Olaplex 3 and hair loss?

[Vaesther]

Has anyone experience excessive shedding of hair after Olaplex 3 treatment??

I thought it was a coincidence the 1st time, but it happened after the 2nd and 3rd tx.

I used it weekly x 3, and the hair loss after the 3rd treatment is noticeable.

I will not use it again (and only used about 2/3 of 1 bottle).

No hair scalp itch or redness, to suggest an allergic reaction. 

[Hkhairloss]

I am very sorry, I understand.

What tratment are you going to follow?

I AM using Clobetasol.

[Jay267]

Oh Jamieh I'm so sorry it hasn't stopped. I remember your user name and Lo... from when my stuff was going on. Mine has stopped, used olaplex twice in beginning of Nov. and my hairloss stopped mid December but re-appeared for a week during a super mild covid case I had. I had a lot of breakage - I'm letting it all just grow, didn't cut anything and also hairloss from the root!! Which was SO scary! I do feel like now I have little new hair coming, so That's a relief! But when I brush my hair or see even one hair come out of my scalp I'm literally paranoid it's starting again or I jut gotten used to it. I lost in total 25-30% of my hair, my hair is thin-ish but I have a lot of hair so you couldn't even make out. But I know it from my ponytails and styling... its just different and way less. I did use vitamins for a month and now 3 times a week, but that wasn't my issue for sure. Otherwise I still use clarifying shampoo and sometimes switch to moisturizing shampoo and hair oil. 

It's kind of funny that I read a bunch of people saying maybe its from stress when for me personally it started in the shower washing out the first olaplex treatment that I did...  the only stress I had was from my hair falling out..... so I'm just thankful it stopped!!!! 

And I wish it will stop for you and others as well! But yes for me it took 2+ months to completely stop but I only used it twice! 

[lo9143]

Thanks for the update I would love an update when you get the biopsy back. I feel like we are on a similar time for the last time we used olaplex …. Maybe this will end soon for both of us

[Hkhairloss]

Hi!

What happen with your biopsy?

I used Olaplex 3 times and I stop using it for 3 weeks ago and I AM loosing a Lot of hair, My head is itching and burning, I AM so scared. Do You know if the diagnosis Scarring Alopecia?

I AM so worried!!

[jamieh11]

Of course! 🙂 I will keep you updated.

I know how hard this is, just know that you are not alone and we will get through it. This past week has been difficult for me, I feel that I have lost even more hair than usual. Definitely lots of crying has been involved, I am wishing for an end soon. I am trying to stay hopeful, because there’s not much else I can do at this point. 

[lo9143]

I feel like I lost more hair last week too after I thought it was slowing down … it seems like it slows down then starts up again then slows down ….I am not sure if anyone else is experiencing this….

I go back to the dermatologist at the end of the month so we’ll see what she says then 

[Marioleczkus]

Omg. The same! It kind of slows down and I think it’s getting better but then again back to loosing hundreds of hair per day… I gave up hope on fixing the damaged hair I am left with and all I hope is a new hair if few years but for that I really need this shedding to stop! Btw. I have been using  viviscal supplements for hair for the past 4 months and biotin for years I don’t see it’s helping this situation… 

[lo9143]

For me I think supplements and collagen are helping the growth but nothing stops the shedding 😞

[hairloss]

Hi. My hair loss is back to normal but my remaining hair is so destroyed that I am still having breakage. I do not see any new growth. The remaining hair is growing,  however. I only go out wearing wigs because I lost so much hair... I started olaplex in Oct and stopped in November. I also have dandruff now which I never had. I

 have always taken vitamins so I didn't need to do anything on that area.  I am taking prescription vit D. Hope your hair loss stops real soon!

[lo9143]

Thanks. Have you tried collagen and biotin? I am taking 2 scoops of collage a day and 5000mg of biotin and I definitely have a ton of regrowth. I just don’t think the regrowth can keep up with the loss if the loss continues at this rate.

it’s strange how everyone’s situations are so different. It’s so hard not having answers 

[hairloss]

Yes. I have always taken the extra supplements. Biotin etc. 

[Sequince]

I believe the same has happened to me and my daughter. At first I attributed the thinning to aging and dying. But now I'm seeing it in my 11 year old who has has full thick hair her whole life. She now has a noticable thining spot in her head after 4 uses at home and 2 professional #olaplex treatments. I feel so bad but dont know how to reverse it

[BeautyjunkyAz]

I’m so sorry you’re both dealing with this! You should contact the FDA with the details of your experience and hopefully they’ll get enough complaints to investigate. Stop all the olaplex and read through this thread for ideas on what might help / has helped others. 

The two women in front of me at Sephora yesterday were grappling with which olaplex products to buy and ended up purchasing a whole slew of them. I so badly wanted to warn them about my experience and point them towards this thread but didn’t feel like it was my place.

I hate that customers are playing roulette with these products and risking the health of their hair along with the many mental / emotional side effects that go along with losing it.

So incredibly sad but I don’t think any single one of us has the means to stop such a powerful company and the damage they’re doing. 

