Product Review: Olaplex No. 9 Bond Protector

Formula

Olaplex No. 9 Bond Protector is a lightweight styling serum that’s vegan and color-safe. It’s free of sulfates, silicones, parabens, phthalates and protein, and it’s suitable for chemically treated hair. The texture is light and doesn’t weigh hair down.

The key issue is that this isn’t a hair peptide serum or a scalp treatment. It’s designed for the lengths of the hair, not the scalp, so it offers none of the root-level support people expect when shopping for a hair growth serum.

Effects

The serum may help styles hold a little longer, minimize tangles and tame static, and it leaves a soft shine. It also offers some heat protection and helps protect hair color, which can be useful for people who style often.

All of these effects are cosmetic and temporary, and they wash out with the next shampoo. The serum isn’t designed to support density or growth, and the brand’s before-and-after images were achieved together with its own shampoo and conditioner, so the serum alone may not match them.

Use

You apply a small amount to clean, damp hair, working upward from the ends, and then air-dry, blow-dry or diffuse as usual. It works across different textures and fits easily into a styling routine.

On the other hand, it only makes sense on wash days, so it can’t work as a daily scalp treatment. Long or thick hair needs more product with each use, and getting the most from it means buying other products from the same range.

Price

Olaplex No. 9 is expensive for what is essentially a styling product. It doesn’t offer the scalp-focused benefits of a dedicated hair growth serum, which makes the price even harder to justify in this comparison.

The cost rises for anyone with longer or thicker hair, since each application uses more product. Combined with the brand’s push toward its other serums and full regimen, you’ll end up spending a lot for results that only last until the next wash.