Olaplex is a hair care brand founded in 2014 by Dean Christal.[1] The product was developed by two chemists, Eric Presley and Craig Hawker, and is advertised to rebuild broken bonds in hair caused by chemical, thermal, and mechanical damage.[2][3]
Olaplex was founded in 2014 by Dean Christal. In 2019, Olaplex was acquired by Advent International. JuE Wong was the CEO from 2020 until 2023.[4][5] In October 2023, Olaplex announced that Amanda Baldwin, former CEO of Supergoop, would be taking over in 2024 as CEO of Olaplex.[5]John Bilbrey, executive chair on the board, will serve as interim CEO until 2024. [5][6]
All Olaplex products contain a patented ingredient called bis-aminopropyl diglycol dimaleate, with the aim of rebuilding broken hair disulfide bonds. [7]
In February 2023, 28 women filed a lawsuit against Olaplex claiming that the products led to damaged hair and hair loss.[8] Part of the lawsuit stated that even after Olaplex reformulated their product to no longer include lilial (a chemical that is potentially toxic for reproduction), they kept old product on the shelves and continued to sell it.[9] Olaplex published results from third-party testing to show the products are safe. [10] As of May 2023, no trial date had been set.[11] By June 2023, a proposed class action lawsuit had over 100 plaintiffs. U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner ruled that the claims were too different for it to be a class action lawsuit and the first-named plaintiff dismissed her case without prejudice.[9]
