Is Olaplex good for fine thin hair?

By: | Last Updated: April 30, 2023

Hair products have come a long way in solving problems for every hair type. 

However, what you’ll see mainly in the market seems to leave out both the needs of fine and thin hair individuals. 

Often, you’d have to do research and several trials because the one product you need doesn’t specifically put “thin” or “fine hair” on its label. 

To help you narrow the search, let’s look at Olaplex— a famous brand for its salon-like quality. Is Olaplex good for fine thin hair? 

Is Olaplex OK for fine hair?

Before proceeding to the good stuff, let’s make this clear: fine hair and thin hair are two different descriptions of hair. Although often interchanged, they are not the same!

Fine” refers to the width of an individual hair strand. 

To know if you have fine hair, compare a strand to a thread’s diameter. If it has a smaller width, it’s safe to conclude that your hair is fine, as opposed to being medium or coarse. 

Unsurprisingly, fine hair is lightweight and often appears silky and soft. It’s a hair tie’s nightmare, TBH! 

The tiny diameter also increases the tendency for breakage, therefore creating an appearance of less volume. It can also easily experience product build-up, which results in a greasy look. 

Thickness refers to the density of your hair, or as for thin hair, the lack thereof. Density means that you don’t have many hair strands per square inch of your hair. 

Thin hair can look patchy since the strands may not have uniform distance, i.e., how close/ far apart they are. You can often see the scalp due to uneven growth. As a result, you can observe limpness and a total lack of volume. 

Here’s the punchline:

You can always have MANY fine hair strands, which will give you a semblance of volume, albeit not as noticeable as those with medium to coarse hair. But thin hair, as it has less density, would always lack volume. 

If you have fine hair, you may have split ends, breakage, and greasiness

It’s not fun, but it’s a situation you can quickly address by choosing products that help create volume and practicing habits that lessen the heat, over-moisturizing, and build-up on your fine hair. 

Another great way to care for your hair is to ensure that you prevent further damage and repair existing ones. 

While it may be easy to choose lightweight styling products, it might be a tad more challenging to look for the go-to reparative and preventive treatment readily available in the market. 

That’s where Olaplex comes to the rescue!

What is Olaplex?

Olaplex No. 5 Bond Maintenance Conditioner, 8.5 Fl Oz No. 4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo, 8.5 Fl Oz*
  • It is formulated with olaplex bond building chemistry
  • It restores internal strength and moisture levels to add incredible shine and manageability
  • It is recommended for all hair types
  • It is formulated with olaplex bond building chemistry
  • It restores internal strength and moisture levels to add incredible shine and manageability

* Prices and Images pulled from the Amazon Product Advertising API on 2024-03-28 at 22:02  

Olaplex is best known for its patented bond-building system. 

The technology provides a way to link the broken disulfide bonds and improve hair strength and overall health.  

Those who often use heat styling tools, chemically process their hair, and live in extreme weather conditions or pollution experience more damage than the average and will benefit most from it. 

Everyone’s hair gets damaged almost every day by external factors, so Olaplex is for all!

Since fine hair can easily break, treating it with Olaplex’s bond-building system allows you to fortify your hair significantly.

Which Olaplex is good for fine hair?

Olaplex has a nine-step (WHEW!) system of turning your damaged hair back to its virgin state. Do you need all nine? Thankfully not!

For fine hair, you can address your common concerns with only three of their products—namely, Olaplex No. 4, No. 3, and No. 0. 

Olaplex No. 4C is an advanced clarifying shampoo. It gently removes product build-up and excess oil while promoting shine and volume. 

Apply No. 4C on wet hair and work through the whole hair, from the scalp to the ends, for five minutes. You can use it weekly. 

Olaplex No. 0 and No. 3 play a two-part system to repair damaged hair

Just because your hair doesn’t feel like straw does not mean it isn’t experiencing some damage, even as simple as frizziness!  

Apply No. 0 first to damp hair and let it process for 10 minutes before saturating it with No. 3 for another 10 minutes. Rinse thoroughly, then shampoo and condition as usual. 

Do note that every hair is different. Some people allergic or sensitive to hair products may quickly find themselves swearing off Olaplex. Is Olaplex bad for fine hair? Nope!

As with any product, it comes with negative reviews. Some claim it made their hair worse or may cause infertility issues. 

