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My Hair Is My Most Complimented Feature—I've Mastered the Routine That Keeps It Healthy, Strong and Glossy
Olaplex has finally landed at Boots online and in-store, so our beauty editor talks us through her routine and favourite products for stronger, glossier hair.
As a beauty editor, I'm asked a lot about haircare and how I keep my lengths looking and feeling strong. I have balayage through my hair, so it's been exposed to bleach, and my job often requires me to test hot tools, making my hair vulnerable to heat damage more than I'd like. However, there's one brand I can credit for my hair health, despite putting it through its paces. In fact, it's one of the most searched-for premium haircare brands on Boots.com over the past three months, and now my favourite hair brand has finally landed in-store and online.
Olaplex has been a staple in my haircare routine for a long time. It was the first to pioneer the concept of bond repair, and the patented technology is unlike anything else out there. It works on the three bonds that make up our hair's structure—disulfide bonds, salt bonds and hydrogen bonds—to repair heat- and colour-damaged strands and return them to their former glory. The brand has been trusted by salons and hairstylists for years, and as someone who tests hair products for a living, it's one of the most results-driven ranges I've tried for damaged hair.
You may already know and love the iconic N°.3Plus Complete Repair Treatment; however, there are so many other products I swear by from the brand, so I'm sharing my full wash-day-to-bouncy-blowdry routine, featuring some of my favourites from Olaplex.
My Olaplex Routine
The Weekly Treatment
N°.3Plus Complete Repair Treatment is the Olaplex icon and the original bond builder that created the entire category. It's become a modern beauty icon for its ability to repair the bonds in the hair that get damaged during colour appointments or by heat from hair tools. The three-minute pre-shampoo treatment repairs three types of hair bonds on a molecular level, leaving your hair three times stronger and softer. I use it as a weekly treatment, and it slots effortlessly into my hair-wash routine. Despite my balayage and all the heat I use, it keeps my hair strong and soft. It's like hair insurance in a bottle.
The Shampoo and Conditioner
A celebrity hairstylist put me onto Olaplex's No.4 Strengthening Shampoo, and I've never looked back. I have coarse, dull hair, and I find that this formula helps restore shine and smoothness, as well as making my hair more manageable and less frizzy. It also smells amazing, with a zesty grapefruit scent that fills my bathroom with a spa-like vibe. It also contains the signature bond-repairing technology that's found across the entire collection, helping to make your hair stronger with every shampoo.
Having tested many, I can always tell when a conditioner is going to be good by how it feels on my hair in the shower. This one really helps to detangle my knotty lengths—my hairbrush glides through with minimal effort—and leaves my hair feeling silky and glossy once dry. Together with the shampoo, the duo increases your hair-length retention and strength three-fold, so I always recommend them for growing your hair longer whilst repairing damage.
The Styling Essentials
This Shine Serum Oil Mist lives in my handbag permanently. It's great for adding shine and lightweight hydration to dry hair, especially if, like me, you're prone to frizzy situations during autumnal downpours. The bi-phase formula combines a hydrating hair serum and nourishing oil, which you shake together before lightly misting onto your lengths. It's a weightless veil that gives up to 96 hours of hydration. I recommend this one if you have fine hair that can't handle heavy oils, and I personally love to use it when I want an extra-glassy finish, though it's also great as a heat protector, shielding up to 232°C. It's a real hard worker for your styling routine.
If you have thicker hair, allow me to suggest °7 Bonding Oil. I've lost count of how many of these bottles I've gone through, as its uses are endless. I like to use the hair oil pre-blowdry to add hydration and smoothness, and, like the °7 Shine Serum Oil Mist, it also shields from heat up to 232°C. On dry hair, it adds a glossy lustre that always makes my hair colour look refreshed, even if it's been a few months since my last salon visit. The bottle is designed to dispense just the right amount of product, so you don't have to worry about accidentally using too much. I'll never be without it.
This is one of Olaplex's newer launches, and it has quickly become a favourite of mine. I love styling my hair in loose waves, and when I use this hairspray, I can easily get them to last for days. It boasts a 96-hour hold, so if you want to preserve your blowdry or find your curls drop out too fast, this is high on my list of recommendations for a perfect finish with lasting hold. It leaves a light veil, doesn't feel crunchy and brushes out beautifully. It's one of the best flexible hairsprays I've tried, and thanks to the Bond Set Technology, it repairs and strengthens your hair whilst maintaining your style.
Eleanor Vousden is the beauty editor for Who What Wear UK. She was previously deputy editor at Hairdressers Journal, health writer at Woman & Home and junior beauty editor at Powder. She has also contributed to Wallpaper and Elle Collections.
With a degree in fashion journalism from the London College of Fashion, she has 10 years of industry experience and has been highly commended at the BSME Talent Awards for her work on Powder and also contributed to the title winning Website of the Year at the PPA Awards.
Eleanor’s journalistic focus is providing readers with honest and helpful beauty content. She has interviewed celebrity makeup artists, hairstylists and dermatologists throughout her career, as well as celebrities such as Hailey Bieber, Sarah Jessica Parker and Scarlett Johansson.
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