To think K18 has ruined my hair

[peoniesandpumpkins]

Had this post colour at the end of May, hairdresser previously used Olaplex - no problems. She didn't even really ask me just started putting it on and told me she wasn't using Olaplex any more and why K18 was superior, I have quite sensitive skin so was a bit annoyed but it was too late.

Anyway ever since my hair has been awful. It felt lank and weird for over a week and then looked bone dry for a week, admittedly when' it's dry now it does look 'ok' still much on the drier side than it was before though.

However the texture of my hair is different, impossible to wash, almost like dolls hair, as soon it gets wet it clumps together and feels matted, can't work conditioner through and as i'm doing so it's coming out in clumps - it's been coming out for weeks now.

It's then impossible to get any sort of comb through, even with the lovely and I would say pretty rich blow dry cream I normally use. Again snapping with barely any combing. Normally I would let it air dry quite a bit before finising off with a round brush, I just cannot get the brush through until it is basically dry though now, by which time its set into the frizzy wonky mess it is if I don't blow dry it.

No new colour combo or anything, been colouring my hair for years and years, had similar hair fall after going v v light a couple of times. But it's much darker now and it was never this bad either time.

Tried an aveda conditioner and leave in spray which made it easier to handle but it just looks greasy when dry and has given me teribble scalp acne to boot!!

Only different thing is the K18 treatment. Has anyone else had this experience, what the hell do I do??

Bumping this for you. Maybe try Style and Beauty forum if no one here knows

Sorry, OP. I have no experience if the product, but first port of call should be the hairdresser. Show her what’s happening with your hair. She may have had other complaints.

It’s more likely the colour damaged your hair instead of one product. No product like olaplex lasts in your hair that long! Else we’d all get one treatment and be set for life with perfect hair.

I dumped Olaplex for K18. It’s been much much better. K18 is just a replacement for conditioner so it wouldn’t work like this. It sounds like structure of your hair has been compromised and no matter what Olaplex or K18 promise, they don’t produce miracles.

Having darker hair doesn’t equal less damage however.

Hi, when you say your hair is coming out is it breakage or from roots please? I had blood tests this week because I am losing my hair. I have incredibly thick & long hair (down to my hips) & I’ve lost half of it in a month. The only thing that’s changed is my use of k18. Started using it in July. It’s not breakage. Hoping it’s a quick fix vitamin deficiency but my hair is so thin I’ve just booked in to have it cut off in November.
I googled & your post came up!

I had this exact thing happen to me. My hair is bleached over processed and dry. My hair has actually always been dry prior to dyes or bleaches. I incorporated k18 into my hair care regimen believing this would fix my dryness and make it stronger. I started to shed and anytime I brushed my hair so much hair would just fall off with the brush. I didn’t understand what was going. The only change was my k18 products. I looked into what was going on and its protein overload. I also realized my hair is low porosity and sensitive to protein. Protein overload is exactly what you are trying to avoid ironically when using these products. Your hair becomes stiff, dry, straw like, brittle, breaks off, as if you over bleached your hair or use too much heat on your hair. The good thing about protein overload is it’s reversible. It’s not permanent. To get rid of protein overload use a clarifying shampoo, which actually k18 does provide a clarifying shampoo that does good to get rid of the protein overload. Olaplex 4 clarifying shampoo also is really good for this, or any clarifying shampoo that has hydrating properties and not protein. Protein is good for your hair but too much will make what you’re experiencing happen. So clarifying shampoo then a low porosity no protein shampoo/conditioner is your best bet to use for the time being. It can take weeks or months to reverse the overload but you can save your hair. Look for products that are high in hydration that has no protein. Shea moisture grapeseed oil and tea tree oil shampoo conditioner and leave in detangler is a low porosity no protein product to also hydrate your hair that you hair hasn’t been able to receive because of too much protein. I hope this helps!

Hi OP, sorry this is happening to you. You’re not alone though as the same thing has been happening to me. I heard that K18 was way better than olaplex so I decided to try it out but half of my hair has fallen off since I started using it about a month ago. I’m at my hair stylist today and she confirmed that it’s breaking off from the root (so it’s not from bleach damage). Gonna stop using it and start taking some vitamins.

