Are Olaplex hair products overrated?

[Behappyandbehave]

I started using them around 5 years ago when after several home hair dyes had ruined my hair. Since then my hair is now mostly natural grey with some blonde highlights. I use the shampoo and conditioner every other day and the no 3 once a week. More recently my hair seems to be very dry and is damaged at the ends of my fringe. This has happened since I last had more highlights in my hair. I cannot get it any better despite it being over a month later, ends trimmed off and straigheners used at lowest heat for a few seconds.
Do I need to change products? If so, what to? My hair is shoulder length, fine, quite flyaway with a bit of a wave and mostly grey (apart from added blonde bits)

I used to love olaplex, but it also turned my hair dry. I wasn't even using it as frequently as you are, just every other wash. Someone on here spoke about something like a protein build up? I can't recall. I just switched to aveda full time.

Reading this with no3 in my hair! Only the 3rd time I’ve used it. I thought I would give it a try.. will be interesting to see if others also think it’s maybe made their hair dry! I thought there was a definite improvement after the 1st use, hair was lovely and soft/shiny. I’m only using it once a week at that. Normal shampoo and conditioner, I love L’Oréal elseve, find it a really good match for my hair generally. following with interest! X

Dried my hair out, it starting to snap.

It damaged my ma's hair and it started to break off. As soon as she stopped using it , it got better. She hates the stuff.

My hairdresser says to not overuse. I find coconut oil works wonders. I have a set of olaplex but I will not buy again.

tried it & still have half a bottle lurking in the bathroom somewhere, not sure whether it's snake oil or just didn't suit my hair

I find rotating brands helps massively. If stick with one brand too long my hair clogs

It's made my hair dryer too

Didn’t work for me either.

Maybe over using it my hairdresser also says should only be used once a week maximum due to the build up of product. I tend to only wash my hair once or twice a week so have now switched it to a regular parablen free wella
Shampoo

I follow a few YouTube hair "experts" and the consensus seems to be No3 and 6 are beneficial, the rest of the range not so much. Agree with previous PPs too that you might benefit from switching products for a while / might be suffering from protein build up. I'm trying out K18 atm, seems to be quite a bit of buzz around it.

Yes! It’s diluted crap! It was a hit in salons back in the days where only 1,2 & 3 were available (3 being the take home product, far less concentrated than 1, but was seen as a top up between the salon services) I used to use 1 & 2, but still
never seen a huge benefit .

Once it got popular they created the shampoos etc for the public and just made an absolute con out of the product. They have so little of the active ingredients that they won’t do anything for the average person who hasn’t had the number 1/2 in salon treatment.

The shampoo wass actually pretty brutal on my hair dye. It is not a protein product however - it doesn’t cause build up in that way.

I currently use K18, my hair has got thicker and longer than usual so I do wonder if it effect. However I’ve also cut back on heat styling

Alfaparf is a fantastic shampoo! My thick & fuzzy coloured hair has never been softer and shinier & I’ve never had more compliments on it. I use the white bottle set x

Olaplex was absolutely AWFUL for my hair. My hairdresser even commented after I started using it. Made it dry and brittle and fall out. Was expensive and ended up chucking the two half bottles away. I've heard so many stories saying the same.

My hair hated it. Made it horribly dry and lank at the same time.

It doesn’t dry my hair out but it’s never done anything my other shampoos and conditioners don’t. I tend to flip between the Ouai clarifying shampoo and the JVN shampoo and I rarely condition the lengths of my hair anymore.
Ds uses the olaplex now 😂

I use Olaplex 3 every month or so and I find it makes my hair feel amazing for the next week and I do think it has a last effect on the quality of my (bleached) hair. Shampoo and conditioner were a waste of time tho

I think so

Yes it’s overrated and it’s often used improperly. It is not for daily shampooing. I do believe there is a protein component and it will cause breakage.

It's designed to restore the bonds that are damaged by bleaching. If you don't bleach your hair, there are better products.

Oh interesting! I will stop using it. Just don't know which other stuff to use. Hair still has bleached highlights in it aswell as natural grey and is fine, dry and flyaway.
I assume professional shampoo/conditioner is better than supermarket stuff?