5 Steps to Perfect Hair With Olaplex No. 3 By Emily Westbrooks

If you colour your hair and feel like your hair is breaking more easily or not looking as shiny as usual, you might be in need of an extra product or two in your routine to restore your hair’s natural shine. Chemically colouring your hair can take a toll, even after just a few sessions. But there are products on the market that will help you replenish what’s been damaged so your hair will glimmer in the late summer sunshine. Olaplex No. 3 Hair Perfector is one such product, promising to reduce breakage and strengthen hair — that’s exactly what you’re aiming for if your hair has been showing the effects of colour treatment.

How does Olaplex No. 3 work?

Olaplex No. 1 and No. 2 are both only available in salons, but Olaplex No. 3 Hair Perfector delivers similar strengthening results in an at-home treatment. However, you’ll want to make sure you know how to use Olaplex No. 3 before you dive into the next level of hair care. SHOP NOW Your hair’s disulfide bonds are the main goal with Olaplex treatments. Disulfide bonds are typically charged with holding together the keratin fibres your hair is made of. Whether you dry your hair with a blow dryer every morning, use a heat tool to straighten it, or colour it regularly, any type of treatment can harm your hair. Enter the Olaplex treatments. According to the Olaplex website, “Olaplex Hair Perfector is a global bestselling at-home treatment, not a conditioner, that reduces breakage and visibly strengthens hair, improving its look and feel. It will restore your hair's healthy appearance and texture by repairing damage and protecting hair structure.” That’s a tall order, but the treatment is incredibly popular and everyone from salon hairstylists to beauty bloggers has raved about it over the last few years. Olaplex No. 3 is particularly charged with repairing disulfide bonds broken during chemical colour treatments. One thing that will make this colour-damage treatment most effective is knowing how to use Olaplex No. 3.

How to use Olaplex No. 3

Olaplex No. 3 requires a very simple process. So simple, it’s almost foolproof. But as with any product, you’ll want to know exactly what you’re doing before you start. The main factor to keep in mind is that Olaplex No. 3 is neither a shampoo nor a conditioner. It’s designed to be shampooed out, and then you should condition afterward. The other key to keep in mind with Olaplex No. 3 is that you should start with dry hair if possible. Here’s what to do to make the most of Olaplex No. 3: 1. Start with dry hair or, if you have a lot of product or buildup in your hair, give your hair a quick shampoo first. Towel it dry so your hair is just damp to start the treatment process. 2. Next, you’ll apply a generous amount (about the size of a euro coin) to either towel-dry or dry hair and work it through from root to tip with a comb. If your hair is dry, you’ll need a bit more of the Olaplex No. 3 product, if it’s towel-dry you’ll need a bit less. 3. Leave the Olaplex No. 3 on your hair for a minimum of 10 minutes. If your hair is particularly stressed, or if you have a great book you have time to sit and finish, you can leave it on for up to 90 minutes. 4. When you’re ready to finish the treatment, rinse it out and shampoo and condition your hair as you normally would. 5. Simply style your hair as you usually would.

How often should you use Olaplex No. 3?

So how often should you use Olaplex No. 3? Olaplex recommends using the treatment one to three times each week. Conveniently, Olaplex No. 3 is thick and shouldn’t drip from your hair, so you can wear it around the house while you put on the wash, scroll social media, or binge watch the latest few episodes of your favorite show. Working Olaplex No. 3 into your hair routine a few times each week should result in shinier, stronger hair with less breakage as you continue to colour your hair.

Adding other Olaplex products to your hair care routine

Olaplex No. 3 fits nicely into the much-loved Olaplex line, which also includes Olaplex No. 7 Bonding Oil, Olaplex 4-in-1 Moisture Mask, and Olaplex Broad Spectrum Chelating Treatment.