Phyto PhytoSpecific Ultra-Smoothing Mask, $39, available at Ulta.