[null, {"document_url": "https://www.fashionicide.com/2017/06/reviews-jerome-russell-jplex-bond-kit.html", "unformatted_src": "https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2827/33068353874_a45c5e1922_b.jpg", "src": "https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2827/33068353874_a45c5e1922_b.jpg", "formatted_filename": "a c e b", "alt_text": "Jerome Russell BBlonde Jplex Bond Kit Review Olaplex Dupe Cheaper Alternative", "rendered_width": 1024, "rendered_height": 1024}, null, {"document_url": "https://www.fashionicide.com/2017/06/reviews-jerome-russell-jplex-bond-kit.html", "unformatted_src": "https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2845/33098828913_8881db6bdc_b.jpg", "src": "https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2845/33098828913_8881db6bdc_b.jpg", "formatted_filename": "db bdc b", "alt_text": "Jplex Bond Builder Kit Review Maintainer Olaplex Alternative Dupe Cheaper", "rendered_width": 640, "rendered_height": 609}, null, {"document_url": "https://www.fashionicide.com/2017/06/reviews-jerome-russell-jplex-bond-kit.html", "unformatted_src": "https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2927/33781941951_32be122035_b.jpg", "src": "https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2927/33781941951_32be122035_b.jpg", "formatted_filename": "be b", "alt_text": "Jerome Russell Bond Kit Review Olaplex Dupe Alternative", "rendered_width": 640, "rendered_height": 618}, null, {"document_url": "https://www.fashionicide.com/2017/06/reviews-jerome-russell-jplex-bond-kit.html", "unformatted_src": "https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2949/33068316044_32bbbf74d6_b.jpg", "src": "https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2949/33068316044_32bbbf74d6_b.jpg", "formatted_filename": "bbbf d b", "alt_text": "Jplex Jerome Russell Bblonde Bond Maintainer Builder Olaplex Dupe", "rendered_width": 636, "rendered_height": 640}, null]
REVIEWS || Jerome Russell JPlex Bond Kit - The Alternative to Olaplex? Reviewed by Halima Khan on Sunday, June 18, 2017 Rating: 5
Bblonde Dupe Hair J Plex Jerome Russell Olaplex Reviews


Jerome Russell Bblonde - a brand that anyone who has dabbled in home bleaching surely will have used at some point. Over the years, the... Jerome Russell Bblonde - a brand that anyone who has dabbled in home bleaching surely will have used at some point. Over the years, they've extended their range from standard bleaching powder and various strength peroxides to colours, toners, and now, they've moved on to haircare targeted specifically at those who bleach their hair.

A couple of weeks ago I was wandering around in the wilderness of the Boots hair colouring aisle and couldn't help but notice the increase in 'Plex' haircare products, no doubt inspired by the chemistry-defying Olaplex. I do love Olaplex, but it is rather expensive, and also aimed solely at actual hairdressers, not the have-a-go heroes at home, so when I saw Jerome Russell Bblondes JPlex Bond Kit I was intrigued. Reading the blurb on the box, they say it's a hair bond strengthening system, and I purchased immediately. Contents: Two 7.5ml bottles of 'Bond Builder' and one 100ml bottle of 'Bond Maintainer'

The way it works is you add one bottle of the 'Bond Builder' to your bleach or colour, and apply the 'Bond Maintainer' after the bleaching process. Basically, the instructions are the same as Olaplex, but is the product similar?


Taking a closer look at the ingredients, it appeared that the answer was a resounding no. Here are the 'Bond Builder' ingredients:

Aqua (Water), Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein PG-Propyl Silanetriol, Hydrolyzed Keratin, Disodium EDTA, Potassium Sorbate, Phenoxyethanol.

And here are the ingredients for Olaplex No1, which is also added to the bleach or colour:

Water (Aqua), Bis-Aminopropyl Diglycol Dimaleate, Sodium Benzoate, Phenoxyethanol.

Now, I'm no scientist, but to me the only common ingredient here appears to be water. But then that's to be expected, as Olaplex have a patented formula that retails at about £60 for a 100ml bottle, whereas JPlex comes in at about a fifth of that price. Also, you may have noticed that the Bond Builder contains Protein and Keratin, ingredients we're all familiar with, that are commonly used in strengthening and smoothening treatments.

