Recently, one of our favorite bond builder brands released their first and only styling product; Olaplex No. 6 Bond Smoother. For those who are unfamiliar (no offense, but where have you been?!), Olaplex started out as a bond building treatment that was only available for use by stylists in-salon, which is still the case for their No. 1 and No. 2 steps. Essentially, adding Olaxplex No. 1 Bond Multiplier to color or lightener, or using it after color as a stand alone treatment, followed by Olaplex No. 2 Bond Perfector, can help keep hair feeling healthy after chemical services by rebuilding broken disulfide bonds. Next, they released Olaplex No. 3 Hair Perfector, a take-home treatment for clients to maintain their hair at home, used before shampooing. More recently, Olaplex No. 5 and No. 6 Bond Maintenance Shampoo and Conditioner, which I, personally, am absolutely in love with. In my experiences with Olaplex, my and my clients’ hair has always been better off with its use, so I was thrilled to learn that they would be releasing a leave-in product; but does it live up to the hype?

According to the Olaplex website, Olaplex No. 6 is “A leave-in reparative styling creme eliminates frizz, hydrates & protects all hair types.” In a more in-depth description, they claim that “This concentrated leave-in smoothing cream is excellent for all hair types including colored and chemically treated hair. OLAPLEX N°6 strengthens, hydrates, moisturizes and speeds up blow dry times while smoothing. Eliminate frizz and flyaways for up to 72 hours.”

Their instructions for use are:

“1. Apply a very small amount to damp or dry hair, concentrating product on your mid-length to ends.

2. Comb through and style as desired.”

I decided to test these claims by using No. 6 to style my own hair, as my hair is a bit of a unique case.

My actual hair is straight, fine, and rather flat; but I also have tape-in hair extensions that are naturally wavy, and a bit thicker than my hair. My initial worry was that the product would weigh my natural hair down, therefore making it obvious where my extensions began. To potentially prevent this, I began by working the product in at the ends of my hair, being sparing about my usage, and only used what was leftover on my natural hair. I then blowdried my hair using a round brush, and loosely curled it.

Though it normally takes me AGES to blowdry my hair, I noticed a significant decrease in drying time, which was probably my favorite thing about this product. On top of that, my hair was soft, smooth, and shiny as all get-out. The only warning I would give to those with fine hair is to be careful about how much you use; they’re not kidding when they say this stuff is concentrated! My extensions, normally somewhat frizzy after being in the humidity, stayed nice and smooth, just as Olaplex claimed. My only complaint about this product is that it is EXTREMELY thick, and the way the packaging is, it’s hard to regulate how much comes out at a time, so I find myself wiping a little off of my hands before applying it, and I hate wasting any of this stuff!

After using No. 6 on my hair, I tried it out on several of my clients, and found that it does, indeed, work on all hair types. I’m just as obsessed with this product as I thought I would be, and it is now a permanent fixture in my styling routine! Definitely ask your stylist to try it the next time you’re in the salon; you won’t regret it!