Plex Breakage Defense Bond Mender Pre-Treatment

Let me start by saying that my hair is not the easiest to work with lol. It's tough to find products that work with my specific hair type. I have TONS of hair, but it's baby-fine and has been fragile my whole life. It splits so easily that I used to pick at my split ends when I was a young child! My hair has a small zig-zag wave that causes tangles and a rough texture, contradicting how fine it is. Currently it's a little longer than bra strap length and is balayaged: level 5 at roots, level 8-9 at ends. I've been using the popular at-home Olaplex #3 treatment for a few months, but it does NOT work for me. My hair continues to break heavily whenever I use it. Out of frustration, I decided to buy Creme of Nature Plex Breakage Defense Bond Mender Pre-Treatment at Sally's the other day. I figured I've got nothing to lose! The texture of this pre-treatment is like a clear, thick, non-sticky gel, and it smells DIVINE: very similar to Moroccanoil. I applied it to my wet hair and left it on for 30 minutes. While rinsing out, my hair felt suuuuper silky (same feel as Olaplex) but then felt drying when I stepped out of the shower (also same feel as Olaplex). Next came the MAGIC: I experienced FAR less breakage than usual while blowdrying my long, frizzy, balayaged hair! Sure a few pieces broke off the ends, but nowhere near as much breakage as usual. I'm sold! Can't wait to see if it continues to work as well a week from now when I wash again. While this product does have Plex in its name, it's not at all a 1-to-1 dupe for Olaplex: the texture, packaging, and ingredients are very different! Please note that this product contains Isopropyl Alcohol. This didn't bother me, but I know some users won't like that. EDIT: tried this product a 2nd time, and it made my scalp SO ITCHY this time! I think it's because I applied it to close to my scalp, and I have a VERY sensitive scalp. I'm blaming the fragrance in this product. Either way, next time I will only apply it to the lengths of my hair.