The ingredients list for 'Bond Maintainer' is a bit more lengthy though:

Aqua (Water), Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol, Distearoylethyl Dimonium Chloride, Quaternium-91, Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Cetrimonium Methosulfate, Amodimethicone, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein PG-Propyl Silanetriol, Bertholletia Excelsa Seed Oil, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein PG-Proply Silanetriol, Hydrolyzed Keratin, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Cetrimonium Chloride, Trideceth-12, Butylene Glycol, Parfum (Fragrance), Citric Acid, Disodium EDTA, Hexyl Cinnamal, Limonene, Potassium Sorbate, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Benzoate, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone

And the Olaplex No 2 which you apply after the bleach or colouring process:

Again, I'll stress that I'm no scientist, but the ingredient lists don't appear to be too similar. However, I did notice that JPlex use a few proteins within their formula, and I'm guessing that this is what's supposed to strengthen the hair after bleaching.


When I got home, I looked at the instructions on the outer packaging - it states that you add one bottle of the 7.5ml of the Bond Builder to the bleach or colour, and mentions nothing about measuring out your bleach or peroxide, and also nothing about the peroxide strength. This is quite different to Olaplex, which gives quite detailed instructions for a range of different scenarios.

I looked inside the box, hoping to find a more thorough set of instructions, but nothing. As for the 100ml Bond Maintainer, the box states to apply half of it after the colouring or bleaching process, comb it through and leave in for a minimum of 10 minutes, and that it can also be used as a once a week treatment.

I was due to bleach my roots that weekend, hence my curiosity, and I was umming and ahhing for a while over it: "Should I add this stuff to the bleach instead of my precious Olaplex?" After much contemplation, I opted to go with the Olaplex. Bleaching your hair is a big risk, particularly if you routinely bleach it, and there's absolutely no way in hell I'd risk an untried, untested product on already fragile hair. I've used Olaplex plenty of times whilst bleaching up to a pale blonde, and it really does make a huge difference.

However, I did use the JPlex Bond Strengthening kit as a standalone treatment instead, to see how it made my hair feel. Bond Builder Bond Maintainer

To use as a standalone treatment, I shampooed my hair twice, towel dried it and cracked open one of the Bond Builder bottles. I then dotted small amounts of the product all over my hair. One bottle was enough to give my hair full coverage, but if you have thicker, longer hair, you might need to use both bottles.

Next, I covered my hair in a shower cap and left it for 30 minutes to give it time to absorb. I then rinsed it out, towel dried my hair again and applied a sufficient amount of the Bond Maintainer, gently combing it through my hair using a wide tooth comb, before popping on the shower cap again. This time, I left it on for two hours before rinsing off.

The very next week, I thought I'd try using it slightly differently. I shampooed my hair, towel dried it, added one bottle of the Bond Builder to my conditioner (Tresemme's Botanique Nourish and Replenish), mixed it in then applied all over my hair, combing it though using that wide tooth comb and left it in for about an hour before rinsing it out.


I don't blow dry my hair anymore, other than the fringe, but what I did notice when my hair started to dry, was that my hair was smoother, much smoother! It also felt stronger when running my fingers through it. I'd say the results felt very similar to those I experience after using a protein treatment - my hair dried quicker than usual, felt softer and looked glossy, especially the fringe.

Of the two methods I used, I'd say that my preferred way of using the JPlex Kit is by adding the Bond Builder to my conditioner. When I used the first method mentioned above, I found that my hair was a little tangled and difficult to comb through. I always have issues with tangling, and my hair isn't that easy to comb because it's been bleached so I've been using the Bond Maintainer as weekly treatment in-between shampooing and conditioning, and have found that the tangling is less of an issue.

Naturally, the JPlex Bond Strengthening kit has been compared to Olaplex - they're both additives (i.e. you add it to your bleach or colour), they both promise similar outcomes and they both have 'Plex' in the name! I can't compare the two when it comes to bleaching, as I didn't use JPlex that way, but I have used both Olaplex and JPlex as treatments, and I can say that the results are very different, and this stems from the fact that they really aren't that similar at all.

After using Olaplex as a treatment (full review HERE), my hair was much smoother, stronger, softer and swishier and had extra movability, but with JPlex my hair was smoother and stronger, but did not get any softer or swishier and didn't feel all that movable.

Overall, I think it's great that Jerome Russell have released this new line of Plex products, as they can be used and purchased by the home bleacher, whereas Olaplex retains that salon exclusivity. If you're planning on bleaching or colouring your hair at home already, without an additive, it may well be worth adding JPlex into your bleach or dye to protect your hair. Most importantly, it's affordable - just £12.99 from Boots or Superdrug.

If anyone has used JPlex with their bleach or colour, I'd be really interested to find out how well this really worked!



