After seeing the the magic that YouTuber Guy Tang performed on clients, I decided that I should look into this special treatment he used called Olaplex. I don’t dye or perm my hair. I do like to blow out, heat style and straighten my hair though. After hearing about the various ways that I use heat to damage my hair (see this Beauty Brains article Hair hot iron damage ) and feeling the loss of smooth texture over time. I decided that I would like to invest in a product that I saw work so well to restore texture and luster to chemically and heat damaged hair.
I do want to be clear though, Olaplex is very clear that it’s meant to be used by salon professionals, i.e. the people that are educated on how to avoid destroying your hair and causing you chemical burns. The only product actually meant for home use is Olaplex No.3 the Hair Protector. Olaplex No.1 and No.2 are meant for salon use only.
So before I go though the Olaplex Bond Strengthening Professional Service I apply to myself I feel obligate to share the links to educational videos and other information found directly on the Olaplex site
Olaplex Stand Alone Treatment I use
So for my friends interested in using Olaplex as a stand alone treatment and need a little reassurance that their hair won’t fall out. Here are the directions I follow from the Olaplex Traveling Stylist kit (can also be found on the website)
- Mix 1/2oz (15ml) No.1 with 3oz (90ml) of water in a non-spraying applicator bottle. Take client to shampoo bowl and saturate thoroughly. Process for 5 minutes.
- Without rinsing, apply a generous amount of No.2 from roots to ends and comb through thoroughly.
- Process for a minimum of 10-20 minutes.
- Rinse, shampoo and condition. Follow with moisture and protein where applicable.
Amy’s Steps:
~slightly different from the recommendations
Part 1. Gather Supplies in addition to the traveling stylist kit
Need an applicator bottle, I got mine from Sally Beauty Supply and a Clarifying Shampoo also purchased from Sally Beauty Supply
Part. 2: Clarify that hair and either towel dry it or air dry it so that your hair is at least 50% dry. Ive done my hair drier but I find that if my scalp is still a little wet, the Step 1 doesn’t itch as much.
Part 3: You need to dilute Olaplex No.1 Bond Multiplier with water in your applicator bottle. Dispence 15ml of one into 90ml of water (hopefully your applicator bottle has volume marks on the side!
One you soak your hair in it, leave it on for 5-10mins. I like to either use a shower cap or plastic bag to keep my soaked hair up off my neck and shoulders
Part 4: DO NOT RINSE HAIR. and apply a large wad of Olaplex No.2 Bond Perfector all over your hair from roots to tips. This is where I start to comb out my hair to better spread and apply the product. I find that after clarifying my hair likes to tangle a bit more, and if I comb through with only No.1 I will pull out more hair.
Part 5. Leave it on for at least 30mins. I like to keep it on for an hour or more. Then I proceed to shower as usual and shampoo and condition as usual. What I notice most is that my hair even after shampooing again is as slick as the belly of a catfish.
So how often do I use olaplex? About once a month.
But what about No.3? Well I haven’t tried it yet. And since it was marketed as being a lower concentrate of the bond repairing compound I figured investing in the main kit was a better start for me and my yoloswag lifestyle. I would like to try No.3 though! Will try to get some soon!
Amy the Science! What is this Olaplex?
well guys I haven’t had a chance to look into the research behind it. It seems that the compound they’re using to repair the broken disulfide bonds is Bis-Aminopropyl Diglycol Dimaleate (MSDS for No.1 , MSDS for No.2 , MSDS for No.3) It sounds from their literature that this compound is forming bonds between the now separated sulfur atoms of the broken disulfides but I’m pretty sure exactly what’s going on will most likely be considered proprietary for some time. I do plan to look into it, but not for a little bit
So helpful!! Thanks for doing this for us!!!
Hi
where did you purchase this treatment? thanks, I’d like to try it
ebay!
Try Mercari, they have incredible prices. I recently got 17.75 oz for $40. All I’ve seen before was 3.3 oz for $25+. Ola#3 is still 3.3 oz for $20-25.
Thanks
Which shampoo did you use? Do we need to use the Olaplex Shampoo only or any other sulfate-free shampoo will suffice?
I have a couple pictures of the shampoo I used in the blog post but it’s an Ion brand clarifying shampoo
Thanks a lot for sharing such an informative article about Using Olaplex at Home. I love hair care. I have read your valuable page and gotten much information and now my confusion has cleared. Keep it up………..
I put ola3 on my ends when it’s dry in between shampoos. Like split end repair. It’s stays on a couple 3 days then I wash my hair.
This is great info! What about AFTER the treatment…what shampoo/conditioner do you use? Thanks!
Hi Shelley! After you can use any shampoo and conditioner you like, I hop around between a Korean brand named Ryo and OGX coconut line
Must clarifying shampoi be used or will any shampoo do9
A clarifying shampoo would likely be best
But can I use it on my Pomeranians? Their hair seems so dull, and the Olaplex made mine so crazy shiny….I could mix just a little bit of #3 in with their spray detangler, maybe? Have you ever tried it?
I have never tried it and I would definitely not recommend using human hair products on dogs since our hair/skin chemistries are very different
You explained this very well. I did the treatment without clarifying first. I think that was my mistake. I’m going to do it again after a clarifying wash. Thanks for the step by step instructions!