- Olaplex has provided refunds for as much as 12 months of purchases, in line with prospects.
- Some customers looking for refunds stated their hair was broken or fell out after utilizing the product.
- Olaplex gained recognition on TikTok and different social media as a therapy for dyed hair.
Hair care model Olaplex rapidly received a large following through the pandemic with merchandise it says construct chemical bonds that strengthen hair.
A whole bunch of glowing evaluations posted on-line by influencers, hair stylists, and different prospects appear to assist this declare, with some calling the merchandise “life-changing” and “magic.” The #olaplex hashtag, considered one of dozens of social media hashtags dedicated to the model, is linked to TikTok movies with greater than 1.5 billion views, and used on greater than 14.3 million Instagram posts.
However some prospects who spoke to Insider stated the merchandise did the alternative of what they promised. In some circumstances, they obtained refunds after reporting issues with hair breakage and loss to Olaplex.
Insider spoke to 2 individuals who have obtained refunds and one other who has requested a refund from Olaplex. In a Fb group with 3,100 members dedicated to discussing Olaplex and hair loss or harm, a number of others have stated they obtained or requested refunds from the corporate.
In response to questions concerning the refunds and the security of its merchandise, Olaplex stated: “We’re proud to assist our hundreds of thousands of consumers obtain their finest hair doable and each buyer inquiry is necessary to us.”
“If a buyer occurs to not be glad with their buy, we’re all the time keen to discover a doable refund,” the assertion continued. “Our merchandise are totally examined each in-house and in impartial third-party laboratories and we stay assured within the proof exhibiting that Olaplex merchandise are secure and efficient.”
It is troublesome to know simply what number of refunds Olaplex has issued. However the reviews of hair harm and requests for refunds come as the corporate faces two lawsuits and a steep drop in its inventory worth since going public final yr.
Insider
Olaplex prospects report hair breakage and loss
New Jersey-based make-up artist Rosie Genute stated Olaplex refunded her $80 in October, 5 months after she posted a video to TikTok describing issues with hair breakage.
Within the video, she zooms in on partial strands of hair sticking up from her head. “Numerous that is breakage that got here up after utilizing Olaplex,” she tells viewers.
Genute instructed Insider she began utilizing Olaplex shampoo, conditioner, leave-in therapy, and oil on the finish of 2021. Inside three weeks, her hair appeared shinier and fewer frizzy. However quickly after, she developed dandruff and her hair began falling out in clumps as she showered, she stated.
By March, Genute stated her hair had turned dry and brittle with strands breaking in half, and he or she noticed flaky crimson spots on her scalp — all points she had by no means skilled earlier than.
Genute stated she suspected Olaplex brought on the harm as a result of a February blood check confirmed she had no vitamin deficiencies or different well being issues, she had not began any new medicine, and her hair started returning to regular “immediately” after she switched to a drugstore conditioner.
Months later, as her hair continued to enhance, Genute contacted Olaplex saying she thought its merchandise broken her hair.
In an e mail reviewed by Insider, the corporate defended its merchandise, however stated it might supply a refund as a type of customer support.
“Though we imagine within the security of our merchandise, we additionally imagine in offering one of the best customer support and we might be very happy to help together with your purchases made throughout the final 12 months from OLAPLEX.com or a licensed retailer,” the corporate said. Corporations ceaselessly supply refunds to prospects who’ve complaints about merchandise.
Olaplex has additionally publicly addressed claims of hair loss on Twitter and TikTok, saying its merchandise are independently examined and “outcomes don’t point out that utilizing our merchandise can result in hair loss.”
—Olaplex (@olaplex) December 12, 2022
Genute stated she offered buy receipts to Olaplex and later obtained a PayPal fee awarding her refund. However she’s not glad with the corporate’s response.
“[Olaplex’s] response to me is fairly regarding as a result of they do not actually appear to care,” Genute stated. “They stated they’re going to supply to refund no matter I purchased up to now 12 months, however they nonetheless say ‘we stand behind our merchandise and the science behind it and we have executed the entire product testing.’ They only are sort of vouching for themselves quite than sounding involved.”