However, as of 2021, Olaplex has no ingredients listed, which may cause significant harm. Moreover, improper use might be involved, e.g., not removing existing build-up before putting on Olaplex. 

If you don’t need intense repairing, you can opt for the No. 4+No. 3 system only rather than including No. 0, which has the highest at-home concentration of their patented technology. 

The key to a balanced hair routine starts with knowing your hair’s needs and slowly easing it into its healthier state. It takes patience!

olaplex 4 5 8 – Curling Diva

How do you apply OLAPLEX to thin hair?

Naturally, thin hair is a lottery ticket you won through genetics. The space between each hair follicle on your scalp can determine how much hair you have. You can tell if they are far apart from the lack of volume. 

Thinning hair, on the other hand, means the quality of your hair has changed over time. 

Aging, illness, diet, emotional stressors, hormones, and hereditary diseases like androgenetic alopecia contribute to thinning hair. Microinflammation in the scalp is also a leading contributor to thinning hair; it’s often related to scalp disorders like dandruff, dryness, and sensitivity. 

Thinning hair can be temporary or permanent, depending on why it occurred in the first place. 

It’s significant for thin and thinning hair to have lightweight, clarifying, and strengthening ingredients to prevent a flattened look and reduce build-up and breakage.

Starting with Olaplex No. 8, you can combat dryness with their Bond Intense Moisture Mask. Thin and fine hair are similar in that they can be sensitive to heavy products. With No. 8, you can have “2x more shine, 4x moisture, 6x smoothness, and 94% more body” to your hair without overloading it. 

Again, customizing is critical. After shampooing, apply one pump and work through your hair for 10 minutes. Rinse thoroughly afterward. You can incorporate this once a week as a replacement for your conditioner. 

If your thinning hair leads to severe breakage, a good way is to also pair your No. 8 with their No. 3 Hair Perfector and No. 0 Bond Intense Repair to strengthen the integrity of the individual strands greatly. No. 4 shampoo and No. 5 conditioner can also be an option if you want to maintain your hair without resorting to higher concentrations which may be too sensitive for your scalp. 

Styling thin hair can also be a bummer, but it does not take much to illuminate your hair while protecting it from heat using their No. 7 Bonding Oil. With dryness comes frizz as well. If your concern is such, the No. 6 Bond Smoother styling treatment can be a good choice. 

Just remember, a little goes a long way! 

The bond-building qualities of Olaplex are a blessing to thin-haired individuals. 

In theory, following the entire nine-step system will help you take care of and improve your strands. It may not give you thicker hair, but it certainly will not let you fall into the issues related to thin and thinning hair. 

Look for Olaplex for thin hair reviews as your first step to research. You may find bad ones but keep an open mind that certain medical conditions, improper use, and severity of existing damage on thin hair may be unsolvable by Olaplex alone.

CHECK OUT: What happens it you leave Olaplex on for too long

Which Olaplex is best for fine thin hair?

A combination of fine thin hair is an unlucky roll on the dice of hair must-haves. Not only do you have individual strands that are small in diameter, but you also don’t have many of them. As a result, your hair has no body. 

Olaplex can be an excellent start to encourage your hair to grow by preventing breakage. 

It does not give you instant volume. FYI:  that is a job for your volumizing mousse

It does, however, repair your hair at a molecular level and gives it extra hydration and smoothness. Its job goes beyond appearance! 

So, how to choose which Olaplex for fine thin hair?

If you visit their website and undergo a hair diagnostic test, you can get a more precise product combination to suit your current needs. To those who badly need it, a repair kit with all nine products is available too. Some start at the popular Olaplex No. 3 and only stick with it!

Olaplex Hair Perfector No 3 Repairing Treatment*
  • Repairs damaged and compromised hair, strengthens and protects hair structure, restores healthy appearance and…
  • Apply a generous amount from roots to ends on unwashed towel-dried hair.
  • Comb through once and leave on for a minimum of 10 minutes or more. Rinse from hair, shampoo, and…
  • Use by date: This product’s use by date is determined by the Period After Opening symbol. The Period After…

* Prices and Images pulled from the Amazon Product Advertising API on 2024-03-28 at 22:02  

Whatever you choose, remember never to overuse it. Having fine thin hair means it is more sensitive to the quality and frequency of products you select. Olaplex is a miracle for many, and it can be for you too! 

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