Ouai provides a selection of haircare and bodycare products designed for everyday use, helping with grooming needs. Its range includes shampoos, conditioners, and styling essentials, as well as body cleansers, lotions, and fragrances.
The brand states that its products can help address hair issues such as dryness, frizz, buildup, and dullness. It also mentions that the products may help reduce flakiness and support stronger, healthier hair growth.
This review takes a closer look at the brand’s full range of products, exploring how its haircare range addresses key concerns and delivers benefits. We will also compare it with similar options in the market to help you make an informed decision.
Ouai is a lifestyle-focused brand that aims to make products that are practical and easy to use. Its product range covers three main categories such as haircare, body care, and fragrance.
The brand offers shampoos and conditioners formulated for fine, medium, thick, and curly hair. Its styling products include wave sprays, curl creams, anti-frizz options, and hair oils to improve texture, manageability, and overall hair health. It offers products such as the Scalp Serum that target scalp wellness and hair growth. Ouai also provides refill pouches, travel-sized products, and curated kits for convenience and sustainability.
As per the official website, the brand is Leaping Bunny certified, which indicates that it is cruelty-free and does not perform animal testing at any stage of product development or authorize third parties to do so. It also claims to avoid using microplastics and microbeads in its formulations, emphasizing cleaner, more environmentally conscious options.
Ouai offers Detox Shampoo, which may help deeply cleanse the hair and scalp, removing dirt particles, excess oil, and product buildup. This formula combines apple cider vinegar, chelating agents, and hydrolyzed keratin, which could support your hair health at a molecular level.
Apple cider vinegar in this shampoo may help dissolve sebum and product residues. Its acidic nature gently balances the scalp’s pH, which supports the cuticle’s smooth alignment and minimizes bacterial overgrowth that can contribute to irritation or dandruff. Chelating agents bind to metal ions, like calcium and magnesium from hard water, as well as residues from styling products, preventing these minerals from forming deposits that can make hair stiff, dull, or prone to breakage.
The makers also added hydrolyzed keratin in this Detox Shampoo, which contains smaller protein fragments that penetrate the hair shaft, replenishing lost keratin and strengthening your hair’s internal structure. This may help maintain your strands, enhance elasticity, and reduce the likelihood of breakage or split ends.
Hair and Body Mist in the St. Barts scent by Ouai may provide a refreshing experience for both your hair and body, providing a light, tropical aroma. It combines denatured alcohol as a base, which allows the mist to disperse evenly across hair and skin. Denatured alcohol also aids in the quick evaporation of the formula, leaving behind the scent without a sticky residue.
This hair and body mist also has polysorbate 20, which functions as an emulsifier, helping the oil-based fragrance components mix seamlessly with water, ensuring consistent application and even scent distribution.
As per the official website, the fragrance profile in his mist combines tropical top notes of dragon fruit, orange blossom, and tuberose, layered over a subtle musk base. These components could provide a sensory experience and also interact with olfactory receptors to evoke a fresh, vibrant feeling.
Hair and Body Mist in the St. Barts scent also includes phenoxyethanol to help maintain formula stability by preventing microbial growth, which is essential for a product intended for repeated contact with skin and hair.
As per the official website, Leave-In Conditioner may help detangle, hydrate, and manage frizz across all hair types while offering thermal protection. It includes tamarind seed extract, which contains polysaccharides that coat your hair shaft, smoothing the cuticle and reducing friction between strands. This makes detangling easier and minimizes mechanical damage.
This conditioner also combines panthenol (provitamin B5), which penetrates the hair cortex, attracting and retaining moisture to improve elasticity, softness, and flexibility.
Vitamin E in Leave-In Conditioner might help protect your hair from oxidative stress caused by UV exposure, pollution, or heat, helping to maintain the structural integrity of proteins and lipids in the hair.
The makers also added hydrolyzed proteins in this conditioner, which are broken-down fragments of keratin and other proteins that can infiltrate weakened areas of the hair shaft, potentially improving resilience and reducing breakage, especially during heat styling.
This leave-in conditioner works as a pre-heat styling primer or as part of a wash-and-go routine. The brand claims that it can protect your hair from temperatures up to 450°F (232°C) and can reduce breakage.
Scalp Serum might support better scalp health, provide hydration, and help create a balanced environment for hair growth. It combines adaptogens, peptides, and extracts to help support your scalp and hair health.
