Olaplex balm repairs, moisturizes, and strengthens hair / OLAPLEX MAINTENANCE CONDITIONER

About the product Olaplex No. 5 Conditioner repairs, moisturizes, and strengthens. Olaplex 5 conditioner helps strengthen and repair colored, damaged, or bleached hair, or curly or heat-damaged hair. This conditioner is a daily restorative and smoothing, and deeply moisturizes and strengthens hair, in addition to repairing broken bonds in the hair between salon or styling sessions so you can maintain your favorite hair color and style without worrying about damaging the hair. Free from: Parabens - Gluten Use it after shampoo No. 4 About the brand Olaplex was created to protect hair from chemical damage. Olaplex has become a favorite for many colorists as a way to keep clients' hair in perfect condition during chemical treatments, which are inevitably destructive. Yoshiko-Alexis Ogawa, a colorist at a salon in New York City, says: “Sometimes – most of the time when we use crazy colors – the safety of the client’s hair is already severely compromised.” “Olaplex not only protects the hair during the coloring process but also prevents further damage, making the hair strong, healthy, and shiny, and also helps repair some previous damage.” Due to the properties of this product, it is considered more beneficial, meaning it repairs the disulfide bonds that make up the hair, according to color specialist Tina Outen. “These bonds are often damaged, broken, or fragmented when over-lightening hair. Using Olaplex essentially means you can lighten your hair away from the light and leave this color longer without your hair breaking and ending up in the basin instead of your head.” 2. It is a three-part system. You may have seen bottles of Olaplex at Sephora, but this is only the third step of three that begins in the salon, each containing the main active ingredient, bis-aminopropyl diglycol dimaleate, which works to repair the aforementioned broken disulfide bonds in the hair. “No.1 Bond Multiplier is an aqueous solution of active dimaleate aminopropyl diglycol dimaleate and is applied in the salon to repair damaged hair. It can also be added directly to the permanent dye solution used in the coloring process,” Jim Hammer, a cosmetic expert, explains. Hammer says: “No.2 Bond Perfector contains less of the dimaleate aminopropyl diglycol dimaleate, along with a variety of conditioning agents, and is also applied in the salon.” “This is a moisturizing treatment after coloring.” The Olaplex product you see in stores is No. 3 Hair Perfector, which contains the smallest amount of the active ingredient, as Hammer states, along with various conditioning agents. It does not add much time to the hair coloring process, especially when adding No.1 Bond directly to the color or lightening, as Outen prefers, because it allows direct transfer into the core of the hair strands. Then, “No.2 Bond Perfector will be applied to the hair when washing out the lightening or coloring product and left for 20 minutes,” Outen explains. “If you feel your hair is more stiff or dry after this step, a super-moisturizing conditioner can be used to soften the hair strands, which sometimes feel dry due to all the proteins added to your hair.” 3. Olaplex is not only for damage caused by lightening hair color. Because lightening hair is more damaging to bonds than any other process imaginable, the substance that works to repair those bonds, like Olaplex, is suitable. “The process of lightening hair directly affects the disulfide bond, pushing the hair to maximum fragility,” Outen clarifies. “Lightening hair to very light blonde shades pushes the hair to the maximum level of damage, which can completely damage the hair just like bleaching, so using Olaplex helps protect and repair broken bonds, leaving the hair in good, healthy condition again.” Even if you do not color your hair – perhaps you curl or style your hair often – you may notice a difference with Olaplex. “Heat effects from the flat iron you use vigorously over many years, or over-curling with curling irons that do not regulate heat well, or high-heat drying can cause permanent damage to the hair,” Outen says. “If you curl your hair, Olaplex is also useful because it’s a restorative solution that restructures the disulfide bonds.” Ogawa agrees: “Since Olaplex rebuilds broken bonds and helps maintain hair health and strength, there are definitely benefits.” As a standalone salon treatment without coloring or lightening, Outen says that Bond Multiplier No. 1 can be diluted with water, sprayed on the hair for five minutes, followed by No. 2 Bond Perfector, left for 20 minutes, then rinsed. 4. It is not the only product. Olaplex is arguably the most famous name for salon-used products, but many other commercial products are available, including GoldPro’s BondPro + system, L’Oréal’s Smartbond system, Schwarzkopf’s Fibreplex, and Brazilian Bond Builder. Ogawa says: “Olaplex may be a little more expensive than other products, but since I had the chance to try it, I became addicted to this product.” “The amazing result is that the texture and quality of the hair improve dramatically. I changed the color of one strand and had to lighten the hair four times; with Olaplex, you can’t even tell that the hair has been dyed originally.” 5. Opinions of hair coloring specialists vary. Although many colorists, like Ogawa, are loyal Olaplex users, not all hairdressers are fans. Sharon Dorram said it not only slowed down the coloring process – but I couldn’t achieve the right blonde shade as I always do – it changed the tone of the blonde dye. I was initially excited to get a product that could solve the problem of color damage. “I found Olaplex to be a big disappointment. There was no clear difference.” Hammer, a color designer, points out: “The nature of Olaplex can definitely make the hair coloring process a little slower. If we look at how this product works – by repairing broken disulfide bonds in the hair – and consider that the bleaching/dyeing process increases the damage to these bonds already, it might seem that we have one process damaging and/or slowing the other, so it’s not hard to imagine that by helping prevent damage, Olaplex might have a slowing effect on the hair coloring process, especially in the more aggressive bleaching or blonde coloring processes.” Ogawa, a color designer, agrees that Olaplex can slow down the bleaching process but does not see it as a flaw. She says: “Sometimes, we need to use a slightly stronger peroxide. I thought this negates Olaplex’s purpose because we had to use a stronger chemical, but I was wrong.” “The unique technology allows us to work without worry, and we don’t have to tell the client that the desired color is impossible without significant damage. I trusted Outen to work wonders even with her family.” “My sister has been dyeing her dark brown hair for 10 years and wanted to lighten it to silver to match her natural gray roots. It took 24 hours over three days… We continued to get the lightest possible result, and every time I applied Olaplex, I literally saw the hair repairing itself before my eyes from brittle, broken hair to healthy, good strands,” she recalls. “I felt very relieved! It’s a big responsibility to lighten hair color, and this truly made me believe in the miracle of Olaplex. It’s a game-changer.”