@Chicoro
Please share your experience with Olaplex.
I read your post in the Luscious Ends Challenge.
I started using Olaplex around December 2021. I know this to be for sure because I documented it. I added oil infused henna, too.
Then, I got this giant hairball on April 2022. I believe I had at least two of these hairballs. It was SOLID, thick and heavy as were the other ones. My hair was breaking, breaking, breaking.
I did not connect this to Olaplex until around Jan 2023. I thought it might have been stress. I was not washing my hair every week, but that was something I had done before and never got this much breakage.
I attributed the breakage to not knowing what my hair needed at this longer length, which was tailbone length at the time. It's shorter now due to breakage and loss of length. From experience my hair has different needs at different lengths which were bra strap, waist length, lower back and tailbone.
I also had several major life changes at that time and attributed the breakage to the stress due to those changes.
I couldn't use shampoo anymore, either. My hair would become severally frizzy, hard and like velcro. Shampoo was traumatizing my precious locks. I think Olaplex damaged my hair to the point where my hair could not tolerate shampoo.
@snoop gave me a clay recipe which turned my hair around.
My severe velcro ends are gone and my hair is soft and beautiful. I have not had any severe issues since January 2023 which is when I ditched shampoo, except to clarify. I got rid of Olaplex sometime in late 2022, I think.
This is all speculation on my part and going on memory. But, I've been at this hair thing for awhile and I tend to be meticulous when it comes to my hair processes. Since I dumped Olaplex and shampoo, I no longer get these huge, heavy hairballs which are absolutely not normal for my hair. Olaplex was in the mix of my hair care products and processes when I had the second worst set-back of my hair care journey.
Everybody is different and we know different people's hair has different needs. Just because Olaplex didn't work for me long-term does not mean it won't or doesn't' work for others.
EDIT: April 18th, 2024
I used Olaplex No. 0 the most and and Olaplex No. 3 somewhat, too.
Olaplex adversely impacted my HAIR and broke it off. Olaplex did not impact my SCALP in a way that I noticed.
I think Olaplex No. 0 was the newer formulation, the new take home product to start the process, but not exactly the same formulation you could get at a hair salon. So, if I HAD to narrow things down even further, I think Olaplex No. 0 was probably the culprit in my particular situation.