Olaplex Is Being Sued For Allegedly Causing Hair Loss In Some Women & The CEO Is Firing Back
The women say they suffered bald spots.
A woman holding a bottle of Olaplex. Olaplex shampoo on display.
Popular hair care brand Olaplex is coming under fire after over two dozen women filed a lawsuit against the company saying its products have caused hair loss, breakage and bald spots.
Multiple outlets are reporting that the lawsuit involves 30 women who say they have noticed changes to their hair after using Olaplex and now the company is denying the accusations.
On February 16, Olaplex released a statement on Instagram saying it wants to "reassure" its community of stylists, customers and fans "that they can continue to use the products with confidence."
"To demonstrate this, we have publicly released test results from independent third-party laboratories, going above and beyond industry standards," the post says.
"We are prepared to vigorously defend our Company, our brand, and our products against these baseless accusations."
According to NPR, the lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court Central District of California, states that Olaplex's marketing claims that their products "restore damaged and compromised hair" and that they create "healthy, beautiful, shiny" hair are false.
The lawsuit, which targets the No. 0 to No. 9 products, also highlights that several Olaplex products are made up of a chemical compound called lilial, which was banned in the European Union in 2022 due to fertility concerns.
Some of the women in the lawsuit allege that they've lost more than half of their hair, while others experienced bald spots, BBC reports. According to the BBC report, others have also experienced itchiness, rashes, bacterial infections and other side effects.
The beauty brand has become extremely popular on TikTok and other social media platforms with celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Drew Barrymore touting their love for its different products.
Since the story has gone public, a lot of people have been commenting on TikTok videos about their own experiences and the reactions seem to be mixed.
In a video posted by Good Morning America, some women note they have also seen negative changes to their hair, while others say their hair has never looked better.
@shopgma #Olaplex Holdings is being sued by nearly 30 consumers who claim that some of the popular hair care products caused hair loss, hair damage and scalp injuries. #news #goodmorningamerica
One TikToker, who commented on the video, went on to share her own video of what she says happened to her hair after using Olaplex.
"After 2 months of losing this much hair I finally decided to stop using the product. Fast forward to now using a different brand I have 0% hair loss while washing my hair," TikToker @izzy0696 wrote in her caption.
@izzy0696 My experience with olaplex was horrible. After 2 months of losing this much hair I finally decided to stop using the product. Fast forward to now using a different brand I have 0% hair loss while washing my hair. #olaplex #hair #hairdamage #damagedhair #hairloss #lawsuit
Following all the backlash, the CEO of Olaplex, JuE Wong, is coming to the company's defence to reassure people the products are "safe and effective." Wong called the accusations "misinformation" in a video tweeted by the brand.
"This is a painful and emotional topic, however for our products this is not true," she said.
She also pointed to independent third-party laboratory test results that have been posted on the company website.
\u201cA message from OLAPLEX CEO JuE Wong: OLAPLEX products do not cause hair loss or breakage they are safe and effective We have publicly released test results from independent 3rd party labs going beyond industry standards. We have full confidence in the safety of our products .\u201d— Olaplex (@Olaplex) 1676481621
CNN reports that the plaintiffs in the lawsuit are seeking more than $75,000 in damages.