Arctic Root, Siberian Ginseng, and chaga mushroom in this serum may help support cellular resilience and hydration. These botanical compounds interact with your scalp’s natural defense mechanisms, helping maintain a stable barrier, reduce oxidative stress, and support nutrient delivery to hair follicles.
The makers added hyaluronic acid to Scalp Serum, which helps attract and retain water in the scalp, ensuring consistent hydration and promoting an optimal environment for hair growth.
This formula also has red clover flower extract, which might help address scalp discomfort by interacting with local inflammatory pathways. This can help soothe irritation caused by styling or environmental stressors, contributing to a healthier scalp condition.
Peptides in the Scalp Serum formula act as signaling molecules that can stimulate hair follicle activity and strengthen the hair structure. They may help maintain the appearance of fuller hair by supporting protein synthesis.
According to the makers, Medium Hair Shampoo is formulated for hair that falls between fine and thick types, addressing concerns like frizz, damage, and lack of shine. It may help cleanse while providing hydration and nourishment, helping to maintain the natural balance of medium hair.
This shampoo combines kumquat fruit extract, which can support the structural integrity of hair proteins and protect strands from oxidative stress caused by environmental factors. It might help maintain shine by smoothing the hair cuticle and reducing the impact of free radicals that can dull hair over time.
The makers highlight that this shampoo also has babassu oil, which contains medium-chain fatty acids, including lauric acid, that may help penetrate the hair shaft to provide moisture without weighing hair down. It also forms a protective layer on the hair surface, helping to reduce friction, tame frizz, and prevent breakage.
Coconut oil in Medium Hair Shampoo may help strengthen hair by binding to protein structures within the shaft. Its lipid content could help retain moisture, reduce protein loss during washing, and enhance hair elasticity, which can minimize split ends and breakage.
This shampoo also includes hydrolyzed keratin, which is a protein derivative that replenishes the natural keratin in hair. It can improve strength and resilience by strengthening your hair’s internal structure, helping to repair damage caused by environmental stressors or styling practices.
Ouai offers Super Dry Shampoo, which helps absorb excessive oil, dirt, and sweat from your hair without leaving a visible residue. It combines absorbent powders and conditioning agents that may give your hair a cleaner appearance and a subtle fragrance between washes.
The spray uses hydrofluorocarbon 152A, butane, and isobutane as propellants to deliver the product evenly throughout the hair. These compounds are gases that evaporate quickly after application, ensuring the dry shampoo spreads efficiently and doesn’t leave wet spots.
Super Dry Shampoo also combines dimethylimidazolidinone, rice starch, and aluminum starch octenylsuccinate, which serve as the primary oil-absorbing agents.
To maintain hair health and manageability, the formula also includes panthenol, a provitamin of B5. Panthenol penetrates the hair shaft and converts to pantothenic acid, helping retain moisture, improve flexibility, and reduce brittleness.
The brand offers its Super Dry Shampoo in two variants, Melrose Place and Cape Town, which share the same base ingredients but differ slightly in their fragrance components. Melrose Place contains Linalool, Citronellol, Geraniol, and Benzyl Salicylate, while Cape Town features Linalool, Limonene, and Eugenol.
Fine Hair Shampoo may help address the specific needs of fine, flat hair, targeting dryness, breakage, and lack of volume. It could help improve your hair’s structural level to support strength, resilience, and hair health.
Biotin in this shampoo is a water-soluble B-vitamin (B7) that might support keratin production. It also helps strengthen hair strands, reduce breakage, and maintain the structural integrity of fine hair.
Fine Hair Shampoo combines chia seed oil, which has omega-3 and vitamin E, which might help nourish the hair shaft, enhance moisture retention, and reduce oxidative stress. This shampoo features the Mercer Street fragrance, which combines Italian lemon, Turkish rose, jasmine sambac, iris, lily, and white musk to provide a subtle, layered scent.
Ouai claims to provide personalized support through its quiz feature. It can help guide you through its “Find Your Ouai” to suggest products based on your hair type, texture, and concerns. The quiz looks at your hair’s history, daily care routine, and scent preferences to create a complete set of recommendations, including shampoo, conditioner, styling, and bodycare products. Through this quiz, you will get suggestions for products like Fine Hair Shampoo and Conditioner with keratin, biotin, and chia seed oil for better strength and volume, and other richer formulas that may provide hydration and manageability for thicker strands. This approach may help you make more informed choices, reduce trial-and-error purchases, and follow a routine that supports your hair’s natural quality.
