Issue link: https://www.ahpindiestylist.com/i/1520596
Explore your benefits at associatedhairprofessionals.com 49 new hydrogen bonds or new electrostatic bonds to give the hair strength." Some acid-based bond builders (like Redken's Acidic Bonding Concentrate Intensive Treatment or L'Oreal's EverPure Bond Strengthening Pre- Shampoo Treatment) work in some surprising ways. "ese acid treatments go in the hair and perform hydrogen bonding or electrostatic bonding within the hair molecule, and it changes the way the hair interacts with the humidity in the atmosphere, making hair feel stronger [and causing] less breakage," George says. e main patented ingredient in Olaplex, called bis-aminopropyl diglycol dimaleate, makes the products unique from anything else available on the market. "is helps reconnect the broken disulfide bonds to restore the hair's strength and elasticity," Celestin says. "It forms bonds with the sulfur atoms in the hair's keratin protein to repair damage." While Olaplex's products have been tested to ensure they don't cause skin sensitivity, there are no published, independent clinical trials that prove the efficacy of Olaplex's patented ingredient to repair broken disulfide bonds. ere has been only one clinical trial that examined the ingredient's chemical composition and potential effects. e study POTENTIAL IN THE PROFESSIONAL HAIR MARKET Before bond-building products entered the market, innovation in hair products mostly focused on repairing hair after the bonds had been broken. While other hair treatments like hair masks and conditioners work at the outermost layer of the hair cuticle for surface-level improvements, hair-bonding products work at the innermost level to repair those broken bonds within the hair structure. Olaplex was the first brand to figure out how to repair and rebuild disulfide bonds—the biggest problem consumers face—instead of only treating the symptoms of broken hair bonds. Olaplex's patented bonding technology revolutionized the hair care industry. Since, other hair care brands, including K18, Redken, L'Oréal, and Aveda, have launched products in the growing bond-building space that promise to repair bonds that are broken or damaged during chemical services. BONDING INGREDIENTS AT WORK "On a scientific level, hair-bond builders work by penetrating the hair shaft (going through the cuticle) and targeting the cortex, where many of the bonds may be damaged," says cosmetic chemist Cassandra Celestin "[is reconnects] the broken bonds—particularly the disulfide bonds—which are crucial for the hairs, elasticities, porosity, and overall strength. ese bonding formulas contain ingredients that somewhat mimic the molecular structure of the hair's natural bonds, allowing them to fill in and bind to the damaged sites to repair them." Due to patent protections, it's impossible to know how ingredients like Olaplex's patented molecule work within the hair shaft. Because of this, some cosmetic chemists, like George, are skeptical about how these bond builders work, but they have a few guesses. "We don't really understand how they're working or why they're working," George says. "ese molecules enter the hair and change the way these bonds are interacting with each other or maybe even building