OLAPLEX for Curly Hair: Guide to Your Best Curls

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Last updated on March 18th, 2024 at 09:06 am

If you’re looking to experience your best curls, then you will want to give OLAPLEX hair products a shot. Below you’ll discover all the benefits of OLAPLEX for curly hair no matter your curly hair type.

The OLAPLEX Technology

OLAPLEX uses a patented technology built upon one very specific active ingredient: Bis-Aminopropyl Diglycol Dimaleate

This ingredient (among others) is what helps to strengthen and restore the disulfide bonds of your hair.

Without being too scientific, disulfide bonds are simply responsible for giving your hair it’s strength. It’s the core structure of the hair.

When any of those hair bonds are damaged due to things like chemical processing, sun damage, color damage, heat damage or even mechanical damage (over manipulation of hair too!).

This is when OLAPLEX can swoop in to the rescue with its bond-building technology to repair broken bonds.

OLAPLEX Hair Products for At Home Use

OLAPLEX has an entire suite of products that can transform your curly hair.

Some of the products are only available for professional use so we will focus on the hair treatments from OLAPLEX that you can use at home.

These include:

• OLAPLEX No. 0 Intensive Bond Building Treatment
• OLAPLEX No. 3 Hair Perfector
• OLAPLEX No. 4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo / 4P (Blonde Enhancer Toning Shampoo) / 4C (Bond Maintenance Clarifying Shampoo)
• OLAPLEX No. 5 Bond Maintenance Conditioner
• OLAPLEX No. 6 Bond Smoother
• OLAPLEX No. 7 Bonding Oil
• OLAPLEX No. 8 Bond Intense Moisture Mask
• OLAPLEX No. 9. Bond Protector Nourishing Hair Serum

Demo Using OLAPLEX 3, 6 and 7

In this video I’m demonstrating my OLAPLEX routine using the Hair Perfector, Bond Smoother and Bonding Oil on my fine natural hair.

I will typically incorporate the use of these products along with some of my others when I heat style my hair:

Benefits of Using OLAPLEX for Curly Hair

Before we get into the specific products you can add to your curly hair regimen for healthy hair, let’s briefly look at the benefits of using each of the products on natural hair, curly hair.

The exclusion will be the Blonde Enhancer Toning Shampoo and the Bond Maintenance Clarifying Shampoo.

The Blonde Enhancer Toning shampoo is for specific hair types that may or may not be curly. If you have blonde hair, simply click the link to learn more about this product directly from OLAPLEX.

The clarifying shampoo can be used on straight hair and curly hair. It’s simply designed to remove product build up and impurities, while strengthening the hair with it’s bond builder technology.

This is a real game changer for those of us with curly fine hair. Even just one OLAPLEX treatment can make a significant impact on our hair

Overview of Each OLAPLEX Product

Now here’s a quick overview of each at-home treatment:

This entire line of products is your solution to frizzy hair, dry hair, and damaged hair. Even if you have virgin hair, you’ll discover the benefits of using OLAPLEX after the very first time.

The Best OLAPLEX Products for Curly Hair – Which Should You Use?

It’s no secret that The OLAPLEX brand is quite pricey. So, to buy everyone of them isn’t really feasible for most people.

For example, I don’t think you need an OLAPLEX shampoo. You can incorporate the treatments into your hair regimen using your normal shampoo.

So, here are the four products I think you can purchase and with regular use, experience all the benefits OLAPELX has to offer for curly hair.

• No. 0
• No. 3
• No. 6
• No. 7

No. 0 and No. 3 are both pre-treatments. They are meant to work together for best results but unless your curls are severely damaged or you have really bad split ends, I don’t think you need to use both.

OLAPLEX recommends using them together but I’m a firm believer that there could be too much of a good thing if you don’t need it.

If you have some serious hair damage for any reason, then definitely get both treatments. They are great products formulated to restore health to stressed out tresses. Especially, if you are looking to grow back your natural hair.

Of course, they know their products but the recommendation is to use both if your hair is severely damaged.

Tips for Applying OLAPLEX to Natural Hair

Whichever products you use from OLAPLEX for curly hair, you’ll want to follow a few application tips:

1. Be sure to cover every single hair strand with product. This means working in small sections.
2. Apply products to wet hair
3. A little goes a long way but this does not contradict #1.

Following these application tips is what will help your hair feel and look amazing!

Get Diagnosed!

OLAPLEX has a hair diagnostic quiz you can take. At the end of the quiz, you’ll receive recommendations for which products to use. You can also just shop by concern on the OLAPLEX site if you already know what your hair is suffering from.

As a fine haired natural with medium density curly/coily hair, I’ve found that using No 3, No 6 and No 7 is sufficient.

I use these in conjunction with my regular shampoo and deep conditioner when my hair has taken a little bit of a beating (for example: straightened and flat ironed)

I’ve just begun to incorporate No. 0 but this is more-so for back up when I decide to straighten my hair (which isn’t often).

3 Frequently Asked Questions

Do OLAPLEX products contain sulfates?

If you follow the curly girl method, then one concern you may have with using OLAPLEX products in your hair care routine is if they contain sulfates.

Before I get into the answer, I have to preface with saying this. Sulfates really aren’t bad. They are quite beneficial if you need to quickly clarify your curly hair.

But, I get it. Some people steer clear of sulfates at all costs.

OLAPLEX doesn’t use sulfates in their products. They also don’t test their products on animals nor do they use other chemicals that curlies avoid: phthalates, phosphates, DEA, formaldehydes and formaldehyde releasing agents.

However (and here’s the one downside if you are on the CG method), some of the products contain silicones. Silicones are anti-ingredients on the curly girl method. Many of the products contain dimethicone which is not water-soluble.

No. 0, No. 3 and No. 9 are totally free of cones.

No. 9 is a relative newbie in the family. It was launched in early 2022.

No. 4 has Amodimethicone but this silicone doesn’t build up on the hair due to the protein make up. So, you can choose to try this if you are following a modified version of the CG Method.

Lastly, OLAPLEX has recognized the desires of many to use silicone-free products. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’a a No. 10 or 11 on the way for us at home users!

Can OLAPLEX damage your hair?

This brand is non-toxic and free from any harmful ingredients. Actually, with long-term cumulative use, many people have reported that they noticed a significant improvement in their hair.

OLAPLEX hair products do just the opposite. Repair, not damage. They do not alter your natural curl pattern.

What is the controversy with OLAPLEX?

There was so much press about OLAPLEX back in 2020. It was due to a chemical in one of the products that the European Union banned for being “potentially” harmful to reproductive health, maybe causing infertility.

Of course, the press stayed on this so hard but neglected to report that OLAPLEX had removed that ingredient from their products before it was even banned.

What’s very interesting is that the brand received further damage almost around the same time they went public on the stock market. This, in spite of the rave reviews. Makes you wonder.

The brand will survive though. People’s results from using their products speak for themselves.Plus, they didn’t get numerous Allure readers choice awards for nothing.

I’ve personal experienced the strengthening effects of their products and will continue to use them.

In my opinion, if you have weak or damaged hair, it would be a mistake to not try OLAPLEX for curly hair.

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