Olaplex Hair Treatment Review + How To Use It

Beauty lovers everywhere have been digging around the internet, trying to find out all they can regarding the Olaplex Hair Repair System, aka, Olaplex Treatments. It has been given RAVE reviews by hair stylists and colorists everywhere; including celebrity hair stylists and famous Instagram gurus. One of the few products to develop a cult following that actually does what it promises! It is a one of a kind system that pairs professional salon products with at home products, to give hair a never before seen makeover.

Great for those who frequently bleach or color their hair: People are now able to color their hair faster and at an enormously healthier rate. Additionally, unknown to many, it is exceptional for those who use hot tools often and those who have lost hair health overall. Take a peek below to learn more about their system and how it can help you both at the Salon and at home!

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Contents

What is Olaplex?

Olaplex is a system that was developed to help hair that has been damaged due to chemical, thermal, and mechanical processes. It is one of the only systems made to help restore or prevent breakage by working with each hairs individual shaft through bis-aminopropyl diglycol dimaleate.

When you color or lighten your hair you are compromising and weakening the keratin molecules found within each hair shaft, which makes your hair brittle and causes breakage. The main ingredient found in Olaplex fixes these broken molecules.

It rejuvenates and helps re-bond the hair shaft by focusing on and fixing broken disulfide sulfur bonds. Olaplex works with your hair to prevent and fill in any holes that can lead to split ends and breakage.

Without throwing a bunch of scientific terms at you, Olaplex works as a fake bridge reconnecting bonds with sulfates. This process makes your hair stronger, shinier and healthier. It takes your hair cuticle from damaged to fixed, working from the inside out.

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How does each Olaplex product work? 

This entire system is meant to be used in effort with your stylist. No 1-2-3 are meant to be used during your appointment at the salon and no 3-4-5 are used by you at home.

They did a great job at making the step by step process match the order in which this treatment system is named as. No 1 should be used 1st, No 2 is meant to be used second, and so on and so forth.

Olaplex No 1 – Bond Multiplier 

This is the first step in the Olaplex process and is used by your stylist during any lightning, coloring or chemical service (like a perm). Works to prevent and repair hair through their signature bonding method.

For Stylists: This is added directly into the color or lightener. More lightener powder can be added to the mix in order to achieve the desired working consistency. I was nervous to add it to color at first because I didn’t want it to ruin the end result, but it doesn’t affect the final color result or lightening result in any negative way. The end color on myself and my clients ends up matching exactly what it is supposed to be.

Olaplex No 2 – Bond Perfector 

The second step in the process, also used by your stylist, is used after rinsing out the color. It is helpful in further reforming the bonds in your hair, making it stronger.

For stylists: this is important, use shampoo to rinse out lightener, but don’t use shampoo to rinse out the color. After you rinse apply this from roots to ends, comb it out to distribute evenly, leave it for ten minutes and then rinse out.

Olaplex 3 – Hair Perfector 

This works as a leave-in treatment that helps repair dry, damaged and brittle hair. IT IS NOT A CONDITIONER. Typically used by your stylist and also by you at home. Hair that is already compromised and damaged can be enhanced with the use of this. Renews the wholesome appearance and overall texture to your hair so that it looks brand-new again.

How to use it – For Both Stylists and At-home Users 

There are a few ways in which this can be used. Can be used in the shower (or before the shower) as a leave-in type treatment. Simply apply roots to end, leave on for 10 minutes and rinse out before you use your shampoo and conditioner. Can be, and should be used with Olaplex No 3 or 4 but can additionally be used with shampoo or conditioner you already use.

It does work on wet, dry or damp hair. It can be used after the shower as a leave-in type of treatment, though this is a personal suggested way to use it and not technically how it is intended to be used. For severely damaged hair use 2-3 times per week and others are good to use it once a week. 

Olaplex No 4 – Bond Maintenance Shampoo

Repairs bonds while gently cleansing your hair, aka its a bonding shampoo. Made to infuse hair with moisture, strength and helps with the manageability of hair. Because it hydrates hair it promotes growth and volume. Beneficial in eliminating frizz and fly-aways, which also includes the little baby hairs that have broken due to the lightening process around your face.

Free from:

  • Paraben
  • Sulfate
  • Phthalate
Meant to be used at home as a regular shampoo treatment. Wash, rinse and repeat!

Olaplex No 5 – Bond Mantience Conditioner 

Restores hair integrity by adding hydration without adding any additional weight that weighs hair down. Those with curls or waves can use this knowing it will eliminate frizz and flyaways without weighing their hair down in a wet poodle look. At the same time, is great for those with straight hair to be able to still get the blowout style they love without compromising any of the volume.

Will add shine and restore hair while still protecting the color you have on your hair!

Just like the shampoo, this is free from:

  • Paraben
  • Sulfate
  • Phthalate

If you are concerned with your all-around hair health then you should be concerned with the brush you’re using. Take a peek at the one brush that will improve your hair health and last you the rest of your life! 


Who should use Olaplex?

Everyone! Especially helpful for those who bleach, color and regularly use hot tools on their hair! Olaplex is suitable for every hair type, texture, color, and style

Additionally, it can be helpful for those who have felt their hair overall start to feel bleak and dull.

Even those who are extra cautious with their hair can benefit from Olaplex becuase everyday environmental factors take a toll on the hair over time and cause damage. It is very important to remember: Just because you can’t see the damage doesn’t mean it isn’t there.

A few of these environmental factors include:

  • Sun
  • Wind
  • Hard water
  • Pollution
  • Humidity
  • Chlorine

Crazy Colors 

Those who are interested in coloring hair a fun color like blue, purple or silver should seriously consider Olaplex. It will get your hair ready and healthy which enables your hair to be ready for the bleaching and color process.