New York Metropolis-based advertising and marketing supervisor Amanda Fontenot has additionally sought a refund from Olaplex. She stated she had used Olaplex merchandise for 2 years when, in mid-2020, her hair started feeling dry and breaking in half. She stated she additionally skilled redness and swelling round her face and hairline. She stated she visited a dermatologist, who recognized her with psoriasis and eczema, and instructed she swap to hypoallergenic hair merchandise.
Olaplex refunded Fontenot $250 in Sephora retailer credit after she despatched an e mail detailing her hair and pores and skin issues, in line with customer support messages reviewed by Insider. Total, she spent $977 on merchandise from 2018 to 2021, in line with Sephora on-line receipts.
Becky Barnhouse, a campground supervisor who lives in Ojai, California, is looking for a refund after shopping for $161 value of Olaplex merchandise in October per her stylist’s suggestion.
Barnhouse stopped utilizing the merchandise after 10 therapies as a result of her hair began breaking, she stated. She stated she’s misplaced about half of her hair’s quantity, giving her sufficient for a “walnut-sized bun” on the highest of her head.
She instructed Insider that she despatched Olaplex her receipt on Sunday after seeing different consumers put up about getting refunds within the Fb group, “Olaplex Hair Loss/Hair Injury?”
She’s stated she’s nonetheless ready to listen to again from Olaplex. “I am not touching them once more,” she stated of Olaplex merchandise.
Lawsuits and extra refunds
Olaplex sells a number of merchandise, together with moisture masks and shampoo. Particular person merchandise promote for as little as $16 on Olaplex’s web site, whereas the complete set of merchandise runs $240.
The model turned probably the most high-profile magnificence startups after it gained recognition on TikTok and different social media platforms. The model went public in September 2021 and was valued at greater than $15 billion.
Since then, its inventory worth has fallen 75% and Olaplex slashed its forecast for 2022 gross sales.
The corporate can also be going through lawsuits. One, introduced by legislation agency Pomerantz LLP, is looking for to signify shoppers who invested in Olaplex and misplaced cash as its inventory slid. Olaplex beforehand instructed Insider concerning this go well with, “We don’t touch upon going litigation.” One other lawsuit, in Canada, claims that Olaplex didn’t disclose the fertility-related well being dangers related to the ingredient “lilial,” a perfume part that the corporate beforehand used.
The buyer lawsuit in Canada highlights its “No. 3 Hair Perfector” product, alleging that Olaplex didn’t disclose dangers linked to the ingredient, which the European Union directed cosmetics corporations to cease utilizing after March 2022.
Olaplex eliminated lilial from its product, put out a brand new formulation final yr, after which provided refunds and exchanges, in line with a submitting by Olaplex within the lawsuit.
Within the submitting, Lavinia Popescu, a analysis and growth government at Olaplex, wrote that the corporate took motion to take away lilial from merchandise in 2021, properly earlier than the EU’s deadline. The submitting stated lilial continues to be allowed in magnificence merchandise exterior of the EU, together with in Canada.
“As a matter of excellent customer support and in view of the false data circulating on social media arising out of the occasions within the European Union, Olaplex voluntarily selected to reimburse customers who contacted them with lilial-related issues after March 1, 2022,” the submitting stated.
Some prospects posted to social media in regards to the refunds:
Inside about two months, Olaplex had accomplished over 400 refunds and exchanges, in line with its submitting.
The corporate’s submitting additionally famous that it had “proactively” devised a brand new model of the product that did not comprise lilial, which Olaplex stated in a February social media put up it had beforehand used “in small quantities as a perfume.”
Olaplex didn’t remark particularly on the Canadian lawsuit or refunds. A lawyer for Olaplex declined to touch upon the standing of the go well with.
Do you’re employed at Olaplex or have data to share? Attain out to Alex Bitter at [email protected] or by way of encrypted messaging app Sign at (808) 854-4501, Allana Akhtar at [email protected] or on Sign at (248) 760-0208, and to Sindhu Sundar at [email protected] or on Sign at (984)-377-3887.