Olaplex. Nº.2 Bond Perfector, 3.3 oz

My friend suggested Olaplex to me and specifically gave me this link, so I quickly bought it before reading too many Amazon reviews. I got a little nervous after reading some that thought this might not legitimately be Olaplex. But now that I've received it, I don't see how it couldn't be. It arrived in legitimate Olaplex packaging, with all the instructions, etc. that it would ordinarily come with (I did do research on Olaplex itself). I would like to advise potential shoppers not to expect a miracle, because nothing is a true miracle. But I'll tell you my experience, and you can go from there. I damaged my hair quite badly in a home color processing fiasco gone terribly wrong. That moment you realize you left the bleach on to process for just too long, and all is ruined. It's a terrifying moment if you possess any kind of vanity about your hair...which I assume you do if you're considering investing in a product like this. I did not know about Olaplex when I lightened my hair, or I would have done what you're SUPPOSED to do, and added it in with my powder + developer solution to protect my hair (learn from my mistakes!). My hair took on an almost gummy texture it was so damaged. It didn't even feel like hair anymore. Couldn't even run a brush or comb through it. All it did was break off. It was devastating. I ended up cutting it very short to try and salvage what I could. And I'll still have to keep trimming as it grows. (All in all, the cut did turn out really cute, so I can still go about without feeling super self conscious about it--I just use styling products generously to help disguise the damage.) Besides the horrible texture, it also wouldn't hold any color very well. Here I had lightened my hair considerably so I could do a fun color, that it then wouldn't even take, and it just looked silly and patchy. Enter Olaplex. I'll tell you what Olaplex didn't do -- it didn't instantly transform my highly processed and damaged hair to glorious healthy locks. So if your hair is anything like mine, don't expect that. But I can run my fingers through it again. It's still a bit frazzled looking, but I can brush it again. Immediately after washing out, I could tell my hair felt different. It's definitely better. It holds color better. Color that I have to keep up on in order to maintain (just using semi permanent for now so as not to cause more damage--trying to darken my hair back closer to its natural state again), but it's not patchy and it doesn't immediately wash out. So it's helping. With my next color treatment, I intend to also use a protein filler to help hold the color. This kit comes with Olaplex no. 1 & 2. There is also a no. 3 that I wasn't sure if I needed to get or not. No. 3 is a slightly diluted version of no. 2, so no, it's not necessary. 1 & 2 are meant to be used in a salon by a professional, while no. 3 is the take home treatment the client gets to maintain the process. There are directions in the box for both using it during a color/lightening process and also as a standalone hair treatment, plus a measuring device so you can dilute no. 1 properly with water in the standalone treatment. In conclusion, with regular treatments and trims, I believe I am on my way to making my hair better again. Olaplex is amaaaaazing, yes. Just don't expect overnight results. If you damage your hair anything like I did, you sorta have to live with the consequences for a while--and be very, very nice to your hair from there on out.