powerBOND Professional Strength Hair Plex Technology™

I have used Olaplex 1 and 2 when I’ve DIYed my color (as has my colorist when I’ve had color done in his salon) since it launched. In fact, I would NEVER have had any color service AT ALL especially NOT bleach, without it. But due to an illness that has prevented me from being able to have a bleach/tone service done professionally, it became necessary to do it myself. However, I couldn’t afford the extra $90 for Olaplex 1 and 2 this time so I did some research about alternatives, now that many other brands of bond multiplying additives have found their way to the marketplace. Of course, one of these “alternatives” was Powerbond and it was also the most affordable, with 5 “doses” to a package for $15. The reviews seemed good but to be perfectly honest, this was the about all I had to spend. I will say that I do NOT recommend in any way, shape or form, using ANY brand of bleach or toner from Sally’s or from any other public beauty supply source. These days there are LOTS of amazing salon brands available to nonprofessionals online. The quality of these salon brands is far superior to ANYTHING available to the public at large. I used Guy Tang Big 9 Cream Lightener, which can lift up to 9 levels (for reference my hair is a natural level 4 with more than 75% gray), along with the Wellexon 20 volume developer. The mixing ratio of the Guy Tang Big 9 lightener is 1:1, meaning one part lightener to one part developer. Because I have so much gray, it was not necessary to use lightener/developer alone so I mixed in an equal amount of a very moisturizing shampoo. One thing that is true of Olaplex is that is reduces the strength of the developer so it’s necessary to bump it up. For example, if you would use a 20 volume developer strength without Olaplex, you would need a 30 volume strength WITH Olaplex. I didn’t find any info online that suggested I should bump up the strength of the developer (to a 30 volume) when using Powerbond so I went ahead with 20 volume. This I can say now was a mistake. The less time bleach is on the hair (even when mixed with some shampoo and with Olaplex/Powerbond) the better. I didn’t get the quick lift I usually get so it did require using heat for about 15 minutes but this could have been avoided had I known that using Powerbond would similarly require a bump up in the developer strength.As for the condition of my hair, so far so good and it actually is better than I expected. I hoped that it would be EXACTLY THE SAME as it is with Olaplex but not quite. However, it was much much MUCH better than it would have been without it. And this is the bottom line. I ended up having to mix up two batches given that bleach/developer is only active for a maximum of 60 minutes so when I didn’t get the lift I expected, I had to do another fresh batch since by the time I would finish applying a bit more, the 60 minutes would have well passed. (The 60 minutes the bleach is active INCLUDES the application time and all the fooling around that inevitably occurs when you’re doing such a service at home. So DO NOT ANSWER the PHONE.....). All in all, I will use Powerbond again, should I have to DIY my hair again. But I’m hoping that my health will improve so I will be able to go back to my much beloved colorist soon.

trying to go back to blonde and had already bleached once and was terrified of doing it again without finding something to help damage so i looked into olaplex alternatives. being in quarantine, i couldn’t go buy the ion one to try which is supposed to be the olaplex dupe. so i tried this amazon option not having too high hopes based on the reviews. but after bleaching again all i can say is wow! i wouldn’t say it’s a dupe to olaplex, but it definitely saved my hair from too much further damage! it worked pretty well, if you’re considering getting it, do it. it’s worth the price, i used 4 out of the 5 tubes on my hair. the date was expired, but i just said F it and tried it anyway and it worked. lol.

I think this is a great product and will buy again. I lightened my hair 3 levels with a 20v and Shwartzkoph Bleach and processed for an hour. No breakage and feels soft. My hair is thin and has been previously colored so I was worried about keeping it in good shape. This bonder protected Just as well as Olaplex at a much more affordable price. I did end up using 3 1/2 tubes because I had to mix up some more bleach. My hair is only shoulder length but because I did a whole head application I needed more.

I’ve tried Oleplex but was not impressed. I have African 4C natural hair that is color treated. I’m trying to grow out my natural hair but noticed breakage thus preventing retention of length. Well, I tried this product as a stand alone treatment and all I can say is that I now only comb out 2 to 3 hairs (wet or dry). This is HUGE! I also keep a spray bottle of water and one of the treatments to spritz daily then seal with my favorite oil. To me, this product is way better than Oleplex with a fraction of the cost. I’ve since bought 6 more packs to stock up. To my natural hair sistas out there, you won’t be disappointed!

I think it worked, my hair is fine after a light bleaching. I did a low volume bleach for 25min(1.5-2 ish levels lighter). My hair was only a little dryer but I didn't notice any breakage and after a leavin conditioner it was back to normal. (Usually my hair is fried after any lightening)

I decided to give this a whirl because Olaplex 1 is so expensive. I still want to keep the integrity of my hair when bleaching. I use it with the rest of the Olaplex 2-7 and with 1 use down and another one coming soon, I so far have not noticed it being any better or worse than authentic Olaplex 1. So I'm all in for now. You just can't #blonde without a #bond!!

Wish I took a pic! I bleached my daughters hair prior to adding blue and purple color again. Hair integrity saved!

Neither this nor the olaplex product were magical remedies as people would have you think but they do improve mistakes one makes stripping one's hair. If you need this product then you definitely need to follow with a High potency humectant conditioner to get the full effect of repair.