Beauty News: Olaplex Lawsuit Alleges ‘Dangerous’ Products Cause Hair Loss, Scalp Injuries

More than two dozen Olaplex users have sued the company over allegations that its luxury haircare products are falsely advertised as safe for those with dry and/or damaged hair.

The 61-page lawsuit says that although Olaplex touts the products “over and over” in advertisements as “scientifically proven,” free from harsh chemicals and “safe for all hair,” the items are, in fact, “none of these things.”  

As the suit tells it, Los Angeles-based Olaplex and co-defendant Cosway Co.’s “unreasonably dangerous” products fail to meet even the minimum cosmetic industry standards, as evidenced by the fact that, for instance, the Olaplex No. 3 Hair Perfector once contained lilial, a known sensitizer and allergen linked to infertility. According to the lawsuit, many other purportedly safe Olaplex products contain panthenol and other ingredients well known in the beauty industry to be allergens and irritants that can cause allergic contact dermatitis, hair loss and scalp injuries.

The case, which was not filed as a class action (more on this below), accuses Olaplex and Cosway of attempting to conceal the dangers of their products, leading many users to believe that their hair loss and scalp issues “could be symptoms of a dire health condition.”

Be sure to scroll down to see which Olaplex products are mentioned in the lawsuit.

In addition, Olaplex’s marketing – which includes the use of celebrity photos – is misleading given that “many of these celebrities do not regularly use the Products,” much less sponsor or endorse them in any way, the filing claims. Further, much of the defendants’ press coverage amounts to “no more than a purchased ad” or paid mentions in blogs and by influencers on social media, the suit, filed on February 9 in California, relays.

Further still, many of the before-and-after photos on Olaplex’s website that show how “the average person can attain celebrity hair” feature paid models who “do not regularly use the Products” as recommended by the defendants and whose hair, unbeknownst to consumers, has been styled by professionals, the case claims.

Despite “thousands” of complaints, Olaplex conceals dangers of haircare products, suit claims
According to the case, Olaplex has affirmatively tried to hide the dangers of the products from the public, prohibiting many users from discovering that their injuries were caused by the company’s “wrongful conduct.”

“It never occurred to Plaintiffs and other users that the Products—touted by Defendants as safe for all hair, free of a laundry list of harsh chemicals and are [sic] scientifically formulated and proven to repair dry and damaged hair—could actually be hurting their hair and scalp, not helping,” the lawsuit summarizes. “To the contrary, many believed their situation would have been worse but for the Products.”

The case claims Olaplex has made matters worse by failing to disclose and, in fact, actively concealing the sheer number of complaints it has received of hair loss, scalp issues and other injuries from customers and the FDA. Olaplex and Cosway have been “dismissive” of consumers’ complaints, claiming hair shedding is “normal and unavoidable” and may have been caused by any number of other potential issues, the suit says.

Had the companies been transparent as far as the volume of complaints they received, consumers could have identified the source of their hair loss and scalp issues much sooner –  and some could have avoided injury altogether, the lawsuit contends.

Despite the foregoing, Olaplex products remain on store shelves, the complaint shares. Olaplex and Cosway have instead implemented “what is essentially a voluntary and entirely self-serving partial recall,” merely allowing customers to return Olaplex products with “no questions asked” for a full refund, regardless of the date of original purchase or amount of product left in the bottle, the case relays.

“Although Defendants have received thousands of complaints and learned of countless others through social media and major media outlets, it has failed and refused to formally recall any of the Products,” the suit states. “Nor have Defendants issued any new warnings or otherwise disclosed the defects and dangers associated with the Products.”

As the case tells it, the defendants’ seemingly half-hearted recall amounts to an attempt to “appease injured consumers and sweep under the rug the dangers presented by the Products.”

