Hair is like a crown for both genders especially for female because many of us love to let it grow long so it can be easily styled. However, sometimes due to over styling and various hair products, they can appear to be damaged or unhealthy which is why products like Olaplex Vs Keratin are here to help you get that shiny and healthy appearance in almost an instance. For those who are considering to get any of these treatments, go check which suit you better below.
In this article, we are going to give you information about:
- What Cause Hair Damage
- What are Olaplex and Keratin
- Are Olaplex and Keratin Pricey
- How to Apply Olaplex and Keratin
- Are Olaplex and Keratin Long Lasting
- How Olaplex and Keratin Work
- Olaplex Vs Keratin
Hair Damage
Healthy hair is a goal for many of us and this is because sometimes we can’t manage to properly care for them which result in permanent damage. The most confusing part is that there are various factors that may affect your hair health and overall appearance which is why we often confused about how to address the issue. Both from the inside and outside, there are various factors affecting how our hair will appear; some can be easily treated and some needs a more serious treatment or even medication.
- The first factor that may affect your hair health is the diet itself because nutrient will play an important role in how we grow hair as well as stave off breakage from certain damage. Nutrients like zinc, iron, and folic acid are often involved in maintaining hair health.
- Second is stress and while sometimes we do have lots to think about, it is better to address the problem efficiently since not only hair loss, it will often also lead to hair breakage, especially the one called Telogen effluvium.
- Skin type can differ even among close family and those with dry skin will often have dry scalp and hair but weather like low humidity and too much heat will also make your hair dry and prone to break.
- Another outside factor that can affect your hair health is from heat treatment such as hair dryer, flat iron, and curling iron because if used too often and in high heat setting or used incorrectly, these tools may damage your cuticle.
- Besides heat treatment, putting various hair products to process them including relaxers, perms, coloring, and professional straightening may break cuticle down and cause hair damage. The AAD recommends you to extend the time between each session about 8 to 10 weeks if possible or use products that will extend the result so we don’t have to reapply it too soon.
- Dry skin can scalp is one problem but it can get worse as we wash them too often making the hair and scalp lose its natural moisture. For those with oily scalp however, it is good to keep hair fresh and prevent itch yet, once a day is usually the limit.
- Improper towel drying also often causes hair damage for sometimes we tend to over rub them and this motion is not supposed to be done when hair is wet which is their most vulnerable state.
- Elastic hair band and incorrect brushing or combing can play a role in causing hair damage because while hair band pull the hair from our cuticle, the over brushing, especially those with fine and tight brush will also pull your hair.
About Olaplex and Keratin
If you have been eating well and having a good lifestyle while also paying attention to nutrition requirement but our hair damage was caused by outside factors and are hard to manage by fixing diet, it is good to start using hair products for certain treatment preferably hair damage treatment or if you need the result to be fast or almost instant, we can go to the salon and ask for some hair damage recommended treatment in which process will only take hours. Read also: Keratin vs Collagen
Most salons have this type of treatments but depending on the establishment, the product and technique may not be the same from one place to another. If your hair is damaged because of frequent styling or coloring and other similar processing, Olaplex and Keratin solution are two of the best options to consider. They are very popular among female users because of the amazing results and quick process as well as the lasting results that can be enjoyed for a pretty long time.
Olaplex itself is a brand name of this treatment and the company itself was built Dean Christal teaming up with a Dr. Craid Hawker and Dr. Eric Pressly to create a new molecule that works from the inside of hair strands. Its purpose is to repair hair by strengthening the damaged area and lock the broken down structure. The result is a healthier looking, shiny, and thicker looking hair in almost an instant in which results can be prolonged with an at home treatment.
Keratin treatment on the other hand is available and offered by so many brands out there both for professional application like Koko Keratin in our sample picture above that we can only get at salon or those we can bring home for daily treatment such as the popular L’ANZA keratin oil healing treatment. Everybody know that keratin is the protein building our hair, skin, and nails but the star of this treatment is actually not on the protein but the whole process with additional ingredients involved.
