Hair loss, scalp injuries blamed on Olaplex products falsely called safe, lawsuit says

Dozens of women have banded together to sue Olaplex over its popular hair care products widely sold at salons and in stores.

While Olaplex products are meant to strengthen and protect hair, nearly 30 customers say the products do the opposite in a federal lawsuit filed Feb. 9 against Olaplex Holdings Inc., which is based in California. They also accuse the company of lying about the safety of its products.

According to a 61-page complaint, Olaplex ingredients — including those used in its No. 1 through No. 9 products — cause major hair loss, hair breakage and scalp injuries, including burning, open sores and irritation.

The company is accused of duping consumers into believing its products result in healthy, restored and shiny hair and are free of dangerous chemicals by engaging in an “illusion of truth” — meaning repeatedly making false claims to increase the chances of customers believing them, the complaint says.

Olaplex, however, is standing by its products, fully denying the allegations and prepared to defend the company against them, according to a company spokesperson.

The “products do not cause hair loss or hair breakage,” the spokesperson told McClatchy News in a statement on Feb. 13. “We have full confidence and believe in the safety and efficacy of our products, which are thoroughly tested in-house and by independent third-party laboratories.”

The complaint includes eight examples of before and after hair photos of apparent damage Olaplex products have caused.

“Far from repairing and protecting hair from damage, the products have instead left plaintiffs’ hair dry, brittle, frizzy and dull,” the complaint says. “The hair has split and broken, causing it to look unkept and as if it were cut with a weedwhacker.”

Olaplex products contain ’dangerous’ ingredients, lawsuit says

The lawsuit points out that for any cosmetic product sold in the U.S., federal law doesn’t require the Food and Drug Administration to approve the ingredients before hitting the market. The only exception to this is color additives which need FDA approval, according to the agency.

Because of this “consumers have no choice but to depend on the product makers and sellers to honestly represent their products and ensure consumer safety,” the complaint says.

Companies are legally required to make sure their products are safe, according to the FDA. If the agency sees credible evidence that a cosmetic product is unsafe, it’ll step in.

To date, the FDA has received roughly 25 complaints regarding Olaplex products, according to Bloomberg which cited a public records request.

The lawsuit accuses Olaplex of using dangerous ingredients in its products. One such ingredient is lilial, which the company has admitted to previously using.

Lilial in Olaplex products

Lilial is a fragrance ingredient that was determined unsafe by the European Union Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety. The European Union officially banned lilial for use in personal care products in March 2022, according to the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit American activist organization.

The complaint says lilial leads to allergic contact dermatitis, and can cause hair loss and damage.

After beauty retailer Sephora requested Olaplex remove lilial from its No. 3 product, a pre-shampoo treatment, the complaint says it didn’t take wider action to remove the ingredient in all its products until February 2022.

Olaplex products that still contain lilial were never recalled, according to the complaint.

According to Olaplex, lilial was formerly used “in small amounts as a fragrance” in its No. 3 product. After the EU announced its ban on lilial, Olaplex removed lilial from its products sold globally “out of an abundance of caution,” its website says.

Benzene and Olaplex substances causing inflamed skin and hair loss

Another alleged danger in Olaplex products is how it’s accused of including chemicals that, when combined together, create the molecule benzene, the complaint says.

Benzene is “widely used” to make products in the U.S., including dyes, lubricants and pesticides, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Department of Health and Human Services discovered it can cause cancer.

The lawsuit accuses Olaplex of not recalling its products containing benzene.

Another ingredient that allegedly causes damage and are included in Olaplex products are “nonwater-soluble substances,” the complaint says.

When products containing these substances are left in the hair for a long period of time, “users develop clogged, inflamed, impacted and infected hair follicles—in other words, Seborrheic Dermatitis (“SD”), characterized by red, itchy, inflamed, blistered, flaking or scaling skin as well as hair loss,” the complaint says.

Examples of hair loss, breakage, bald spots and scalp damage

Alongside hair loss, bald spots, breakage and more, the complaint argues Olaplex products have fully transformed some people’s hair textures. Some with voluminous curls were left with frizzy and straight hair, according to the complaint.

One New York woman bought Olaplex products as recommended by her hair stylist in August 2022 in Poughkeepsie, New York, the complaint says. After using the products purchased at her salon, she experienced “hair loss, balding, itchy scalp, hair texture change, dry hair and depression.”

Several photos of apparent scalp injuries and hair loss were included as evidence in the lawsuit against Olaplex:

The Olaplex spokesperson said “there are a wide variety of reasons for hair breakage or hair loss, as medical and scientific experts have publicly stated, including lifestyle, various medical conditions and medications, the after effects of COVID, skin conditions and more.”

They said that these complaints and allegations are not unique to Olaplex and have been previously made against other companies’ brands.

“There isn’t a form of hair loss that occurs from applying a hair product topically once unless you’re allergic to that product,” Dr. Chesahna Kindred, a board-certified dermatologist and researcher, told Buzzfeed News.

The lawsuit against Olaplex seeks to recover compensatory and punitive damages for the plaintiffs who live in states spanning coast to coast, including in Florida, Texas, Alabama, Hawaii and more. It demands a trial by jury.

It also names Olaplex manufacturer Cosway Co. Inc. as a defendant. McClatchy News reached out to Cosway Co. on Feb. 13 and didn’t immediately receive a response.

The case was filed in the U.S. District Court of the Central District of California by Dallas-based attorney Amy Davis.

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