[skindrop]

This thread is really interesting and helpful. I use Olaplex 1 & 2 once/month and the professional version of the #8 conditioner once/week. I live in a very dry climate and our water is on the hard side so I plan to get a water softener (not sodium- or potassium-based) although I probably also need a water purifier to remove the chlorine, too. Couple things to note: test your water because hard water combined with a dry climate can cause hair to be brittle (hard water has a lot of calcium and magnesium that builds up on the hair and scalp). With that said, I do agree that Olaplex is making my hair loss worse instead of strengthening it as advertised. There are different types of loss: hair loss from the root (with the bulb) or breakage. I am experiencing both. I am 50, my hair used to be long and thick and I agree with others that I am starting to look like Gollum. I cut 8 inches off and am washing with a clarifying shampoo, rinsing with ACV and then conditioning with anything that isn't too protein-heavy and using Moroccanoil.  Most of the time I let my hair air dry but if I blow dry, I use a Dyson on the very lowest heat setting.  It feels like everything makes my hair brittle and I agree with posters who said bond repair products are not great--if I use a bond styling product my hair feels okay for an hour and then it starts cracking off (this could be from the dry climate but I humidify the air in my house so it never drops below 30% humidity).  Between COVID, pollution, and chemicals in everything, our hair is taking a beating.  Coloring hair and other treatments also makes hair weaker (as does the aging process).  I am on the fence about Keratin treatments. I now brush my hair every night with a boar bristle brush and it feels good but still breaks off. Nioxin System 6 worked for me in the past (Rene Furterer was good too) and I think I'll go back to one of those systems.  Best to use a simple shampoo and conditioners that are more like traditional "cream rinses" without all the protein and chemicals.  I wish everyone luck and I empathize about the loss of sleep and stress caused by hair loss.  I haven't had any scalp issues from the Olaplex and after using it my hair feels soft but I continue to lose a lot of it.

[Jay267]

I forgot about the Dyson hair dryer: I didn't like how my hair felt after using it back in the days. I felt like it was not good for my hair for some reason and I only used it a handful of times and completely stopped and used an average hair dryer ever since. Anyone has had the same experience? This is obviously completely unrelated to the Olaplex hairloss issue.  

[BeautyjunkyAz]

Hi @Jay267, Yes! I had the same exact experience with the Dyson and it was right around the time that I started using Olaplex so I’ve always been curious to know if there was a correlation or if the Dyson exasperated things. Hair was very dry, brittle, tangled and just didn’t lay well.

In my state of panic and not knowing 100% what was causing my hair damage / breakage, I tossed the Olaplex in the garbage and put the Dyson under the sink for now. Sucks given how expensive that blow dryer is! But it could have been a contributing factor.

Went back to using my more gentle ceramic blow dryer. 

[Jay267]

I'm sorry you're going through this and I hope it will stop for you!!!

In regards to water quality: I lived in the Middle East for a couple of years, water was really bad there, air obviously super dry, we had sandstorms and the city I lived in is literally in the desert.... most of used shower filters there, I afterwards lived in Asia literally in the jungle - also used a shower filter there. And I'm in the US now and also have a shower filter here and my hair was still falling out only in November when using Olaplex and I believe for me it was 100% from Olaplex because it started in the shower washing out the product, even though I used it years ago successfully. I never had an issue once in my life with my hair! 

So I'm sure disease, stress, water quality etc. are factors for lots of people who suffer hairloss but I just don't know what else it could've been for me personally.

It also stopped 2 months later and I used the clarifying shampoo and updated this group since November multiple times, so even if probably all of us will never get a 100% confirmation what it finally was - because who is gonna be able to give us that? For me it's clear: I will never touch Olaplex again ever!

On the Facebook group someone also said that the company changed hands, so I wouldn't be surprised if they changed not the ingredients but the suppliers of the ingredients..... and I lived in Asia where a ton of ingredients do come from... something like that may be the reason why a lot of people have (more) issues with it. It's just a theory obviously. I'm a really hardy and healthy person, I never have anything, no allergies etc and this really was the first time ever that something really concerned me in regards to my body. 

[hayhay1211]

Yes! I have only been using this for 2 months and my hair is extremely thin and oily and some bold spots. I was wondering if anybody else experienced this. I heard just great thinks about it and was excited to use it. Now I just cried for about a hour. I’m only 21 and my hair is falling out like crazy 

[Jay267]

Did you start using the clarifying shampoo like recommended in the forum in past articles? I don't know if it helps everyone or how long you used what olaplex product for, but my hairloss stopped after 2 months and I believe like many others because of it! That'd the clarifying shampoo cleansed the hair/roots/scalp from Olaplex product and build up! Also recommended was NO protein in hair products, shampoos, conditioners etc. There's a theory here that an overload of protein (in thin hair?) may the cause of it. And I only had wished I would've directly used the clarifying shampoo... but I waited for 2+weeks cause I was scared to use something new, or even touch/brush my hair and also hope it'd just stopped by itself but it didn't! I had lost 20-30% of my hair... and only used Olaplex TWICE in the beginning of November! 

[heartsmyface]

@Jay267  @hayhay1211 It’s an overload of protein in non porous or undamaged hair;).  The protein fills the cuticles of the hair essentially sealing it so it looks good at first but can’t absorb water (moisture) so it becomes dry and brittle.  Hair needs a protein moisture balance.  
if it’s been overloaded a clarifying treatment with 2tbsp of apple cider vinegar (maybe twice a week) in a cup of water poured over the hair with some gentle friction for two minutes and then rinsed will remove any residual hair product and a little of the protein so water can better access the cuticle but it will take a couple weeks of no to little protein hair care and lots of hydration treatment for it to balance out.    

[Jay267]

Wow - I appreciate that explanation!! Yessss!!! Thats what I meant lol

It's true Clarifying shampoo and hair oil + switch between clarifying and moisturizing shampoo worked for me. I also have small hair coming again so I hope I will be back to normal one day