Olaplex Treatment: What It Does, Whether It Works & Is It Safe

Olaplex is a bond-repair system that rebuilds the broken bonds colour, bleach, and heat leave behind in your hair. It's used two ways: mixed into colour or bleach to protect your hair while it's being processed, and as a standalone strengthening treatment. It rebuilds strength and cuts breakage rather than smoothing or moisturising, and despite the headlines, mainstream evidence doesn't show it causes hair loss.

What Olaplex actually does

Olaplex is the treatment that started the whole “bond-builder” category back in 2014, and it's still one of the two names you'll hear most (the other being K18). Your hair holds its strength through internal bonds, and the disulfide bonds (think of them as cross-links) are the ones that get smashed apart by bleach, colour, perms, and high heat. When enough of them break, hair gets weak, stretchy, and prone to snapping.

Olaplex's job is to find those broken links and rebuild them. Used as a standalone treatment, it strengthens hair that's already damaged. Mixed into a bleach or colour formula, it works in real time as a buffer, protecting your hair's strength while the chemistry is doing its thing. That second use is why so many colourists reach for it during big lightening jobs.

Does Olaplex actually work?

Yes, with a realistic frame. Olaplex genuinely strengthens hair and reduces breakage, and the protective effect during bleaching is the part stylists value most, because it lets us push colour further with less damage. What it won't do is smooth frizz, add moisture, or make damaged hair “new” again. It manages damage; it doesn't erase it. And like any bond treatment, it works best as part of a routine, supported by the at-home range, rather than as a one-time fix.

Is Olaplex safe? Let's talk about the lawsuit

This comes up a lot, so here's the honest version. In early 2023, a lawsuit alleged that certain Olaplex products caused hair loss and scalp irritation. Later that year a judge declined to certify it as a class action (there was too much variation between the individual claims) and the remaining case was voluntarily dropped. There is no established evidence that Olaplex causes hair loss, and the company points to its own safety testing. (Separately, Olaplex settled a different complaint about “Made in USA” labelling; that one's about marketing, not hair health.)

What that means for you, in plain terms: Olaplex is broadly considered safe and is used in salons worldwide. As with any product, a small number of people react to an ingredient, so if your scalp gets irritated or itchy after using it, stop and check with a professional. If you're worried, tell us before your service and we'll factor it in.

Who gets the most out of it

Olaplex is at its best around colour. If you're lightening, going blonde, doing balayage, or colouring regularly, it's one of the smartest add-ons going, because it protects strength while you change your hair. It also helps fragile, curly, or already-damaged hair that needs reinforcement.

If your hair is healthy and you don't colour it, you'll get less out of a standalone Olaplex treatment. It's a strengthener, and there's less to strengthen. We'd rather tell you that than book you in for something your hair won't notice.

Getting Olaplex at Backstage

We offer Olaplex two ways. Most often it's built into a colour or lightening service to protect your hair's strength while we change it. Just mention it when you book your colour. It's also available as a standalone Olaplex Bond Treatment ($75) when your hair needs strengthening on its own. If you're deciding between Olaplex and K18, we have a separate guide comparing them, and we're always happy to talk it through in the chair and point you to whichever your hair actually needs.