I Put K18, Olaplex, Epres, Living Proof & Redken Treated Hair Samples Under an SEM Microscope... OMG

✖ FIND ME:

✖ KEEP WATCHING:

✖ TIME STAMPS:
00:00 Intro
01:19 The experiment: Part 1
02:59 The experiment: Part 2
06:48 The control sample
09:14 Living Proof results
09:57 Epres results
10:38 Olaplex results
11:03 K18 results
11:36 Redken results
12:16 The takeaway

✖ PRODUCTS MENTIONED:

✖ FTC: This video is not sponsored. Products marked with an * were gifted to me in PR. If you decide to purchase any products from this video, it would mean SO much to me if you used my links. This gives me a small commission to continue to purchase new products to review for you all on this channel. Thank you so much for your love & support!

✖ Disclaimers: I am not a dermatologist or medical professional. My channel is a space for me to share product reviews based on my personal experience and/or research, not to diagnose. My videos should never be a replacement for guidance from a medical professional. You should always seek guidance from a medical professional or dermatologist for any and all concerns, questions, and needs.

♪ Storybook (Prod. by Lukrembo)

[tamaravogl]

omg love how Abby has zero holds barred for marketing claims. I love these independent experiments that are evidence based and she's one of the few content creators I genuinely trust. I'd personally love to see a hairdryer/hairstyler showdown with the leading products in the category. I'm very curious to see the ongoing results with the Repronizer and how they compare to products like Dyson, Shark etc. THANKS FOR ALL YOU DO ABBY! xx

[emmalewis]

So my personal conclusion here is that K18 and Olaplex are our best bets. There's never any certainty in science, but coming from a fellow STEM girl your efforts here are very much appreciated!! That was a very solid experiment and the only one I've seen thus far on this subject. Thank you for taking the time and I hope you're able to do more of this kind of content!

[tasha]

My advice, from someone who’s completed their bachelor’s in Science and has done multiple internships in labs, pick tests where you can easily and affordably minimize your standard error. A think that was the biggest weakness of the electron imaging test. Because the visual condition of the cortex greatly varies from strand to strand and within the same strand, your sample standard deviation is inherently massive. Then, because you can only afford to do a few samples of each treatment, it’s basically impossible to say if the treatments had any effect that could not be explained by standard error (ei: random chance).

If you were to test tensile strength, you can quantitatively assess if there is a significant difference in your treatment samples using a one-tailed unpaired t-test. You can first run a pilot test on a set of untreated hair to get an approximate mean and standard deviation, and then calculate how many samples you’d need to detect changes in tensile strength. For example, if x̄=200 MPa, SD=50, with 95% confidence you wish to to detect at least a 15% increase in tensile strength, you’d need at least 16 samples per treatment and control. Whereas a 10% increase in would require at least 35 samples per set.

Basically, before spending the time and money running the full experiment, in an excel sheet determine what you consider are meaningful parameters/statistics. Like is it actually worth detecting an increase in tensile strength <10%, and what level of confidence do you want (95% vs 98% vs 99%) . Also consider how many samples can realistically be measured in a day, and if changes in temp/humidity between days could effect the results if you do require multiple days to record all your measurements.

Hopefully this helps when figuring out the logistics of your next experiment!

[kittysalt]

our favorite cosmetic vigilante is at it again!👏

[megshuston]

The difficulty you had in showing before and afters really makes you wonder how the brand marketing 'before' and 'after' pictures are done! Thanks for all the hard work 👏

[nataliaherself]

Thanks a lot for the video! I've been really looking forward to it! Here’s what I’ve concluded from the observations:

- Olaplex (Pre-shampoo): It improves cuticle behavior more than the others, with noticeable cuticle flattening and fewer issues like lifting and cracks.

- K18 (Post-shampoo): It stands out because it doesn’t cause cuticle lifting and it could improve hair condition overall, even though results vary across different strands.

- Epres (Pre-wash / overnight treatment): Despite some problems like more visible cortex exposure and chipping, it still improves cuticle behavior more than Living Proof.

- Redken (Post-shampoo): There are some issues like product buildup, uneven smoothness, and cuticle damage, which puts it lower in the rankings.

- Living Proof (Pre-styling/leave-in): This one is the least effective, with problems like partial cuticle disappearance, uneven flattening, and cortex exposure.

[sarahjones]

Thank you and your chemist friend for doing this. I appreciate the work put into this and it explains so much as to why I'm not seeing better results than what I'm getting with K18. Thank you for not ignoring the variables and stating "this one is better than the rest". Cheers!

[mcgoogs]

THIS is the kind of sequel the world needs! 👏👏👏 THANK YOU for your incredible thoroughness, Abbey. I know you're a big proponent of K18. I've never taken the plunge, and based on this video, I think I feel comfortable continuing to alternate between Epres and Olaplex.

[PierfrancoMinsenti]

As for my experience I would say that 4 major variables for evaluating these products are: 1) hair type as to thickness and density; 2) whether these products are meant to be washed off (Olaplex 3; Epres; Redken) or used as leave-in (K18; Living proof) and what other products you use especially in the case of the 3 products meant to be washed off; 3) which kind of shampoo you use, wether a Clarifying shampoo or a milder shampoo; 4) wether damages to your hair have been caused by a chemical treatment or by heat. All these 4 variables make a big difference as to the effectiveness of the treatment in the appearance of the hair and the flattening of cuticles.

