Summer’s here and with it comes endless laps in the pool which is a great form of exercise but with it comes some downs such as the pathetic condition of my rebonded Hair and my need to keep visiting the salon for hair spas and treatments.
To begin my hair troubles, I have extremely frizzy and unmanageable hair which has been difficult to groom and manage till 10 years back when smoothening came to India and since then I have treating my hair to these chemicals though only once a year. For the last few years, I have stuck to only rebonding and in spite of hair spas and treatments done every 2-3 months I have only felt the difference within the first week of the treatment. I have always felt that all hair treatments and conditioners do is make it feel and look better temporarily. If you stop using the treatment your hair will feel damaged again.
I have heard about Olaplex from friends living outside India but never had the opportunity till recently when I was invited by Bodycraft to try this product for my damaged hair. From what I have heard Olaplex aims to treat the bonds of your hair especially hair damaged from regular bleaching, colouring, dyeing, rebonding etc. It is not a color and not a lightener. If you decided to colour your hair then it is supposed to be an add-on to the color and to the bleaching mixture which the colorist uses to avoid hair damage.
WHAT IS OLAPLEX?
Olaplex is a bond multiplier invented by Dr. Eric Pressly, PHD and Dr. Craig Hawker, PHD, a nationally recognized and well-respected scientist who was focused on molecular engineering. When your hair goes through chemical treatments of any kind, the sulfur bonds in the hair split and turn into sulfur hydrogen which eats away at the hair protein. In simpler terms, your hair gets extremely damaged, dry, and hay-like. However, if Olaplex formula is added to the treatment, it prevents splitting by linking broken bonds in your hair. Olaplex bonds and seals the hair.
Olaplex repairs even the most bleached and frazzled locks and restore them to their former glory.The wonder product works from inside out to condition and strengthen your hair whilst reconnecting any broken hair structure and existing damage to your hair bonds. It will benefit chemically coloured hair as well as dry and damaged hair from numerous other services including thermal (permanent straightening) and mechanical (blow drying, ironing and tonging).
Olaplex is a three phase treatment preventative treatment which prevents the breakage of bonds thereby allowing colouring, bleaching and straightening hair without the risk of hair damage. All their products seems to be free of silicone, sulfates, phthalates, DEA, aldehydes and has never been tested on animals.
“Olaplex aims to help buffer and protect the hair during a colour or straightening service.”
Olaplex is suitable for all hair types and comes in three-step treatment:
Olaplex No. 1 “Bond Multiplier” This is the first step in the stand alone treatment and is only for salon use. It is applied by the stylist by mixing into the coloring mixture for color process. This helps to protect your hair from breakage and damage during the color or straightening process.
Olaplex No 2 “Bond Perfector” – This is applied as a finisher onto hair after No.1 in stand-alone treatment and also after the colour has been rinsed out in the coloring process. The Bond Perfector is left on the hair for 20 minutes, rinsed out and followed with shampoo and conditioner. No 2 contains the same active ingredient as No. 1, and repairs any remaining bonds missed by No.1 and helps restore the strength and structure of hair (it is not a neutralizer nor activator).
Olaplex No 3 “Hair Perfector”– This is an at home maintenance treatment, which will help sustain hair’s colour as well as strength and integrity of the hair until the next salon treatment as it continues to link bonds within the hair. It can be used as a pre-shampoo treatment every 7 to 14 days between salon visits. It is not a conditioning treatment intended to be left on the hair.
HOW DOES OLAPLEX WORK?
The active ingredient in Olaplex is supposed to be able to repair the disulfide bonds within each single hair. During every chemical treatment, such as coloring, bleaching or straightening including overuse of the blow dryer, excess exposure to the sun these disulfide bonds just breaks. Olaplex helps to fix those disulfide bonds, so the structure of your hair can regenerate itself.
USE OF OLAPLEX:
- As a pre-treatment called the stand alone treatment to restore hair’s elasticity and strength before or after straightening/keratin treatments, thermal treatments like ironing, blow drying, curling etc. or even before a normal wash.
- With perm, bleach/lightener, color, toner & gloss to give hair follicles increased protection against damage that may result from coloring or lightening treatments.
USING OLAPLEX AS A STANDALONE TREATMENT:
This is a great treatment that can be used whether you have had a chemical service or not. The Bond Multiplying system can be used as a reset button for your hair and by doing so allows you to rebuild the strength, structure, and integrity to the point where a color or chemical service would then be feasible once again. This treatment may be done before and/or after a chemical service/ thermal service. It’s a great way to help sustain the structure of the hair and leaves hair feeling soft and manageable. Compatible with all hair types from virgin to extremely damaged hair.
MY OLAPLEX TREATMENT:
My treatment using Olaplex took approximately an hour. The stylist began with checking the brittleness of my hair which as I mentioned was in pretty bad shape.
She began with applying “Olaplex No.1” and water to my hair, leaving it for 10 minutes. This was followed by adding “Olaplex No. 2” to the wet hair and left on for 20 mins. The hair was then rinsed with shampoo and conditioner.
MY HAIR AFTER OLAPLEX:
I am writing this blog two weeks after the Olaplex treatment at Bodycraft Salon & Spa and after a week visit to Maldives where I have put my hair through snorkelling, scuba diving, laps in the pool and excessive seabreeze and sunshine.
I noticed that after every wash (which was twice a day during the trip) somehow though I was expecting the worst, my hair seems to be soft and there is almost no breakage or hair fall.
WHO IS IT INTENDED FOR ?
As mentioned before, Olaplex is recommended for anyone who has had any chemical service such as coloring, bleaching, straightening, rebonding, perming. Olaplex can also be used in conjunction with keratin treatments. It will smoothen and seal the cuticle.
“Salon industry professionals call Olaplex hair insurance because of its ability to repair broken disulfide sulfur bonds in the hair “.
WHERE IS OLAPLEX AVAILABLE?
Though Olaplex is a brand from California, USA it is now available at all the outlets of Bodycraft Spa & Salon in Bangalore.
WILL I USE OLAPLEX AGAIN?
From my experience, definitely a YES. Olaplex treatment may not provide any visible physical effects on your hair but in the coming days and weeks you will witness a vast difference in your hair texture and improved elasticity.
Olaplex seems to do the unthinkable when it comes to repairing the look and feel of already damaged hair.
So if you are looking to colour or straighten your hair I would suggest you definitely ask your stylist to include the Olaplex treatment as it is worth the money spent.
So do head over to Body Craft Spa & Salon for your Olaplex Treatment.