Olaplex ingredients include allergens, could allow for benzene exposure
Per the case, many of the Olaplex products at issue contain sodium benzoate and ascorbic and/or citric acid – chemicals that, when combined, create the known carcinogen benzene. The filing stresses that benzene is “so dangerous that the beauty industry has stopped using the ingredient” and voluntarily pulled hair care products containing the substance from stores.

The suit adds that the Olaplex products also contain non-water-soluble substances that can cause users to develop “clogged, inflamed, impacted and infected hair follicles.” This condition, known as seborrheic dermatitis, is characterized by “red, itchy, inflamed, blistered, flaking or scaling skin” and hair loss, the suit says.

According to the lawsuit, each variety of Olaplex products contains “known skin irritants and sensitizers,” which can cause allergic contact dermatitis and, consequently, “extreme diffuse hair loss.” In more serious cases, exposure to the allergens in Olaplex items can trigger an auto-immune response, such as alopecia areata, the suit adds.

The case also contends that Olaplex products include an excessive amount of “plasticizing agents” such as glycol, the overuse of which can weaken and damage hair.

With regard to the Olaplex products’ one-time inclusion of lilial, a synthetic scent ingredient, the lawsuit says the European Union Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety in 2020 demanded that the ingredient be phased out of hair and beauty products by March 2022. According to EWG.org, lilial has been identified as having endocrine-disrupting properties, meaning it can interfere with natural hormone functions and may pose a risk to fertility and fetal development.

A review of an archived version of Sephora’s website shows that the beauty retailer required Olaplex to remove lilial from its products in 2020 or early 2021, the case says. According to its own public statements, however, Olaplex did not remove lilial from products sold elsewhere in the U.S. and European Union until February 2022 and, at any rate, should have pulled the items entirely from stores, the lawsuit says.

Olaplex should have recalled the dangerous Products, requiring that retailers and distributors either (1) return these Products, or (2) destroy them and provide proof of destruction. Instead, we understand Olaplex continues to sell and allows retailers and distributors to continue to sell the runoff inventory it knows contains a dangerous ingredient.”

Lastly, the complaint contends that the instructions for using Olaplex products exacerbate the injuries experienced by consumers, who are directed or encouraged to leave the products in their hair for “long periods of time or indefinitely.” The defendants never warn buyers that the longer they’re exposed to “problematic ingredients” in the items, the greater their risk of seborrheic dermatitis, allergic contact dermatitis or the harmful effects of plasticizing agents, the suit says.

Which Olaplex products are mentioned in the lawsuit?
The Olaplex products mentioned in the lawsuit include Olaplex No. 0, Olaplex No. 1, Olaplex No. 2, Olaplex No. 3, Olaplex No. 4, Olaplex No. 5, Olaplex No. 6, Olaplex No. 7, Olaplex No. 8 and Olaplex No. 9.

According to the case, each plaintiff has experienced “serious injury” as a result of using Olaplex products. Some have lost hair—“in some cases more than half and leaving bald spots in others,” the suit says—while others have been left with hair that’s “dry, brittle, frizzy and dull.”

“The hair has split and broken, causing it to look unkept and as if it were cut with a weedwhacker,” the case describes, noting that the products have also changed the texture of the plaintiffs’ hair while causing scalp injuries such as “extreme itchiness, rash, yeast infection, bacterial infection, open sores, burning and overall sensitivity,” as well as psychological harm.

Is this lawsuit a class action?
No, the lawsuit detailed on this page is not a class action, a type of lawsuit filed by one or more individuals on behalf of a larger group who allegedly suffered a similar – but relatively small –  injury, usually financial in nature.  The 28 plaintiffs who filed the case are instead pursuing damages for their “personal injuries, primarily to their hair and scalp” and want the court to order Olaplex to stop its “unfair, false and deceptive advertising and marketing.”

This doesn’t rule out, however, the possibility of a class action being filed over Olaplex products in the future to compensate those who purchased the products and may have been misled by the defendants’ claims. If you want more information on how to start a class action lawsuit, head on over to this page.
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