I thought by not washing and styling my hair as much during lockdown, it would have made my locks nice and healthy, but no quite the opposite.
During lockdown my hair has been dry, brittle, falling out and very split. Like with skin, you can't just leave it and hope for the best, you have to treat and condition it, unless you are extremely lucky, have good genes or you're a guy...
I've been trying the infamous Olaplex No 3 Hair Perfector which has been recommended to me by friends and is known as the answer to all of your hair problems. It's not a new product, it's been around for a while now (I'm just super late to the game) and has also been recommended by celebrity hair stylists.
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| Image: Cult Beauty |
What is Olaplex?
Olaplex is the name of the salon haircare brand which was founded by someone called Dean Christal, who teamed up with a scientist doctor to create a new molecule that works from inside the hair strand to strengthen and repair damaged hair from where the structure has broken down.
What is Olaplex No. 3?
Olaplex No.3 Hair Perfector is the at-home version of the in-salon hair treatment which has been designed to repair and prevent damage that comes along from heat damage, dyeing or bleaching. These bonds are responsible for holding the keratin fibres which make up your hair. During any type of trauma whether it's from over styling, heat damage or dyeing your hair, these fibres are often broken during the process. Olaplex 3 helps that!
What does it do?
Strengthens your hair over time, improves quality, appearance and repairs your damaged hair.
How do you use it?
Apply to damp hair or leave it on overnight.
Wash it out afterwards with your usual shampoo and conditioner.
How often should I use it?
It's been advised to use it once a week for a minimum of ten minutes. You can actually use it longer and more often than what's advised on the bottle. Apparently I read an article which said Kim Kardashian has slept in Olaplex in order to repair her hair...just saying. The more you use it over time, the better your hair gets.
It truly depends on how dirty the hair is. If it's super greasy and dirty, I would recommend giving it a light wash with a tiny bit of shampoo and drenching your hair with water. Give it a towel dry with a soft towel that's good for your hair and then apply the mask.
I'm no expert in this but I spent a good few hours of reading reviews, online articles and the Olaplex website before writing this post.
My experience?
I used this once on damp hair as instructed for around 15 minutes. I used a hairdryer to dry my hair as I was in a rush (as if I have places to be right now lols) and used my usual argan oil and heat defence before styling it.
On the left my hair is brittle, dry, split at the ends and looks quite flat and limp. On the right my hair looks shiny, soft, full of life and the colour looks more punchy.
This was after using the product once for 15 minutes. I had used the exact same shampoo, conditioner, argan oil and heat defence on both days the pictures had been taken. The only difference is Olaplex No. 3.
The lighting of my picture on the right isn't the same as the picture on the left, as this was taken on a sunny day with the sun behind me hence why the colour of my hair looks drastically different. However, the quality of my hair speaks for itself.
How much is it?
There are two sizes available; 100ml for £26 and 200ml for £52 on Cult Beauty.
Will it work on my hair?
It works for all hair types!
If you're suffering from dry, brittle and broken hair right now and nothing else is working, then I would say give Olaplex a go and buy the 100ml bottle if you have £26 to spare.
If you're on a budget, check out my blog post here about a £3.49 hair oil that will help your hair somehow.
Hope this helps!
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