I Got Holiday

By Lauren Caruso

It’s party season! For some, that might bring to mind a shimmery smoky eye or a festive, sparkly outfit, but hair is also crucial. Holiday-party hair can mean many things: a slicked-back bun, glossy finger waves, a sleek lob with a fun, eye-catching hair accessory. But my frizzy, dull, damaged hair is too prone to flyaways for a slicked-back bun; glossy, shiny finger waves were completely out of the question thanks to the state of my hair; and a “sleek lob” on me would look drab and lifeless if I didn’t intervene: My wavy hair is damaged, brittle, and dull from decades of heat styling and hard water. The heat required for a great holiday look would only make the situation worse, so I took a trip to Ollin Salon in Beverly Hills to see if the internet’s favorite (and original) bond-building system, Olaplex, could strengthen my hair before the holiday circuit.

I’ve used Olaplex’s at-home products before, but celebrity colorist and avid Olaplex ambassador Chad Kenyon assured me I’d get even more impressive results from the 30-minute in-salon treatment, which rebuilds and strengthens hair at the molecular level by relinking broken disulfide bonds. Broken bonds — whether from coloring, heat styling, or everyday breakage — are what makes damaged hair look, well, damaged. But even if you don’t color or heat-style, Olaplex can also repair the bonds broken by environmental stressors that can make hair look less vibrant, too.

Additionally, the products impart shine, body, and softness and even hydrate the driest of hair enough to reflect light — something mine hasn’t done in years. If that meant I wouldn’t have to deal with frizz and flyaways all holiday season long, I thought, well, sign me up.

Those familiar with Olaplex know that each product is assigned a number, and that’s true for both in-salon and at-home products. For the salon treatment, Kenyon started with the Stand-Alone Treatment by mixing Olaplex No.1 Bond Multiplier, a professional-only treatment, with water. Though Kenyon says he typically adds it to a base color or toner to mitigate the damage that happens during a chemical treatment, he says it’s great for virgin (never colored) hair that’s damaged or dull, too. “No.1 Bond Multiplier is great for all hair colors, all hair types — natural, virgin, processed, blondes, grays, brunettes, and especially curly hair, which is usually drier.”

He applied the mixture to my dry hair from root to tip, allowing it to soak in. After 10 minutes, he added a generous amount of No. 2 Bond Perfector, combing through to distribute it evenly. Kenyon left it on for 10 more minutes, but for really damaged, thick, or frizz-prone hair, he says you can leave it on even longer. After that, he shampooed with No. 4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo, but skipped the conditioner “because instead, we're finishing with the conditioner on steroids, the 4-in-1 Moisture Mask,” he says.

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The 4-in-1 Moisture Mask is a highly concentrated reparative mask that calls on ceramides, oils, and vital amino acids to hydrate and impart shine and body, available only in-salon through a professional — and Kenyon applies it all the way from root to tip. “A lot of people think conditioners and masks shouldn’t go up to the root, but I color hair all the way to the root, so I treat the hair all the way to the root as well,” he says. “As long as you rinse thoroughly, the hair won’t be flat. That’s how you fix baby hairs and flyaways.” Bingo. The benefits of the 4-in-1 Moisture Mask go beyond color-treated hair; if you’re experiencing just dry and damaged hair, this treatment works quickly and efficiently to infuse your hair with intense moisture.

After 10 more minutes, he rinsed — and I could already feel the difference on my wet hair. It was so soft it was almost slippery, and I could run my hands through it without brushing first. That’s when I was convinced: The luxe in-salon deep-conditioning treatment would seal the deal for the ultimate holiday-party-worthy shine.

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“What I love about the whole service is that it strengthens the hair, and it prepares the hair for color,” says Kenyon. “The active ingredient, bis-aminopropyl diglycol dimaleate, can never ruin your hair.” Unlike products that rely on proteins for strength, he says, “the more you do it, the more it repairs your hair.”

He’s not wrong, says cosmetic chemist Ginger King. “The material mends the broken disulfide bonds so the hair looks more aligned,” she says. “When you have aligned hair, it’ll look smooth and shiny.”

Kenyon finished by blow-drying and styling my hair with a few of his favorite products: First, he used a nickel-size amount of what he calls the base coat: Olaplex No. 9, the Bond Protector Nourishing Hair Serum, “because it cuts down on blow-dry time, protects hair from heat up to 450 degrees, and has red algae in it to protect from free radicals,” he says. (It’s also a miracle frizz-fighter—I’ve continued to use it on my hair at home and can’t stop recommending it to anyone who asks.) This product also has long-term benefits: Acting like a shield, No. 9 neutralizes free radicals and protects against pollution for up to 48 hours. Then he used a pea-sized cocktail of of Olaplex No. 7, the Bonding Oil, and Olaplex No. 6, the Bond Smoother from midlengths to ends, which gave even my ends an unbelievable sheen. My thin, fine hair hasn’t been this shiny, silky, and soft since I was a toddler — and it didn’t feel even the least bit weighed down.

To give my hair longer-lasting body and shine, Kenyon advised me to combine the in-salon treatment with an at-home regimen — Olaplex’s Hair Repair Treatment Kit — to help fortify hair well after I’ve left the chair. In addition to the strengthening No. 4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo and No. 5 Bond Maintenance Conditioner, the kit includes No. 0, the Intensive Bond Building Hair Treatment, and No. 3, the Hair Perfector, a product that rightfully took the internet by storm as a worldwide sensation (there’s one sold every 3.5 seconds). I use them together, starting with No. 0, on a weekly basis for what feels like an at-home glaze. Not only has it made my hair more manageable, but it’s my secret weapon for the sleek, parted-down-the-middle look I had in mind for New Year’s Eve.

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It’s been three weeks since my in-salon treatment, and I’ve been using the No. 0–No. 3 combo once a week before I shampoo and condition, and my hair looks just as shiny and bouncy as when I left the salon. It’s no wonder: By rebuilding those broken bonds daily, my hair doesn’t even have a chance to get frizzy or unmanageable. Plus, research shows that when No. 0 and No. 3 are used together consistently, the combo makes hair three times as strong and repairs it by 68%, a marked improvement from anything else I’ve ever tried. No matter if I’m heat-styling or not, I’ve made it a priority to use Olaplex’s bond-building products every day to keep things like hard water, forced heat, and other sneaky environmental factors from damaging my hair.