Olaplex lawsuit alleges products cause hair damage, scalp injury

Olaplex hair damage lawsuit overview: 

• Who: A group of consumers has filed a lawsuit against Olaplex Holdings Inc. and Cosway Co. Inc. 
• Why: Consumers claim Olaplex and Cosway falsely marketed certain Olaplex-branded hair products as being safe to use, despite them allegedly containing harsh and/or harmful chemicals. 
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in California federal court. 

Olaplex Holdings and Cosway Co. manufactured and sold Olaplex branded hair products that were falsely represented as being safe and not containing harsh or harmful chemicals, a new class action lawsuit alleges. 

Consumers claim Olaplex and Cosway are misleading the public by failing to “adhere to minimum standards for the cosmetic industry” in the way they allegedly designed the Olaplex hair products. 

Multiple varieties of the Olaplex hair products contain or have contained lilial — a known sensitizer and allergen — as well as panthenol and other known allergen and irritant ingredients, the Olaplex lawsuit alleges.

Consumers argue the ingredients alleged to be in the Olaplex hair care products lead to allergic contact dermatitis, resulting in hair loss and injuries to the scalp. 

Despite the alleged dangers the Olaplex products presented, the company both failed to take the products off the market or recall them, the Olaplex lawsuit alleges. 

“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,” the Olaplex lawsuit states. 

Many Olaplex products contain chemicals that can combine to create cancer-causing chemical benzene, suit says

Consumers argue many of the Olaplex products also contain the chemicals sodium benzoate and ascorbic or citric acid, which they claim can combine to create the cancer-causing chemical benzene. 

“(Benzene) is so dangerous that the beauty industry has stopped using the ingredient and voluntarily recalled hair care products containing benzene. Olaplex has not,” the Olaplex lawsuit states. 

Consumers claim Olaplex and Cosway are guilty of unjust enrichment, product liability, strict product liability, negligence and/or gross negligence, and breach of implied warranty and express warranty; they also accuse the defendants of violating California’s False Advertising Law. 

Plaintiffs are demanding a jury trial and requesting an award of actual, consequential and punitive damages. 

A class action lawsuit was filed against Olaplex last year by Canadian consumers arguing the company failed to inform its customers about serious health risks allegedly associated with the ingredients in one of its hair products. 

Have you purchased an Olaplex hair care product? Let us know in the comments. 

The plaintiffs are represented by Amy E. Davis of the Law Center of Amy E. Davis LLC; Steve Calamusa, Geoff S. Stahl and Rachley Bentley of Gordon & Partners PA; and David E. Rosen of Murphy Rosen LLP. 

The Olaplex hair damage lawsuit is Albahae, et al. v. Olaplex Holdings Inc., et al., Case No. 2:23-cv-00982, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

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