How Do Bond Builders Work to Strengthen and Protect Your Hair?

Frequent coloring, heat styling, and other types of damage can weaken our hair and make it more prone to breakage - incoming, a solution that’s all the rage. Bond Builders are innovative products can help to repair and strengthen the internal structure of your hair, leaving it looking and feeling healthier and more resilient.

The Science Behind Hair Damage

Before we dive into how bond builders work, it's important to understand how hair can become damaged in the first place. Hair is made up of three layers: the cuticle, the cortex, and the medulla. The cuticle is the outermost layer of the hair, and it acts as a protective shield against environmental factors such as heat, humidity, and UV rays. The cortex is the middle layer of the hair, and it contains the protein keratin, which gives the hair its strength and structure. The medulla is the innermost layer of the hair, and it is composed of soft keratin.

The hair's internal structure is held together by chemical bonds called disulfide bonds, which are very strong but can be broken down by certain chemical and physical processes. For example, when you color your hair, the chemicals in the dye break down the disulfide bonds in the hair, allowing the dye to penetrate the cortex and change the hair's color. Similarly, when you use heat styling tools like flat irons or curling wands, the high temperatures can weaken the disulfide bonds in the hair, causing it to become more brittle and prone to breakage.

How Bond Builders Work

Bond builders are products that are specifically designed to repair and strengthen the disulfide bonds in the hair, helping to prevent damage and breakage. The most common type of bond builder is bis-aminopropyl diglycol dimaleate, which is found in the popular bond builder Olaplex. This ingredient is able to form new disulfide bonds in the hair, which helps to restore the hair's strength and elasticity.

When applied to the hair, bond builders work by penetrating the hair shaft and binding to the broken protein strands. Once they've bound to the hair, they help to reform the disulfide bonds between the protein strands, creating a stronger and more resilient hair structure. This helps to prevent further damage to the hair and can even reverse some of the damage that has already occurred.

Bond builders can be used in a variety of different ways, depending on your hair's needs. One common use for bond builders is during hair coloring or bleaching treatments. When you apply a bond builder before or during a color or bleach treatment, it helps to protect the hair from the damaging effects of the chemicals. This means that your hair is less likely to become weak and brittle after the treatment, and it will look and feel healthier overall.

Another way to use bond builders is as a standalone treatment for damaged hair. If your hair has already been significantly damaged by chemical treatments or heat styling, a bond builder can help to rebuild the disulfide bonds in the hair and restore its strength and resilience. This can make your hair look and feel healthier, even if it's been damaged in the past.

If you’re looking to introduce a bond builder into your services, check out epres by the inventor of Olaplex, Eric Pressly Ph.D. epres is revolutionising haircare with bond building 2.0, having already taken the US by Storm and recently launching in the UK, offering a single, one-step solution to bond building.