It’s easy to fall into the black hole of coloring, bleaching, and heat-styling your hair.
After all, styling your tresses is one of the best ways to express your personality and mood.
But most of the time, the price you pay for gorgeous perms or fun fashion colors in your hair is gummy, damaged hair.
When your hair is extremely damaged, it can end up looking stringy and feeling gummy.
It ruins the entire look you were going for when you envisioned your styled hair, and it’s a challenge to take care of.
One brand that is always top-of-mind when it comes to healing damaged hair is Olaplex.
Olaplex products don’t have proteins, coconut oil, or any of those common reparative hair ingredients.
So what about it makes it so beneficial when trying to treat damaged and exhausted strands?
And can olaplex fix gummy hair?
Read on to find out.
Table of Contents
What Are The Probable Causes Of Gummy Hair?
Have you ever gone to bleach your hair or color it a new funky shade only for it to feel sticky and gummy next time you shower?
It’s that icky feeling where you can’t even comb it because of the gummy, tacky texture.
Even when you blow-dry, it will still feel sticky and squishy.
A gummy consistency in the hair is a tell-tale sign of damage.
This damage can be from anywhere, from chemical processes like dyes and keratin treatments, to excessive heat-styling with your flat irons and curling wands.
As long as your locks have that tacky feeling, you should take it seriously.
The cause of gummy hair is damage to the structure and support of your hair strands.
Any chemical process can weaken the protein bonds in your hair.
These are the bonds that keep your strands strong and intact.
When those are broken down, your hair will be fragile and tend to get gummy in texture.
The worst part is that damaged hair isn’t just gummy – that’s just one of the symptoms of unhealthy, overprocessed hair when it’s wet.
If you have damaged tresses, you’ll also have to deal with dehydration, split ends, breakage, and dullness.
And it’s all because of the weakened hair bonds.
Are Protein Treatments Good For Fixing Gummy Hair?
When you tell other people that your hair feels gummy after you go through chemical treatments, they’ll likely tell you that your routine is lacking in protein.
This makes sense since protein is what gives your hair its bounce and strength, but that’s not all there is to it.
Sometimes, using too much protein also risks even more damage, thanks to a little something called “protein overload”.
Protein overload happens when you try so hard to repair gummy hair that you end up feeding your locks way more protein than necessary.
When this happens, the protein and moisture levels in your hair are thrown off balance.
When there’s too much protein and not enough moisture in your strands, it’s prone to even more dryness and gumminess.
That’s because protein coats the outer layer of your hair strands, creating a stiff, shell-like coating around them that hardens the hair and makes it more prone to breakage.
Your hair then becomes more brittle and snaps off easily.
And when it’s wet, it feels stringy and gummy to the touch, making it challenging to brush and style.
Protein overload also makes the hair feel straw-like and rough in texture.
It won’t be as smooth and conditioned anymore.
It also makes your locks end up looking super dull, no matter how much gloss you used when you did your coloring treatment.
So as you can probably tell, protein is not the end-all and be-all of gummy hair.
It’s actually quite an uncertain game plan.
Sure, proteins are great for fortifying and repairing damaged hair, but you could mess it all up with one wrong move.
Luckily, protein treatments aren’t the only option you have for restoring and repairing damaged, gummy hair.
What Is Olaplex And What Can It Do For Damaged Hair?
If you’re involved in the hair care community online or at least follow one or two hair influencers, you’ve probably heard of Olaplex.
People often have the notion that this brand is all hype.
After all, it’s a hair brand that gorgeous influencers talk about non-stop.
But Olaplex is actually a brand that stands for something unique, and its patented key ingredient speaks for itself.
With Bis-Aminopropyl Diglycol Dimaleate infused in their entire line, Olaplex products work to rebuild the disulfide bonds in your hair destroyed by chemical, environmental, or thermal damage, aka the root causes of gummy hair.
Long story short, Olaplex uses this unique molecule to repair hair.
It’s the only patented hair repair system in the beauty industry.
Their products turn dry and dull locks into shiny tresses that are strong, hydrated, and bouncy.
What’s awesome about Olaplex, aside from its innovative bond-building molecule, is that its products don’t have way too many chemicals that you can’t even pronounce.
Every product is made with minimal ingredients, and its only star ingredient is Bis-Aminopropyl Diglycol Dimaleate.
Picky about what you put in your hair because of all the treatments you’ve done to it? Don’t fret.
Most Olaplex products have no sulfates and silicones, so they’re perfect for damaged hair that can’t take those harsh additives.
Olaplex’s Top Products And What They’re For
We’ve already established that if you haven’t heard of Olaplex before, you’ve likely been living under a rock.
There are tons of rave reviews about their products all over the internet.
The formulas they have under their belt are vegan, gluten-free, and cruelty-free.
They’re also free of harsh chemicals that can damage your hair, such as sulfates and phosphates.
Olaplex has a number of products that are identified through a numbering system.
Olaplex No. 1 and 2 are only for professionals, so the rest of us skip from No. 0 to 3.
If you’re a beginner and want to see how Olaplex will work for you and your gummy hair, we’ve put together a quick run-through of their entire line.
