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Want all the secrets to completely transform your damaged hair into long silky healthy hair? You’re in luck, here’s everything you need!
A few years ago I had no idea how to take care of my hair and it showed. Fast forward to today, I’ve learned a lot and had to understand how to get my hair back to health since I damaged it so much over the years.
Here’s the ugly truth: there is no secret product or treatment that will transform your hair. Like anything in life, you need to build habits and routines and stick to them. This is how real change is possible.
Of course, finding the right hair care routine is not that simple, it takes trial and error and a lot of research. On this blog we don’t gatekeep, so now it’s the time to take action and see your hair change!
Our goal is to have healthy, long luscious hair right? In order to achieve that with damaged hair, as with every goal, we need to break it down into action steps.
Here’s our plan to ensure that we never end up with rusty fried hair ever again!
STEP 1: Reverse our hair damage
- Shower routine to reverse the damage
- Regular shower routine to maintain our progress
STEP 2: Educate ourselves in order to minimize future damage
- Daily hair care routine to nourish our hair
- Healthy hair habits to minimize damage
Let’s get to it!
Hair wash routines to reverse hair damage
Olaplex vs K18
If you have damaged hair it’s likely you’ve heard of both the Olaplex and the K18 brands. As you may know, there is a war between these two, everybody is trying to figure out which one is better. Today I’m here to tell you none of them.
I know it’s kind of boring but to truly repair damaged hair we need to understand the science here. To put it simply, our hair at a molecular level is made of keratin strands that are bonded together by different bond types among which are disulfide bonds.
Imagine it like a ladder. You have the side parts – i.e. the keratin strands – and then all of the steps in between which represent the bonds.
There are two types of hair breakage. You can have broken disulfide bonds as well as damaged keratin strands. But why is this important?
All of this is to say Olaplex and K18 are different products with different goals. Olaplex works by repairing the broken disulfide bonds while K18 repairs the keratin strands.
Essentially, to truly repair your damaged hair, the best way to go is by using both of them!
How to use Olaplex to repair damaged hair
When it comes to Olaplex, it’s a pricy brand and it comes with a lot of options. You absolutely don’t need all of their products, to repair your damaged hair you only need two: Olaplex No. 3 and Olaplex No. 0.
Also, you don’t need to use them every week til the end of time. You want to start following the right routine (more on that in a minute) every week for two months. Then, same routine, but only once a month.
Of course, when you’re happy about your hair you only need to maintain them but there’s no need for these products at this point.
Let’s get to the juicy part, how do you actually use them?
- Wash your hair with shampoo (use a detoxifying shampoo once a month)
- Get out of the shower and remove excess water by patting your hair with a towel
- Apply a generous amount of Olaplex No. 0 to all of your hair (from roots to ends!)
- Wait 10 minutes
- Apply a generous amount of Olaplex No. 3 to all your hair (from roots to ends!)
- Clip your hair up and place a shower cap, then a towel around your hair
- Wait 45 minutes
- Wash your hair as normal (meaning shampoo and condition)
- Dry and style your hair
I know it may seem like a lot but each step is crucial to get the most out of these products. If you want to learn the complete process to repair damaged hair with Olaplex in detail I have an entire article on it with even some possible budget dupes, check it out!
How to use K18 to repair damaged hair
K18 is actually way more convenient to use compared to Olaplex 0 and 3. The Olaplex products are a pre-wash treatment while the K18 is a post-wash leave-in treatment.
- Shampoo your hair two times but DON’T use conditioner or hair masks
- Towel dry your hair until they are damp
- Use 1-2 pumps of K18 and rub it through your hands until it turns an opaque white color
- Work it through your hair, starting from your ends and then to your roots
- Wait 4 minutes
- Brush your hair and style it as usual
Use the K18 treatment consecutively for 6 washes and then every 3 washes to get the best results. As you can see these bond-repairing treatments are kind of expensive to maintain at first but after the first month, you’ll barely need to replace them.
I recommend you start with the K18 after the first month of using Olaplex. It’s always better to start with one product at a time to actually see how your hair responds to them.
If you choose to get only one tip from this article let it be this, buy Olaplex No. 0, Olaplex No. 3, and K18!
Hair wash routine to maintain healthy hair
Of course, we won’t be using Olaplex and K18 every single time we wash our hair so here’s what we need to do on regular wash days.
