If Summer Has Taken a Toll on Your Hair, This Is the One Product You Need To Bring It Back to Life

Summer is great for a lot of things, like trips to the beach, dining al fresco, and wearing sundresses. What it’s not so great for? Our hair.

When the hot summer months roll around, scorching temps and muggy weather can wreak havoc on our hair. In some regions of the U.S., heat brings humidity, which inevitably brings frizz. Oftentimes, trying to stay cool means more time in the pool, where harsh chemicals and strong chlorine can leave our strands dry and brittle. Sweat, excessive heat, forgetting to put SPF on our scalps—all of these add up, and our hair health takes a hit.

However! There is a solution, and it’s waiting for you at your local Sephora, salon (or, more conveniently, a couple clicks away on this page): Olaplex No. 3 Hair Perfector ($28).

If summer has left your hair looking (and feeling) lackluster, Olaplex’s best-selling treatment can bring it back to life. Tangled knots, chlorine-induced breakage, and overall dryness are no match for this powerful at-home treatment, strong enough to revitalize even the most exhausted manes.

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Olaplex No. 3 Hair Perfector

Olaplex was revolutionary when it first hit the market in 2014, gaining notoriety for its proprietary bond-healing technology. Now, its line of haircare products is a necessity for revitalizing damaged hair, in and out of the salon. Carlie Kazimir, a cosmetologist and manager of the beauty supply store SalonCentric in Marlboro, New Jersey, says that month after month, hundreds of professional hair stylists walk into her store in search of Olaplex—most of them leave with the Hair Perfector.

“It feels like every customer leaves the store with at least one, if not three, Olaplex products,” she says. “If you have dry, damaged, fragile hair that needs protein built back into it, then their treatments are an absolute must.”

Kazimir explains that Olaplex’s formulation actually repairs and strengthens the hair follicles. While other products sit on top of the hair follicles, Olaplex actually gets to the core proteins to repairs broken bonds (that’s what gives us things like dryness, damage, and frizz.) The result is stronger, silkier hair.

“If your hair is super damaged, you’ll actually see a difference,” Kazimir says. “When I used it, I saw results within a week. It felt stronger, I wasn’t getting breakage around my hairline, when I blew it out I wasn’t finding that much hair left in my brush—it just maintains the integrity of your hair.”

Although its whole line of products is pretty incredible, it’s the Olaplex Hair Perfector that really stands out. This hair cream has that same, badass bond-healing technology that’s strong enough to bring dead ends and dry roots back to life. It’s a pretty no-fuss product, too. You just apply the leave-in treatment once a week (2-3 times if your hair really needs help). That’s when the all-natural ingredients get to work, giving broken bonds a little TLC for smoother, healthier hair.

Kazimir says while it’s suitable for all hair types, you probably won’t see the same outcome if your hair is already in good shape. But if that summer heat has left its mark, expect some serious results. “Olaplex was kind of created as a lighting service, in a sense, snapping bonds back in place,” she says. “[If you have] fragile, broken hair, you’ll see it.”

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