Counterfeit Olaplex Product Discovered In Europe and U.S.

After discovering counterfeit versions of Olaplex No.3 in a large German drug store chain, Olaplex launched an investigation and uncovered more counterfeit Olaplex products in a California retailer’s warehouse.

Complaints from German hairdressers led Olaplex to investigate DM, the German drug store chain, where counterfeit Olaplex No.3 was being sold at nearly the same price as genuine Olaplex and looking nearly identical.

“Once we found out DM, a reputable German drug store, was selling counterfeits, we knew we had to investigate how many other stores were selling fake Olaplex products,” said Olaplex CEO Dean Christal. Olaplex immediately purchased hundreds of alleged Olaplex products from across the world. While much of the product was found to be genuine, nearly 30 percent of it was found to be counterfeit, infringing, or tampered with product.

One of those counterfeit products was a warehouse and retailer with online stores on eBay and Walmart.com. On Sept. 10, 2018, Olaplex partnered with the Irwindale, California Police Department and raided the company’s warehouse, resulting in more than 100 counterfeit Olaplex products being seized by law enforcement, and records showing sales to consumers throughout the United States.  

Olaplex will continue its fight against counterfeiting by identifying stores, both online and offline, that are selling fake Olaplex products.  “This is only the beginning,” says Christal. “We expect to continue the fight for quite a while, before the problem is cleaned up.”

Purchasing professional products like Olaplex from unauthorized sources is risky, Olaplex cautions. At best, the product doesn’t meet the standards of the genuine professional product—at worse, hair and skin can be seriously damaged. Genuine Olaplex products are sold at salons across the world, as well as on Olaplex.com and in Sephora stores. If you have a question about diversion, reach out to Olaplex directly at [email protected].