K18 vs Olaplex Treatments

What's the difference, which is better, and what do I recommend?

Olaplex and K18 are both popular hair treatments designed to repair damaged hair, but they work in different ways and are based on different technologies. If you’ve been wondering which one is right for your hair,I’m going to explain it in the simplest way possible!

So first off, both Olaplex and K18 are amazing products, but they work in totally different ways to fix damaged hair.

Technology & Action:

Olaplex:
Let’s start with Olaplex. Olaplex is all about bond-building. You know how when you bleach or color your hair, the bonds inside the hair get damaged? Well, Olaplex comes in and repairs those bonds, making your hair stronger and healthier over time.

It’s like putting the broken pieces of a puzzle back together. Olaplex is a multi-step system, so the more you use it, the stronger your hair becomes. It’s especially great if you’ve been doing a lot of coloring, bleaching, or using heat on your hair.

• Olaplex’s main ingredient is bis-aminopropyl diglycol dimaleate, which works by repairing disulfide bonds in the hair. These bonds are often broken due to chemical treatments like bleaching, coloring, and heat styling.
• It focuses on bond-building within the hair structure, making the hair stronger by reconnecting broken bonds.
• Focuses primarily on disulfide bond repair, which is essential for hair strength and elasticity.
• Works best for damage caused by chemical treatments and heat styling
  
• The Olaplex system has several steps, and the bond-building is a cumulative process.

K18

Now, K18 does things a little differently. Instead of focusing only on bonds, K18 works deeper in the hair to rebuild keratin, the protein that gives your hair structure. So if your hair feels weak or fried, K18 can help fix the actual protein in your hair—and fast!

The best part? With K18, you just use it once after shampooing, wait 4 minutes, and you’re good to go! No rinsing, no extra steps.

• K18 uses biomimetic peptide technology. It claims to restore keratin chains in the hair that have been damaged by chemical and heat processes.It works on a molecular level, targeting deeper damage within the hair structure, particularly the inner cortex where keratin proteins are broken down.
• K18 is designed to mimic natural keratin and repair hair from the inside out in just one step, rather than multiple treatments like Olaplex.
• Targets the keratin protein structure of the hair, focusing on rebuilding both protein chains and bonds.
• K18 aims to reverse more severe types of damage, including the breakdown of internal hair structure caused by intense chemical processes like bleaching.
  
  

So, here’s the difference in a nutshell:

• Olaplex focuses on repairing bonds and works best with repeated use over time.
• K18 targets deeper protein repair and shows results after just one use.

Olaplex is great if you want to rebuild your hair’s strength gradually, and K18 is awesome if you need a fast, one-step treatment for deeper damage.

Both Olaplex and K18 are in the higher-end range for hair care products, though K18 tends to be slightly more expensive, particularly since it’s designed to be more of a one-step product.

So, which one should you choose?

It really depends on your hair’s needs! If you’re someone who’s constantly coloring or bleaching your hair, you might love the bond-building power of Olaplex. But if your hair feels really damaged and you want a quick fix, K18 is a fantastic option.

What do I use?

I use them both! Because they work differently and target different types of damage, I use both in all my hair lightening services. I use Olaplex as an additive in my lightener (bleach) and then follow up with the K18 mask post service!

As far as take home products, I usually recommend the K18 just because it’s a simpler process to be done at home and much faster for my busy clients to use.

Hope this clears it up!

Stay Beautiful!

*Mickey*