Is Olaplex causing hair loss and sores? Hair-raising claims against the luxury shampoo brand explained
Is Olaplex causing hair loss and sores? Hair-raising claims against the luxury shampoo brand explained
“Your hair is an investment, protect it at home.” It’s what an Olaplex campaign said. The luxury haircare brand promised to “repair, protect and strengthen” tresses. But has it fallen short of that promise?
Olaplex is now being sued by 28 women who claimed its products led to hair loss, blisters and other conditions. Forget rejuvenation, if the California lawsuit is to be believed, Olaplex shampoos, conditioners and treatments are causing damage.
The company, however, has rubbished the allegations.
Also watch: Are your hair products causing cancer?
What’s the lawsuit?
According to customers, the multi-billion dollar California-based company which promised “salon-ready” hair, sold products that caused harm. They have complained of hair loss and breakage and that the cleansers made their locks dry, frizzy, and dull.
The lawsuit says that Olaplex used harmful chemicals that left the women’s hair and scalps in a bad condition, causing “serious injury”. Alleging that the brand’s products – especially the No 0 to No 9 range – have caused hair loss, breakage, bald spots, and irritation to the scalp, the plaintiffs are seeing more than $75,000 in damages.
Also read: What are dry shampoos? Why are they being recalled in the US?
In the lawsuit, the women claim that Olaplex sold products that include dangerous chemicals – like fragrance compound lilial – which are known to be harmful.
“The hair has split and broken, causing it to look unkept and as if it were cut with a weedwhacker,” the plaintiffs say in the lawsuit.
What is lilial, which the lawsuit says is harmful?
The lawsuit pinpoints one problematic ingredient in Olaplex shampoos, conditioners and treats: lilial.
Lilial is a fragrance compound known as Butylphenyl Methylpropional. It is used synthetically in several beauty products like shampoos, hairstyling creams, perfumes, deodorants, and tanning lotions. It is also found in household cleansing items.
However, a 2019 study by a scientific committee on consumer safety for the European Commission found that lilial “cannot be considered as safe” as it affected reproductivity. The fragrance compound contains endocrine-disrupting properties that could affect the functions of natural hormones, posing a risk to fertility among women.
Lilial is no longer allowed to be used in hair products in the European Union. However, there is no complete ban on using it in cosmetics and shampoos in the United States.
Do Olaplex products contain lilial?
After the ban last March, Olaplex has no choice but to remove lilial from its No.3 Hair Perfector, one of its best-sellers. However, it caused concern among users who dumped the brand over fertility concerns.
In a statement to TheIndependent, Olaplex said that it has removed the compound from No.3 across the world. “At Olaplex, lilial was previously used in small amounts as a fragrance in No.3 Hair Perfector. It is not an active or functional ingredient,” a spokesperson said at the time, according to the publication.
The controversy died down but now the lawsuit is back to haunt Olaplex.
So if Olaplex has stopped using lilial, why the suit?
There’s concern that older versions of the products with lilial are still out there. The suit argues that multinational retailer Sephora removed lilial from the Olaplex ingredient formula in June 2021 but the haircare brand did not remove the chemical until February 2022. The firm continues to sell what is left of its stock, according to a report in Daily Mail.
The lawsuit also claims that it contains pantheol along with lilial and both chemical compounds that can lead to hair loss and “inflamed, blistered, flaking or scaling skin”.
Dallas-based lawyer Amy Davis, who is representing the plaintiff shared several photographs of plaintiffs showing bald spots which they claim were caused by Olaplex. The infections, rashes, burning, and sores have also led to depression among some women, the suit claims.
The 28 women suing Olaplex are not alone. On Reddit and TikTok, users have complained about its shampoos and other cleansers.
“I had an Olaplex treatment and then followed up as instructed. My hair has broken off and looks insanely damaged nearly up to the scalp. I am furious. It was expensive and I was told over and over how great it was,” Reddit user Boopy7 said last year.
Another 56-year-old customer said that after using Olaxplex her scalp became itchy and sore with some blistering pimples. She claimed to have used Olaplex No.0, Olaplex No.8, Olaplex No.6, and Olaplex No.3, reports Daily Mail.
What is Olaplex saying?
Olaplex maintains that its products are safe and it has released test results to corroborate its statement.
“We are prepared to vigorously defend our company, our brand, and our products against these baseless accusations,” the hair product giant said in a statement on Instagram.
It said that its products are scientifically proven to restore damaged hair. They have all passed the Human Repeat Insult Patch Test (HRIPT), a clinical study to assess possible allergic reactions to the products.
“When the products pass such a test, it means the product does not cause inflammation or sensitivity. As such, there is no induced inflammation to the hair follicle, which is the primary cause of hair loss,” Olaplex said.
Olaplex CEO JuE Wong acknowledged that hair loss was a painful and emotional topic. “…however for our products this is not true,” she added.
Olaplex is one of the best-selling haircare brands in the world. In 2021, Cosmetify called it the hottest hair brand; it overtook Dyson. In September of that year, the company was valued at $14 billion, reports TheIndependent.
For the third quarter of 2022 compared to the previous year, its net sales increased 9.2 per cent to $176.5 million.
It remains to be seen if the lawsuit comes as a setback. However, it’s not the only haircare product that has raised eyebrows.
Which other brands have been in trouble?
In May 2022, an Illinois woman filed a suit against Johnson & Johnson alleging that the company’s OGX haircare products cause significant hair loss. The plaintiff cites that the ingredient DMDM hydantoin, a preservative and antimicrobial agent, is of concern. It’s considered a “formaldehyde donor,” meaning it releases a small amount of formaldehyde to keep the product fresh. It is linked to allergies, rashes, hair loss, and cancer, according to WebMD.
Dry shampoos have raised an alarm about the use of cancer-causing benzene. Unilever and the US Food and Drug Administration announced a recall of many aerosol-based dry shampoos in October 2022, including popular brands like Dove and TRESemmé.
TRESemmé also faces an action suit with plaintiffs claiming that its keratin products have caused hair loss and scalp burns.
The big brands that make big claims are far from being squeaky clean. The allegations are alarming, leaving many of us scratching our heads. We can only pray that it’s not because of our shampoo.
With inputs from agencies
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