There’s a reason that one bottle of Olaplex no.3 is sold every 3.5 seconds, so if I hear along the grapevine that there might be a verifiable alternative to one of the brand’s bestselling conditioners, you know I’m going to be running to test it.
While the Olaplex hair repair system really is the ‘GOAT’ (greatest of all time, for those not in the know) for dry, coloured or damaged hair, I’m certainly open to discovering a cheaper alternative. Olaplex sets itself apart from competitors with a signature bond builder system that targets the hair’s disulfide bonds; these hold together the proteins along the hair shaft, and Olaplex’s unique system sets out to boost the disulfide bonds’ strength.
It’s hard to beat the Olaplex no.5 bond maintenance conditioner (£17.64, Amazon.co.uk) but a product from affordable beauty brand The Ordinary, which contains one of the same key ingredients, is the latest potential alternative to come to my attention.
The product in question? The Ordinary’s behentrimonium chloride 2% conditioner (£6.95, Beautybay.com). The ingredient? Behentrimonium chloride. In layman’s terms, behentrimonium chloride works to reduce static and repair damage by penetrating the hair shaft. So, is this mouthful of an ingredient enough to put The Ordinary’s budget conditioner side-by-side with its tried and tested Olaplex counterpart? That’s what I’m here to find out.
How I tested
I’ve used Olaplex multiple times over the years, be it the no.3 hair perfector (£17.59, Amazon.co.uk) or the no.7 bonding oil (£19.55, Amazon.co.uk), so I knew going into this what outcome I should be looking for: glossy hair, with any immediate signs of damage reduced and a soft, smooth finish. I shampooed as usual, rinsing and repeating, before applying a generous amount of The Ordinary behentrimonium chloride conditioner into the mid-lengths and ends of my hair. I combed it through thoroughly before leaving two to three minutes for the product to take effect, then rinsing it as usual.
发表回复