We often know it as smoothing treatment and in general there are two common options you can pick; the Brazilian style which straighten the hair or Smoothing treatment that only defrizz the hair so if you have natural waves, it will still be there.
Olaplex and Keratin Price and Products
The first thing you may want to know before deciding to use any of these treatments is their price itself and in this side, since salon have different pricing, the range will vary greatly among establishments yet, it seems most are putting $90 to $250 per keratin treatment while some high-end salons can almost double the cost. As for Olaplex, it also depends on the salon policy but in general they usually charged $28 to $60 per service with an additional product to take home.
This additional product is their take-home system which usually given to customers after they have done the treatment at certain salon yet, it seems some salon doesn’t provide the additional bottle or called No.3 as well so you may have to purchase it from other reseller. It cost about $28 per 100 ml bottle and it can last for several weeks.
Olaplex and Keratin Steps and Lasting Power
These treatments will take a few hours to get done and it will also vary depending on how fast your hairstylist and how long the hair length is. Starting with Olaplex, this one is a 3-part system and the one we can purchase in store is only the No.3 or the take home, the latest system. The No.1 Bond Multiplier is applied at salon on damaged hair or can be also mixed with permanent dye solution if being used in a hair-coloring process.
No.2 has a lower consistency of active ingredients and it used while being mixed with various conditioning agents by your hairstylist or included in post-coloring treatment. The No.3 that we can purchase at stores has an even smaller active ingredient and is used for an at-home treatment to make the results last long. Moving to keratin treatment, the products are varying depending on each salon but usually our hair will be washed first before being applied with the solution.
The keratin formulation will stay on your hair to saturate each strand for about 30 minutes then your hair stylist will use flat iron on low to medium heat to take are of any coarse strands depending on how the certain treatment need to be sealed. As for the lasting power, there is no definite answer for it also vary among users but Olaplex usually will stay for about 6 weeks while some Keratin treatment can even last for up to 6 months.
Olaplex and Keratin Mechanism
Depending on the formulation used by the salon, their keratin products might be different for they can be mixed as well according to your stylist but in general some did have formaldehyde in it and some are not. No matter which version being used or how many formaldehyde content in the product, the keratin treatment will dive into the hair follicles and inject porous area with keratin which is the essential protein to make it look healthier.
Olaplex is pretty much similar to Keratin treatment in terms of mechanism but the main ingredient is different because now we are focusing on disulfide bonds here. Within the keratin molecule found in our hair there is cysteine that connects to the cysteine in other keratin molecules which create a bond called a disulfide bond. As we do coloring and similar process the bonds get weaker and this is where bis-aminopropyl diglycol or the active ingredient in Olaplex take care of the damaged bonds, repairing it.
Olaplex vs Keratin
| Nutri Ox | Nioxin |
|---|---|
| - bis-aminopropyl diglycol | - Keratin as main ingredient |
| - Doesn’t require flat iron | - Require flat iron |
| - Keep hair texture | - Can be either straight or following natural hair texture |
| - Have at home treatment | - At home treatment (optional/purchased separately) |
| - Doesn’t last long | - Last pretty long |
Both of these hair treatments are a good option to help fix your damaged hair, especially those who want to spend as little time dealing with messy and frizzy hair. The difference is on their main ingredient because while Olaplex is fixing the disulfide bonds with bis-aminopropyl, the latter is using keratin. Another difference is Olaplex doesn’t require flat iron after the treatment so if you have naturally curly hair, it will only take care of the frizz and gives a shinier, smoother texture.
Conclusion
All in all you can go with any of these treatments depending on which results fits your taste better. However, comparing the two, if you are looking for a flat, straight hair appearance then Keratin treatment is the answer while those who are going for a more natural look is better with doing Olaplex treatment.