Firstly Olaplex is not a conditioner. It works internally. It is meant to work with the shampoo, conditioners, and treatments you love. Moisture and protein are external issues that should be addressed separately with your home haircare routine.
Olaplex can be a game changer for many curly hair customers and is suitable for all curly hair types, including virgin hair, tinted hair and especially bleached curly hair.
The salon’s strengths are a more robust version of the patented ingredient hence why the 1 and 2 are not sold to the public. Ultimately it would help if you coloured with olaplex too so that you stop the damage, to begin with. The no 1 gets mixed into the colour and then applied to the hair and can help prevent damage in the first instance when coloured correctly too. Then follow through with no3 and 0 to strengthen the bonds you have repaired in the salon or repair damage from mechanical or weather elements.
Why is olaplex suitable for curly hair?
Olaplex works on the bonds and continues to strengthen, rebuild and restructure and can improve moisture retention in curls that have lost their shape.
To understand Olaplex and its use for curly hair, I compare it to links in a necklace. If the links are fixed, the chain is strong and fits better. Olaplex works to cross-links the bonds and build a bridge. This links the broken links back together, pulling the necklace back; therefore, it looks better and stronger. The formation of the chain is better.
When you have a strong hair structure combined with a healthy external structure, your hair will style/look better. A broken or damaged chain of links in the hair will give you a weaker hair structure.
When used in the salon with colour or as a standalone, you have begun building the bridge (e.g. you have started that chemistry link with the disulphide bond). What you then need to do at home or in the salon with a stand alone (more robust version of no 3 and 0) is to continue to build that bond stronger and stronger. The stronger it gets, the better and healthier the hair gets.
The more you use olaplex. The more hair can get stronger and stronger.
Number 3 contains the same active ingredient as No.1 and No 2. This will enable you to keep repairing newly broken bonds and strengthen the fixed bonds between visits. Please use no3 correctly and consistently to get the most out of olaplex.
Olaplex is NOT a moisture or protein treatment for curly hair. If you have just started your journey, we recommend you use olaplex more often. Then as the hair gets healthier, pull back on the usage of the no 3. E.g. once a month. In the beginning, twice a week is excellent for significantly damaged hair. Kickstart it with a more robust in salon version of the no 1 and 2 as a standalone treatment.
You need to build this internal structure and work on the necklace’s external structure/feel. The two, when combined correctly, work exceptionally well together.
When curly hair is pushed too far
However important to note is that when hair has been pushed too far, e.g. from excessive bleaching, that hair is too far gone and needs to be cut out. I like to refer to this hair as fairy floss hair or hair is like jelly! Especially if the hair has already shredded and thinned, then this hair can’t be repaired. However, you may prevent further damage by making the hair more robust.
Whilst it can always help with the strength of your hair, please remember olaplex can’t fix everything! There are many other causes of hair loss, breakage or damage to hair that you may have that olaplex cannot fix. Health, internal issues, menopause, dietary, operations, anaesthetics, stress, general ageing, hard water, chlorine damage, product build-up, wrong hair care products or routine, e.g. not getting enough moisture or protein in hair. All of these can cause hair issues both externally & internally. If you use olaplex plus a constant excellent high quality professional haircare routine, this can help you have the best hair possible.
How to use olaplex no 3 on curly hair
- Apply a generous to damp hair until hair is completely saturated
- Leave it on for a minimum of 10 mins. An hour is ideal.
- Rinse
- Wash with a low-poo shampoo and then condition. ( we recommend a low-poo curly shampoo; otherwise, you may find the hair is too heavy afterwards)
*If you have build up, it is recommended that you do a deep cleanse before using olaplex to ensure the olaplex can cut through the barrier.