Our regular shower routine will consist in washing our hair with shampoo and of course
According to studies, proteins are crucial to repair damaged hair as well as maintaining healthy hair. This means we want to use shampoo, conditioner, and hair masks that contain some type of protein.
If you’re a regular here, you know my top choice are the l’Oreal professional absolut repair shampoo and hair mask.
These contain proteins and gold quinoa extract which are super ingredients when it comes to hair damage. The reason why these are my favorite products is because one, they actually work and they make my hair extra shiny and smooth.
I’ve noticed a difference with just one application, I was hooked! Also (this is super important!), they don’t leave residue on the hair fiber which is how they make your hair feel so light.
One thing you definitely want to avoid is protein build-up. You see, proteins are crucial to this process but too much protein will cause more harm than good, believe me.
I’ve been using this duo for months and I’ve not experienced but good things, I definitely recommend you at least find something similar!
If you want to take it to the next step, whenever you feel like your hair needs an extra boost (i.e. when you feel like your hair is more damaged than normal) use a keratin shampoo and hair mask duo.
The Fanola keraterm shampoo and hair mask is my favorite duo!
I was getting such great results with these products that I literally abused them and experienced protein build up (my hair looked and felt awful). So, be mindful of how much you use these, or any keratin product for that matter.
To be honest, you don’t need to start right away. It’s actually better to start after the first three months of this hair care routine. If you’re on a budget and you can only get one, choose the hair mask.
Introduce habits to minimize hair breakage
We covered how to reverse the hair damage, but how can we minimize it in the first place?
For starters, I suggest you take a look at this article on how to minimize hair breakage as it probably is one of your top concerns.
Let’s get to the top healthy hair habits that are science based and with which I actually noticed a big difference in my hair.
- Avoid wearing tight hairstyles too often.
- Brush your hair gently with a wide-tooth comb to minimize mechanical breakage.
- ALWAYS wear a heat protectant before styling your hair.
- Apply a UV-protecting hair spray, especially when you’ll be in the sun all day.
- DON’T hair dry your hair, it will cause more damage than a hairdryer on its maximum heat setting.
I know there are many more tips and habits you could follow but I want you to concentrate on these ones for now as they will make the most difference.
If you want to know more you can check out the ultimate list of healthy hair do’s and don’ts.
Daily hair care routine to nourish your hair
Here are my golden hair habits. These are so important that I started implementing them every single day with this routine.
If you want to know the best products to use (as well as budget options) here is an in-depth explanation of the daily hair care to nourish your hair back to health.
- Apply a few drops of a non-greasy scalp oil to nourish your scalp so that you can create a perfect environment to grow strong healthy hair.
- Massage your hair for 3-4 minutes to promote healthy hair growth.
- Apply a nourishing oil to your mid-lengths and ends.
- Braid your hair (you can choose another protective hairstyle) and go to sleep.
This routines only takes my a few minutes, it’s very simple but it completely transformed my hair!
Your new hair care schedule
Here’s a quick summary to keep in mind all of the information you learned today and, of course, to make it super easy to implement these routines.
I know this may seem like a lot but I bet once you see it all written down it will make much more sense. Plus, this way you won’t need to keep anything in mind you’ll just need to look at your hair schedule.
| Months | Wash day 1 | Wash day 2 | Wash day 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st month | Olaplex x 4/month | Regular routine x 4/month | Regular routine x 4/month |
| 2nd month | Olaplex + K18 x 2/month Olaplex x 2/month | K18 x 2/month Regular routine x 2/month | K18 x 4/month |
| 3rd month | Olaplex x 1/month Regular routine x 3/month | Regular routine x 4/month | K18 x 4/month |
| 4th month | Detox shampoo + K18 x 1/month Regular routine x 3/month | Regular routine x 4/month | Regular routine x 4/month |
As you can see, we have all of the different routines combined in one keeping in mind we don’t want to overdo it since all these products contain keratin.
- Olaplex: once a week for two months, then only once a month
- K18: Every wash for six washes, then every third wash
- Detox shampoo: Whenever you use Olaplex, then once a month
- Regular routine: Whenever you’re not using any treatment
Of course, the routine in month four will be your regular routine once you finished the first three months. After that feel free to use a keratin mask or the Olaplex treatment from time to time, whenever you feel like your hair need a little boost.
Here is an image you can save (pin it to your Pinterest board!) for more visual learners.
