If you haven’t already heard of OUAI, then it’s time to come out from under your rock because you’re late to the game! Become familiar with it because every cool girl on Instagram uses at least one OUAI product and it has rapidly become a cult brand.
OUAI is literally everywhere. Hairstylist Jen Atkin, who travels all around the world with her A-List clients like Bella Hadid, Kaia Gerber, Chrissy Teigen and all the Kardashians, created OUAI so everyone can achieve “cool girl” hair. Naturally, it was only a matter of time before I caved and bought some OUAI products of my own.
So with all of those products in my arsenal, I was very hopeful that they would live up to my expectations. Which brings us to the golden question – are they worth the hype?
A little background on my hair so you can gauge how these will work for you – I have long, very thick, but fine hair and I normally wash my hair every other day because it tends to get oily pretty quickly.
Texturizing Hair Spray
When I curl my hair, one of the hardest things for me to do is keep the curl for longer than a couple of hours. Sometimes I use an absurd amount of hairspray to keep them in place, only to have them straighten out a few hours later anyway. When I use this though, it gives my hair the right texture to keep that curl in place. It also helps to give you some volume and doesn’t leave your hair crunchy at all. I would consider it a OUAI staple to achieve “cool girl” hair.
Dry Shampoo Foam
I am a huge dry shampoo fan. Any product that helps me put off washing my hair for another day is considered gold to me. But I wasn’t totally pleased with how my hair looked after using this one. It wasn’t as greasy as I thought it might be, but it definitely didn’t make my hair look clean. Some positives were that my hair didn’t feel stiff like what other dry shampoos can do to your hair, and it left my hair more volumized. Overall, I don’t really see this working for me.
Soft Mousse
I really love this product. I can tell there’s a difference in the softness of my hair and it gives it a little bit more bounce. The smell of it is extremely pleasant compared to some of the other scents in this brand, and it’s not overwhelming at all. The best part? It didn’t leave my hair crunchy or sticky, which can happen with mousse products. I put a little bit in my hand (it expands a lot once its out of the bottle) and apply it from my roots to ends right before I blow dry. I also use a round brush to give it some extra oomph.
Rose Hair & Body Oil
Ugh, I really loved the idea of this oil. Not only is the rose color to die for, but the smell of it is so, so good. You can also use it on your body to combat dry skin – multitasking! I had read some iffy things about it in reviews, but was dying to try it out for myself. I just kind of ran it through from the middle of my hair to the ends. They say to use 2-3 drops, but I started with 2, even though my hair is really thick. My ends were very greasy, but in general, my hair was sooo soft and shiny. Ultimately though, who wants to walk around with greasy hair? No one.
So I don’t think I’ll be using this as part of my daily hair routine. I do however, like using it on my body to give it a bit of a glow, I think it’ll be nice to use in the summer. Probably won’t be buying this again though.
Leave-In Conditioner
Confession: I’ve been so bad at using products that protect my hair from all the heat tools I use on it. I know it’s super important to use them in order to keep your hair healthy, so I was really happy to see that this product offered that as well as other things like detangling, conditioning, and smoothing. It does come out more like a squirt bottle than a spray, so I have to use a lot of it and I run my fingers through to make sure it all gets spread out and rubbed in.
This is definitely one of my favorites. Since I’ve started using this, my hair has never been so soft and silky and, maybe it’s just me, but it already looks healthier. I will definitely be repurchasing this one.
(Note: Some people have mentioned it having a sour smell, but I haven’t experienced that at all, just FYI)
Memory Mist
Ok, I need to rave about this. I usually straighten my hair for work, and it’ll be super straight at the beginning, but then start to wave again. When I use this, it stays straight all day long, like I had just straightened it. I also always have to re-straighten my hair the next morning if I haven’t washed it, but I was so surprised when I woke up the next day to see it was still almost completely straight. I did a couple of touch ups, but it was a massive improvement to how my hair usually looks in the morning (it’s normally like Ana’s bed head in Frozen, lol).
Granted, it does not work as well for me when my hair is curled, but I don’t wear it curled enough for this to be a deal breaker for me. Especially when I can use the texturing spray.
Volume Spray
This was another success. I’ve tried tons of different volume sprays and none have given me results like this one does. It’s nothing dramatic, but I feel like it gives my hair just enough body for my liking. I spray it on my damp hair and blow dry right after. Unlike the Leave-In Conditioner this sprays really well and covers a lot of area, so you don’t need to use too much, and it won’t leave your hair sticky.
Overall, I am loving my OUAI hair products. You can definitely tell there is something different about them compared to others currently on the market. While the price points are on the higher end, you don’t need to use every product in the range to get your desired hair. I learned that my hair does not work well with the Rose Oil and the Dry Shampoo Foam, so I can do without those. But I also learned that the Volume Spray and the Leave-In Conditioner really help me achieve shinier, silkier, more voluminous hair. The next product I want to try is the Wave Spray, especially for the summer!
Have you tried OUAI products? What did you think and which ones are your favorites (or least favorites)?