Ouai highlights a clean and modern aesthetic, using simple lines, soft neutral tones like milky white, pale peach, and translucent amber, and clear sans-serif typography. This consistent visual identity extends across its shampoos, conditioners, styling products, and body care, making the brand easy to recognize while maintaining a unique identity. The use of refillable pouches and bottles made from 100% recycled materials also reflects an effort toward practical and eco-conscious packaging. This approach of the brand could make it easier to organize your products, save counter space, and allow you to maintain a clutter-free setup while choosing packaging that supports more sustainable habits.
Ouai places strong emphasis on creating a fragrance-driven experience across its haircare collection, using scent as a defining element of its brand identity. It offers a range of shampoos, conditioners, and styling essentials that often feature complex blends like floral and musk notes, as seen in the Leave-In Conditioner. While this distinct scent profile strengthens the brand’s signature appeal, it also exposes an overdependence on fragrance as a brand differentiator rather than on purely functional benefits. The lack of fragrance-free alternatives can be restrictive if you have a sensitive scalp or prefer mild, unscented products. The use of fragrance compounds such as linalool in the brand offerings may also lead to irritation or discomfort, which can affect your experience and make the products less suitable for daily use.
Prose and Ouai approach haircare from different philosophies, especially when it comes to personalizing products to your needs. As per its official website, Prose emphasizes highly personalized options, creating products based on over 85 factors from an in-depth consultation, including your hair type, goals, lifestyle, and environmental conditions. This personalization extends beyond shampoos and conditioners to include custom scalp options and supplements like Root Source, supporting hair health both externally and internally.
Ouai, on the other hand, offers limited personalization. While it features an online quiz that recommends products based on your hair type or concerns, the formulations themselves are standardized and designed for general use.
The brands also differ in their product focus. Prose centers on haircare but expands into skincare and accessories, providing a comprehensive range of shampoos, conditioners, masks, styling products, oils, serums, dry shampoos, and supplements.
Ouai, meanwhile, combines haircare with body products, fragrances, and styling kits, focusing on aesthetic appeal, scent, and lifestyle integration. While Prose prioritizes holistic care, Ouai emphasizes trend-driven, ready-to-use products that fit a modern beauty routine.
Ingredient transparency and ethical practices further distinguish the two.
Prose highlights cruelty-free, clean formulations, free from sulfates, parabens, phthalates, mineral oils, and GMOs, with options for vegan, silicone-free, dye-free, or fragrance-free products.
Ouai focuses more on scents and textures, with less emphasis on clean formulations or full ingredient customization. Prose also focuses on sustainability, being a certified B Corporation with climate-neutral production and responsibly sourced ingredients, whereas Ouai emphasizes recyclable packaging and refills to reduce plastic usage.
Prose’s pricing reflects its personalized approach, with products ranging from $27 to $55 and supplements priced around $54–$60 per month.
Ouai’s pricing ranges from $30 to $54 and is based on factors such as scent, packaging, and brand positioning rather than individualized formulations.
Prose focuses on personalized, holistic options that combine haircare, supplements, and broader product options, with attention to clean formulations and sustainability. Meanwhile, Ouai concentrates on standardized products that combine haircare, body care, and fragrances, with an emphasis on fragrance.
Olaplex claims to focus on repairing and strengthening hair from the inside out with its patented Bond Building Technology, targeting issues like breakage, frizz, and damage from heat or chemical procedures. Its product offerings, such as the Nº.0 Intensive Bond Building Treatment, Nº.3 Hair Perfector, and Nº.7 Bonding Oil, are designed to rebuild hair structure, while masks like the Rich Hydration Mask and Weightless Nourishing Mask address different hair types for deep moisture and repair.
Ouai, on the other hand, emphasizes lifestyle-oriented haircare and multi-functional products that focus on aesthetic and sensory experience rather than structural repair. It offers products like the Detox Shampoo, Leave-In Conditioner, and Wave Spray, as well as scented hair and body mists such as St. Barts, highlighting the brand’s focus on convenience, style, and fragrance.