Ah no! I just used it for the first time today as a treat! My hair looks fine right now but I don't know if I can continue using it.

K18 is not a conditioner replacement. It’s a bond building product. I watch a trichologist on YouTube that contacted K18 directly and the best advice is to use the k18 after a clarifying shampoo, wait 5 minutes (k18 activation time) then put on a regular conditioner or hair mask over the top then rinse that out after a few minutes.

This is the video if anyone is interested.

Hi, my hair went the same .. It is a frizzy mess now looks scruffy, feels odd & is thin as fk... try wella ultimate repair shampoo and conditioner leave out the spray .. It seems to be the only thing I have that has any effect on my hair now . I feel like I have glue on my hair even extra strong curl products will not work and freeze hold hairspray works only for 5 mins .. I never had frizz before k18 . Don't use on fine porous curly thin hair it will leave your hair 80% thiner 🤬

I’m so glad I found this thread! I started using K-18 in December. I used it a few times and in February my hair started falling out in clumps. I’ve lost 2/3 of my hair! I couldn’t figure out what it was but had a feeling it was the product since it was the only thing that changed and my hair texture was completely different. I’m so angry! This product should come with a warning! Thanks to all the above posts to how to hopefully correct this. Has anyone has any success with regrowing lost hair?

Not tried K18 but Olaolex ruined my hair -only just growing back now 2 years later

Olaplex was awful for me too. Turned my healthy long hair into a dry, straw like mess. Hairdresser agreed that loads of people have issues with it and that they won't use it in the salon.

Just found this post. Since using K18 my hair looks so thin and damaged and has snapped off in so many places it looks awful! Found Olaplex fine but feel so upset by how my hair is now :( thought it would help my hair it's made it 10x worse

I posted on here in February about that evil stuff k18 , it does not come out for months & months I only used it once. If you have colour in your hair try stripping it out with undo goo shampoo & Malibu c cpr do it twice it should get rid of k18... or some of it. follow up with wella invigo nutri enrich mask then conditioner because you will need to use the undo goo shampoo 4 times each time you do it / so will be dry, my hair is wreaked but that shampoo did no extra damaged (weird) + get layers. Stay away from k18 it's poison I used living proof to fix the k18 but it was good for a week then k18 head came back.. my hair has not grown back in normal it is different thiner strands & is curling up at the ends & split.. I give up 🙄

Better to strip your colour out than let k18 hide behind it 😊 worth a try it did help my hair but every 1 is different. Oh forgot to say I used to use conditioner first before shampoo it make your hair look less crap with the k18 damage & for smoothing down the frizz fly a ways use tigi catwalks curl rock amplifier the black bottle it's a great smother on dried hair + will give you shine don't need much & use hair dryer to seal it if you use it on dried hair.

@Sonya66 hairstylist here.. K18 does not have protein in it al it does not cause protein overload you can find this on their website. It can be used Incorrectly though and not work as intended but it will not cause any damage from Protein buildup at all.

Read the ingredients expert hair dresser, hydrolyzed wheat protein & hydrolyzed wheat starch. & anyway I never said it had protein in it.. my hair dresser said my hair was coated with something like she had never seen before, she had no idea what it was but thought my hair had been laminated by plastic. I had shampoo I'd used for decades now stick to my hair like glue so the only shampoo I could use for ages was a clarifying shampoo/ then I used tigi after party to smooth frizz & it would not wash out of my hair after 6 washes, the only thing that got rid of it was living proof triple bond complex mask, & that stuff is a lot like k18 just slower in doing the same thing. I used k18 properly so no I never used it wrongly.. pfff!!

I replied to the wrong comment sorry first time using this site. Was replying to someone above you who said it’s because of protein overload which is not true, and is stayed on their website How k18 avoids protein overloadHow k18 avoids protein overload How k18 avoids protein overload How k18 avoids protein overload How k18 avoids protein overload How k18 avoids protein overload How k18 avoids protein overload How k18 avoids protein overload How k18 avoids protein overload

@GracieEmma

I've had a similar experience. Have you found anything that has helped reverse this issue?