[andreearadulescu]

Living Proof and K18 seem like the go-to-s. At the same time, I think the way you include bond repair pre-wash (epres), post-wash (k18) and pre-style (living proof) increases the chances that you'll get more bond repair, more evenly distributed.

[prettyvacant]

IT'S

Edit: Ok now that I've watched the video here are my takeaways: Sad to see that Living Proof didn't seem to perform as well. Perhaps this is something I won't bother to repurchase once my current bottle runs out. The other surprise was how well Olaplex 3 seemed to work! This is something I stopped using about a year ago when I started experimenting with other bond repair treatments. I still have half a bottle of it and I think I will try reintroducing it into my routine. That being said, I think the best approach would likely be using a combination of these products to help get the best coverage of bond repair treatment to the strands.

Thanks for doing all of this for us! Nobody works as hard on their content as you do and I know all of your viewers appreciate it.

[jeancroy]

I really like the Redken SEM images.

All cationic conditioners will selectively stick to areas of the hair which have damage.
And it's possible that given a very acidic environment and time, that film can get much thicker.
And thickness means longer lasting results. Possibly both with appearance and protection.

I'd not think of it as uneven application. The micron scale is too small for that.
Instead I'd think of it as magnet that are attracted to the layer below the cuticles.
And damages let that layer show.

On the Redken images you basically see scars or filled potholes. So you know repair occurred.
On the other images, either there was a more subtle/refined repair, or no damage.
We'll never know.

[CheeseCoat]

Thank you for your in-depth explanation of how this was done. This research is awesome. No one else is doing it like you to bring consumers the facts to help them make the right purchasing decisions. You’re the best ❤

[AliMaliGK]

A few thoughts:

1.) THANK YOU for ALL your time and effort to show us the science and takeaways from this experiment as well as your Chemist friend! Even though science and I are not friends lol I have enjoyed learning along with you and this hair bond repair experiment. Very fascinating.

2.) I have always felt that there is just never a "concrete conclusion" on experiments because there are always variables like you stated that have to be considered when analyzing results. To me, anyone who has read through studies know that. The science world is complex, always changing as knowledge continues to grow and technology for experiments improves.

3.) I think we as humans have an innate need to know there is a concrete answer because there is a sense of safety and security knowing what is right and wrong, if that makes sense. For scientists and others who conduct studies, they grow into this space of acceptance for exact answers not existing, and simply explaining or acknowledging the studies out there that have been conducted around a specific topic.

4.) I would LOVE to see you tag team with Alexandra Arriaga on these experiments because she is a cosmetic chemist (as well as a friend of yours in the hair care industry) and I think getting her thoughts and opinions on this experiment as well as future experiments would be AWESOME! 😄

5.) I would be fascinated to see results and analysis for the drugstore bond repair, but it may have to be two separate experiments because of all the ones on the market now from:

1.) L'Oreal
2.) Garnier Fructis
3.) Not Your Mothers
4.) Dove
5.) SheaMoisture
6.) Bondbar
7.) Pantene
8.) Inkey List
9.) Marc Anthony
10.) Nexxus

6.) Side note: I called BS the other day with a coworker who claimed that washing your hair everyday is bad for your hair and hair training is real lol she was not prepared with the knowledge I had from watching your videos! I recommended your channel to the other coworker she was giving this "advice" to and shared your list of favorite hair care products because NONE of the haircare recommendations have failed me.

THANKS FOR EVERYTHING ABBEY! ❤

[brooks]

I’ve tried them all. I’m a fan of using the combination of Redkin pre-wash and K18 after. This has really worked for me.

[caitroseco]

I kind of expected we wouldn’t have a clear ranking because it’s pretty much impossible to get hair samples with the exact same level of hair damage. Still, I thought it was really interesting getting to look at the hair after being treated!

I’ll keep using my two loves, K18 and L’Oréal bond strengthening conditioner!

[BionAvastar]

There's a persistent myth that curly hair is thinner where it bends. Since you have access to this high powered microscope, would you be able to get some curly hair samples, get them looked at, and put this myth to bed once and for all?

[mariescott]

I’d like to see how the Redken Acidic Bonding Leave In compares to the leave in products by K18 or Olaplex.

[msacoto]

Thank you for taking the time to conduct this experiment. I have used all these treatments and honestly the living proof did nothing for me. The K18 works OK after coloring my hair followed by a hair mask. The one I used every time I wash my hair is olaplex and it works relatively well as long as I apply it in sections.

[sarahelizabeth]

I've been reluctant to get into the K18 craze because I did not think it would really work. A couple of months ago I found your page on IG and started binge watching videos, and thanks to you, my anxiety from purchasing hair products has decreased immensely. I have been thinking of getting the Epres bonding repair treatment and I will definitely do now.
I used to be so scared of buying any hair product because I had such a traumatic experience losing all my hair and literally staying almost bald, it was horrible.
Right now, I am trying the L'oreal bond repair treatment, and also a couple more conditioners from L'oreal. I will be adding Epres and K18.
Also, thank you for this video, I think may of us have been waiting for this one for a while🤣💓 you're the best out there✨