Phyto Phytokeratine Extreme is a rinse-out hair mask formulated for severely dry, brittle, and damaged hair — hair that has lost elasticity and strength from heat styling, chemical treatments, or repeated mechanical stress, rather than hair that's simply a little dry. Phyto builds the treatment around what it calls "botanical keratin," a combination of hydrolyzed corn, soy, and wheat proteins meant to temporarily fill in areas of the hair shaft where keratin has already been lost, since the mask contains no actual animal-derived keratin. Peony flower extract, sapote (Pouteria Sapota) seed butter, and buriti (Mauritia Flexuosa) fruit oil round out the formula for fatty-acid-rich conditioning.
The mask is applied to towel-dried hair after shampooing, worked through mid-lengths and ends, and left on for 5 to 10 minutes before rinsing — it's designed as a fast, intensive treatment rather than an overnight commitment. Phyto describes the formula as containing 85% natural-origin active ingredients, though the base itself relies on synthetic cationic conditioning agents (including dicetyldimonium chloride and distearyldimonium chloride) and the preservatives methylchloroisothiazolinone and methylisothiazolinone, which are known to trigger contact sensitivity in some users. The mask also contains carmine, a red colorant derived from cochineal insects, so it isn't a fit for anyone avoiding animal-derived ingredients.
Because the conditioning base is rich, the mask suits genuinely damaged hair that can absorb that level of richness better than it suits fine or undamaged hair, which may end up feeling coated rather than repaired.