Soft, Smooth and Shine

Those who want soft, smooth and shiny hair can benefit from Olaplex as well. It makes hair feel touchable and lovable again. Having hair shine from your shower products can feel more satisfying than having to use shine serums or sprays; it also takes less effort.

Curl Tamer 

Great for those with natural curls! Olaplex helps eliminate frizz and flyaways leaving your curl with the natural structure it was meant to have.


 

Below you can read about my own personal testimonial with the entire Olaplex system. A key thing to remember is I have my cosmetology license, so I am not only more knowledgeable about the overall system, but I am trained in the application method. I know the science behind hair coloring, bleach, and the overall hair integrity process.


Where Should Olaplex Be Used?

Typically, No 1-2-3 is going to be used at the salon and 3-4-5 are going to be used at home. At your color or chemical service, you may end up getting all 1-5 or you may only get 1 and 2. This will be dependent and your stylist and what they have to offer/what they think you may or may not need.

Salon Treatments 

Those who have natural hair can get an Olaplex treatment which involves using No 1 and No 2 as a stand-alone treatment; meant to close the hair shaft preventing further harm in the form of split ends or breakage. The whole process is essentially a new conditioning treatment and should be done weekly or at the very least once a month! The treatment will breathe life back to hair giving more bounce, shine, and length.

At-home Treatments 

Each salon is different and each hairdresser might suggest using just one of the treatment options or they may suggest the full Olaplex No 1-6. It is going to depend on the service you are getting done and your end goal for your hair health.

If you don’t want to go into the salon to get treatments then I suggest purchasing Olaplex No 4 and 5 as your new in shower hair products, to help get your hair back on track.

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Before Olaplex 

 

Ah yes, welcome to the hot mess express. Before I can get into how Olaplex helped me, it will be useful to know where I started from.

As you can see from this picture my hair is beyond damaged; there are pieces broken, missing and frizzed beyond belief.

I naturally have black hair and through a FULL DAY of bleaching, I was able to get my hair to a white, blonde level. I was both proud of this feat and kicked myself for being so stupid to even try it. Because I have my cosmetology license, I knew my hairs overall health could handle it, but dealing with the damage was a bigger pain in the butt than what I had wanted.

I used Olaplex No1 and No 2 through the coloring process with a purple bleach. Without Olaplex I would not have been able to do what I did. I did 3 separate all over bleaching processes and it took me literally a full day. While I did damage my hair I knew it was strong enough to bounce back.


After Olaplex No 3 Treatment and 1 Toning Process 

After about 2 weeks of using Olaplex No 3, I was able to get my hair to a state where I could go back in and tone it. If I would have tried to tone it directly after bleaching my hair would have fallen out all over, literally.

My hair needed the No 3 treatments to build itself back together a bit or I know it would have broken and fallen off my head. Toning hair is a bit harmful because you are messing with the integrity of your overall hair, including your hair molecules, which can be risky and can, in fact, be damaged to the point of no return. When you tone your hair you are lifting color from the hair shaft and filing it in with a toning color.

If you look at this picture here you can see my blonde is a more of an even blonde tone, with the purple gone at the roots. While the even color tone was a huge plus for me, if you look closely you can also see I have major breakage issues at the top and bottom of my hair. You can practically see thru my hair which is never supposed to happen; even if you have fine hair it should be a sturdy hair shaft. My thinning, weak hair was a total negative. I continued on with my Olaplex 3-4-5 routine and waited a bit before I went into tone my hair for a second time.


 

3-4 Weeks After Olaplex No 3-4-5 and 1 More Toning Treatment

As you can see from these pictures my hair isn’t perfect, however, you can also see it is on it was on its way to being repaired even more. It had stopped breaking and falling out, thank god, and it started being restored to the point where it was more full again.

While this might still look quite broken to some of you, the fact is it was a million times better than it was the previous month before.

 

 

As you can see, my top baby hairs stopped breaking off and the bottom was more full again. I was able to wear it down and didn’t have to hide it by curling it anymore or wear it up in a top-knot.

These pictures show what it looked like being washed, dried and slept on. Yes, it is still slightly damaged, but it was healthier 10x faster than if I wouldn’t have used the Olaplex hair care system.

The pictures are also taken in a bathroom with ZERO natural light so it looks duller than what it did when I was out in the natural sunlight!


2 Months After Olaplex No 3 – No 4- No 5

Yes, the results really do speak for themselves now. My hair not only became healthy again, but it started to really grow out. I can’t make this shit up, pictures don’t lie!

My hair was shiny and healthy! I was no longer afraid to comb my hair out after the shower, in fear half of it would break off. I was confident every time I used a hot tool on it that it wouldn’t sizzle and fall off and my hair continued to grow as I continued to use the hair care system.

My hair not only looked polished, but it felt moisturized and hydrated. With a little bit of a heat protecting serum, I was good to go! It’s like the original damage never even happened.


After Olaplex Picture

After the 2 month mark, I started using the Olaplex system in a combination with purple shampoo to really get that white look I wanted so much.

I didn’t wash my hair every day so I used Olaplex No 4 and Olaplex No 5 on one wash day and then a purple shampoo and conditioner combo on my next wash day.

On days I used my purple shampoo and conditioner combo, I would still use the Olaplex NO 3 as a leave in treatment. It was beneficial in rebuilding my hair and works great a detangler.

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Hair Tips

If you are still unsure if Olaplex is right for you, ask yourself if you are planning to:

  • Change up your hair color within the next few months
  • Have recently changed your hair color
  • Are you a heat styling addict
  • Have gotten a perm or straightening treatment recently

If you answered YES to any of the above questions, then you NEED to look into Olaplex now!

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