Check it out!
No. 0 Intensive Bond Building Treatment
It’s able to increase your strands’ ability to absorb moisture, which is a must for damaged locks.
Not only that, but it also works to repair some of the broken bonds in your hair as it is.
It’s formulated with the highest concentration of Olaplex’s bond-building molecule to stop gumminess in its tracks.
Consider it a “step one” to using one of Olaplex’s most popular products.
Soak your hair in the treatment for about ten minutes before hopping into the shower to saturate your hair in the next product below.
No. 3 Hair Perfector
This weekly treatment is Olaplex’s pride and joy; the one that most influencers rave about when they talk about the beauty brand.
It feels like a conditioner, but it’s actually more potent than that.
Just apply it to wet hair from root to tip and let it sit for a couple of hours (or even overnight!) before rinsing it off with lukewarm water.
This treatment transforms your hair from dry, gummy, and damaged to smooth, strong, and shiny in just one application.
It’s also awesome for preventing split ends.
No. 4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo
Not only does it help repair gummy hair, but it also curbs frizz, split ends, and breakage while washing the hair thoroughly.
Like all shampoos, the application must be concentrated on your roots.
After one wash, your locks will feel glossy and silky soft.
And all you had to do was wash your hair!
No. 5 Bond Maintenance Conditioner
It’s not as potent as the weekly treatment, but it’s well-suited for daily smoothening of gummy, damaged hair.
Like all Olaplex products, it also helps relink broken hair bonds to strengthen them.
What’s great about this conditioner is that it has special properties to help enhance your hair color, leaving it vibrant and glossy-looking post-shower.
No. 6 Bond Smoother
This is Olaplex’s lone leave-in cream.
It’s super moisturizing and strengthens damaged hair, but also speeds up the time you need to blow-dry your hair
It’s perfect for quick and easy styling in the morning!
True to its name, this leave-in smooths down your mane.
It even keeps frizz and flyaways at bay for up to 72 hours.
The best part is that it’s lightweight, so your locks will still have volume and bounce as you sashay down the street.
No. 7 Bonding Oil
To lock all that hydration in your hair, we have this finishing oil.
It’s amazing for building up your hair bonds while adding immense shine.
Even if it’s an oil, it makes your hair look fresh and supple, never gummy.
Unlike most hair oils, this one is designed not to feel and look greasy.
It’s super lightweight so it doesn’t weigh your locks down.
You can also use this oil as a heat protectant before styling.
It protects your hair from heat temperatures of up to 450°F – the maximum level of many hot tools.
No. 8 Bond Intense Moisture Mask
Last but not least, we have this weekly hair mask.
Based on clinical studies, it gives your hair two times more shine, four times more moisture, and a whopping six times more smoothness!
Note, however, that this mask does contain silicone.
However, it is water-soluble, which means it won’t suffocate your hair strands and can easily be washed away with water.
Other Things You Can Do To Fix Gummy, Damaged Hair
Don’t just rely on a bunch of Olaplex products to fix your gummy hair.
You can also do a lot to speed up the healing and restoration of your gummy hair.
Here are several things you can do to beat damage fast:
Get A Trim
The gummiest areas of your hair will be towards the ends, which are also the driest and likely the most damaged parts of your mane as well.
Cut off the ends with regular trims so that you can get rid of the gummy areas and have smooth, healthy hair from root to tip again.
Not only is this the fastest way to kiss those gummy locks goodbye, but it can also prevent breakage and promote healthy hair growth.
Moisturize Deeply
Dehydration is one of the first few signs of hair damage.
Gumminess comes afterward.
So nip it in the bud by making sure to hydrate your chemically treated hair as much as you can.
Treat your hair with leave-in serums and oil masks to add shine, strength, and elasticity back.
Give Your Hair A Break From Harmful Styling
Again, your disulfide bonds can break because of any type of damage, whether it’s from chemical, thermal, or environmental damage.
So when you can sense that your hair is getting gummy, try to stay away from the things that caused damage to begin with.
That means keeping your heat stylers away in your drawer for the next several weeks and months.
It also means being diligent in applying SPF to your hair when you go out under the sun’s UV rays.
Lastly, it means stopping all chemical treatments, from relaxers to coloring sessions.
Take Hair-Strengthening Supplements
Omega fatty acids are among the best hair-strengthening and moisturizing substances your strands crave, especially when they’re damaged and gummy.
Try taking fish oil capsules to add this extra strength back to your locks.
Conclusion
Before reading this article, you might have had second thoughts about purchasing Olaplex products to fix your gummy hair problems.
But it’s not all hype – its unique ingredient is backed by science and thousands of good reviews.
Next time you deal with gummy hair, lay off the protein for a while and go for something a bit more hardworking: Olaplex products.
They’re free of harsh chemicals and work hard to rebuild the bonds in your hair to eliminate the gummy, sticky feeling you get.
Whether you use just one or all the products in the Olaplex line, you’re bound to see a drastic difference in your hair’s health.
With consistency and commitment to an Olaplex routine, you can say goodbye to gummy tresses and go back to strong, bouncy, hydrated hair in no time.