Both brands offer personalization, but in different ways. Olaplex guides you primarily through hair type and damage severity, recommending procedures and shampoos like Nº.4FINE Bond Maintenance Shampoo for fine hair or Nº.5 Bond Maintenance® Conditioner for thicker hair. Ouai provides a hair quiz on its website that helps you identify your hair type, texture, and styling goals, suggesting products or styling sprays to match your preferences.
Olaplex maintains premium, minimalist packaging that strengthens its clinical, results-driven focus, whereas Ouai combines trendy, aesthetic packaging with fragrance-driven products. Olaplex focuses on clinically tested bond-building formulas, while Ouai emphasizes ingredients and multi-sensory experience without proprietary bond-repair claims. Olaplex focuses on structural hair repair while Ouai offers products suited to your preferences, especially with its quiz-based personalization system.
To evaluate Ouai, we considered several factors, including the brand’s age, history, background, and consumer sentiment across platforms like Tenereteam and the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Founded by celebrity hairstylist Jen Atkin, the brand focuses on modern haircare that blends minimalist design with sensory appeal. It currently holds a C+ rating on BBB, reflecting some issues with customer service, order fulfillment, or complaint resolution.
On the other hand, Ouai has received a 4.6 rating on Tenereteam. However, the number of reviews on this platform is limited, making the rating less conclusive in evaluating customer satisfaction.
Ouai has maintained a low volume of formal complaints but shows some issues in customer service and communication. While online reviews indicate favorable user experiences, the limited review data and BBB concerns suggest there are areas for improvement in responsiveness, quality control, and customer engagement.
We analyzed Ouai using verified 2025 customer feedback from its products on Amazon, including the Wave Spray, Leave-In Conditioner & Heat Protectant Spray, and Detox Shampoo. These reviews provided direct insights into the brand’s product performance, scent experience, and overall user satisfaction.
Ouai’s Wave Spray has received a 4.2 out of 5 rating based on over 4,800+ reviews, highlighting its strong appeal among users seeking soft, beachy waves without stiffness. Several reviews frequently mentioned that the product helped enhance their natural texture while keeping hair light and manageable, making it ideal for low-maintenance styling.
However, some users pointed out that the scent could be overpowering, especially for those
sensitive to strong fragrances. While this signature fragrance contributes to Ouai’s identity, it seems to divide users depending on personal preference.
The Leave-In Conditioner & Heat Protectant Spray has earned a 4.6 out of 5 rating from over 13,100+ reviews. Users consistently praised its ability to detangle, smooth frizz, and restore shine without adding weight or grease.
Many highlighted its versatility across different hair types, including bleached, color-treated, and fine hair. The scent, often described as floral and fresh, earned compliments for its high-end feel, though a few noted it could be a bit strong.
Ouai’s Detox Shampoo has a 4.5 out of 5 rating based on 7,600+ reviews, supported by consistently positive feedback on its deep-cleansing yet gentle performance. Users praised how effectively it removes oil, buildup, and hard-water residue while maintaining softness and shine.
Many appreciated its use of apple cider vinegar, which helped balance the scalp and improve overall hair health. Several reviewers also mentioned that combining it weekly made their regular shampoos perform better.
Through this evaluation, the brand seems to blend functionality with sensory luxury. The reviews consistently show that Ouai delivers effective, lightweight products that enhance texture and manageability while appealing to users who enjoy a premium, fragrance-rich experience.
However, recurring mentions of strong fragrance profiles and high pricing suggest that the brand best suits those who prioritize indulgent, high-performing haircare over fragrance-free options.
Ouai focuses on simplifying haircare through a modern, approachable experience. It offers features like a hair quiz to guide you toward products, and maintains minimalist, eco-conscious packaging that keeps your collection organized and visually cohesive.
The brand claims to enhance your hair strength, hydration, and manageability using ingredients such as keratin, biotin, and chia seed oil in its offerings, which may support hair structure, resilience, and moisture retention.
However, it emphasizes fragrance as a defining feature in its products, with complex floral, musk, or citrus blends. While these scents create a signature experience, overreliance on them may irritate if you have sensitive scalps or trigger allergies. If you are considering Ouai, make sure to test its products on a small section of hair or skin, alternate with fragrance-free products, and monitor your hair and scalp’s response. Being mindful of these factors allows you to benefit from the brand’s modern, guided haircare approach while minimizing potential sensitivities.
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