I am a skincare junkie, guilty as charged. My face has always been a subject of some serious TLC (I have a ten-step skincare routine, what else can I say) but I was never particularly interested in haircare since I was pretty lucky to get good hair genes (thanks, grandma). Well, up until the moment, I bleached the hell out of it.
How did it all start?
For about twenty years, I didn’t do anything with my hair, only cut it a bit a few times per year. Then I started to experiment. I cut it quite short, then decided to let it grow out, then cut it again. I even had bangs (as I write it, I kind of want to try it again). Well, you know how it goes. The problems started when not only did I cut my hair but also dyed it blonde. The stylist did a fantastic job and preserved my hair in great shape. It was me who was not exactly prepared to take care of it. And believe me, it did need care.
My hair has a mind of its own. It can be straight to curly depending on the weather, the amount of water I drink, vitamins I take, even the country I am in, and sometimes I would assume solely on its mood. Sometimes it looks great. Sometimes it looks terrible. And to be honest, you can’t really do anything about it. It’s just how it is. And I am okay with it.
What is Olaplex?
If you’ve bleached your hair if the last few years, you’ve probably heard of Olaplex. Shortly, it’s a seven-step treatment that helps rebuild broken bonds in your hair. No 1 and 2 are used mostly in salons, they are added into your bleach and apparently are doing wonders (I have never tried a salon treatment). Plus there’s an at-home treatment (Olaplex No. 3 to 7) that can be used in your everyday life. It includes hair perfector, shampoo, conditioner, cream, and oil.
My dos and don’ts for taking care of my hair:
- Oil is a must. I use a lot of oils, and I mean A LOT.
- I used to wash my hair every other day with, to be honest, any shampoo. Quite often I would buy something just because I liked the bottle. I am trying to be more careful now and actually look at the ingredients.
- I don’t use a straightener. But sometimes I use the curling iron. Who doesn’t want to have cool, effortless-looking curls?
- I use a hairdryer but always leave my hair a bit wet to not over-dry it.
- I try to get trims every three months. Sometimes I cut my hair myself. You don’t normally hear it, but I even cut my own bangs (from scratch) and I absolutely loved the result. I know, sounds unbelievable but it’s true!
- I use Olaplex No 3 to 6.
Olaplex No. 3 at-home treatment
So how do I do it? I wash my hair, put No. 3 on my roots and brush it down to ends, then I take my time to drink a glass of wine and watch a couple of episodes of Sex and the City. Then I take a shower, wash everything off, using both shampoo and conditioner. Easy.
I don’t know how it works. Honestly, the chemistry of it is way beyond my understanding. But it does work? And the result is visible immediately. Not only that, but it lasts for quite a while.
Olaplex No. 4 and 5
Curious what makes Olaplex shampoo and conditioner so good? Like the in-salon and at-home treatments, the No. 4 shampoo and No. 5 conditioner work to permanently rebuild the damaged bonds in your hair. It’s these bonds that are broken by not only coloring and bleaching your hair, but damage through heat styling and everyday friction—like brushing and towel-drying.
Olaplex No.4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo
Shop No.5 Bond Maintenance Conditioner
Olaplex No. 6 Bond Smoother
The name of this thing is pretty self-explanatory, right? The bond smoother is a cream that, well, smoothes bonds. I take a small amount and just rub it in my hair before blow-drying it. Sometimes after, if I forget. Works just as fine.
Which Olaplex product I would recommend?
As you have already understood, all of their products are great, but No.3 at home treatment will give you the most amazing, fastest, and long-lasting result. Start with that, and if you like it (and I promise you will) you can incorporate shampoo and conditioner in your daily routine later on.
What do I think of quick solutions?
I think it’s an issue that most of us are under the illusion that any problem can be solved quickly and easily, with some new expensive product. The industry makes us believe that we just have to pay and all our troubles will disappear. Of course, it’s different in reality.
Health in general and hair health, in particular, require a few things: patience, determination, and knowledge. Sometimes it’s enough to slightly change your habits, drink more water, start taking vitamins. Sometimes you need to go through a bunch of hormonal tests. And sometimes, if your problem is caused by an outside factor, like bleaching, a hair bonding cream is enough. Everyone is different. And there is really not a single solution for everyone. I got lucky and found something that works for me, effectively and quickly.
Olaplex before and after
I am a little bit vain so I don’t have a lot of picture where my hair looks terrible. But I have plenty of pictures where my hair looks amazing even after godzillion bleaches.
The left image is before Olaplex. The right one is a couple of weeks after starting treatment. It’s harder to see it on the photo, but believe me the hair on the left is not what you want. It was dry and almost flaky.
And this is also clearly after:
Is Olaplex worth it?
I think the answer is pretty obvious. Yes, absolutely!!
It’s not the cheapest option, but if you count ‘cost per wear,’ it’s really not that expansive.
And there is something more important. I think my hair cut and color normally represents my emotional state. I sort of create myself as a person using different aesthetics. Sometimes it just feels nothing but liberating to cut it all off or go all platinum. If one day having a white pixie or black curls will fit my inner self, I’ll go for it because it’s a pretty great feeling to look at the mirror and recognize yourself.
The point is, we are lucky that there are products out there that allow us to do it. And for that, Olaplex has a special place in my heart.
But we must never forget that even though it’s great to look good and to have silky hair or perfect skin, there are so many things that are much more important. And before going onto the surface, we must focus on things that are deep.
I always recommend buying it from Olaplex’ own website to avoid dupes and fakes.
Thank you for posting this! My hair is fried and this gives me hope. Just ordered. Starting on Monday!