Cruelty-free but owned by Procter & Gamble, which is not cruelty-free
| Ingredient transparency | Full ingredient list read and categorised |
| Ownership | Founded 2016 by hairstylist Jen Atkin. Procter & Gamble announced its acquisition of OUAI on 3 December 2021, with the deal closing in early 2022, P&G's first prestige hair-care acquisition. Jen Atkin remains Founder and Chief Creative Officer as of a May 2026 profile; Susan Kim (previously of Kopari) has since joined as CEO, handling operations while Atkin leads creative direction. Still trading as a wholly owned P&G subsidiary. (Owned by P&G (acquired 2021)) |
| Where made | USA/contract manufacturers |
| Price | Mid-range |
| Cruelty free | Yes |
| Vegan | Partial |
| Organic | No |
| Certifications | Leaping Bunny: confirmed via the certifier's own brand page (leapingbunny.org/brand/ouai) as 'Certified since 2021,' logo user; corroborated by OUAI's own Help Center article referencing the certification. Genuine. not PETA-listed: no matching page found at crueltyfree.peta.org, and multiple independent trackers explicitly state OUAI is 'not PETA approved.' not B Corp, not COSMOS, not Ecocert, not NATRUE, not EWG Verified, none found. |
| Packaging | Recyclable |
| External ratings | CFK cruelty-free (parent P&G not CF) |
| Lab tested | Not publicly disclosed |
| Clinical studies | Not published |
| Caveat | Cruelty-free but parent P&G is not cruelty-free; brand itself not company-wide certified; not fully vegan |
Claims made for this brand that could not be confirmed in a certifier's own register. A brand website is a claim, not a source.
As with First Aid Beauty, the same parent-company caveat applies: PETA's own separate corporate profile for Procter & Gamble states P&G overall 'does test on animals,' even though OUAI itself carries a genuine, current Leaping Bunny certification, 'cruelty-free' should be read as brand-specific, not as a description of parent-company-wide practice, and should not be upgraded to 'PETA certified' (it is not). OUAI's 'clean,' 'sulfate-free,' and 'non-toxic' formulation language is marketing description only, no clean-beauty registry (COSMOS, NATRUE, EWG Verified) was found to back it, so it should not be presented as certified.
Leaping Bunny certified since 2021, logo user https://www.leapingbunny.org/brand/ouai
OUAI Help Center reference to Leaping Bunny certification https://ouai.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/1260806382109-Leaping-Bunny-Cruelty-Free
P&G to acquire OUAI, Dec 2021 https://wwd.com/beauty-industry-news/beauty-features/feature/pg-acquire-jen-atkin-ouai-hair-care-1235009718/
P&G corporate profile ("does test on animals") https://crueltyfree.peta.org/company/procter-gamble/
Jen Atkin remains Chief Creative Officer, Susan Kim named CEO, 2026 https://www.businessoffashion.com/news/beauty/ouai-names-susan-kim-ceo/
Why there is no score: Partial read. No score is published. Ingredient lists were obtained for 54 products, but the brand's product listing did not respond when the total catalogue size was measured, so the share of the range covered is unknown. Without a denominator a percentage would be meaningless.
Last checked 22 July 2026.
We analysed 54 OUAI products, categorising every listed ingredient by function, origin (raw natural, naturally derived or synthetic) and safety concern. This is not the whole catalogue, so it is reported as a partial read. Percentages show the share of each formula that is natural or naturally derived.
Most common flags: Phenoxyethanol, Linalool, Limonene, Benzyl Salicylate, Citronellol, Disodium Edta, Hydroxycitronellal, Geraniol, Fragrance / Parfum, Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, Parfum (Fragrance), Hexyl Cinnamal
Coverage: Ingredient lists were read for 54 products. The size of the full catalogue could not be established, so no average is shown.
Analyst note: Ingredient lists were read for 54 products. The brand's total catalogue size could not be measured, so the share of the catalogue covered here is not known.
| Product | Natural | Ingredients | Flagged |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leave In Conditioner St Barts Scent | 83% | 58 | 14 |
| Leave in Conditioner North Bondi | 84% | 64 | 18 |
| Leave In Conditioner Melrose Place | 85% | 55 | 10 |
| Anti-Dandruff Hair Shampoo | 54% | 24 | 6 |
| Medium Hair Shampoo - Jumbo | 68% | 41 | 11 |
| Medium Hair Conditioner - Jumbo | 100% | 37 | 0 |
| Fine Hair Shampoo - Jumbo | 67% | 36 | 10 |
| Fine Hair Conditioner - Jumbo | 81% | 31 | 7 |
| Hair & Body Fragrance Mist Melrose Place | 94% | 16 | 7 |
| Laundry Dedtergent Melrose Place | 71% | 17 | 3 |
| Laundry Dedtergent Melrose Place - Refill | 71% | 17 | 3 |
| Eau de Parfum Rue St Honoré | 88% | 16 | 10 |
| Hand Wash | 56% | 34 | 12 |
| Hair & Body Fragrance Mist Ibiza | 79% | 19 | 8 |
| Detox Clarifying Hair Shampoo - Jumbo | 62% | 34 | 11 |
| Deodorant Cape Town | 92% | 26 | 10 |
| Deodorant St. Barts Scent | 84% | 19 | 8 |
| Deodorant Melrose Place | 93% | 15 | 5 |
| Super Dry Shampoo Cape Town | 81% | 21 | 8 |
| Super Dry Shampoo Melrose Place | 82% | 22 | 9 |
| Wave Spray | 71% | 31 | 10 |
| Hair & Body Fragrance Mist St. Barts Scent | 64% | 11 | 10 |
| Hand Lotion - Refill | 61% | 23 | 8 |
| Anti-Frizz Crème | 71% | 31 | 12 |
| Detox Face Cleanser | 73% | 30 | 4 |
| Hair Gloss | 76% | 41 | 8 |
| Body Cleanser St. Barts Scent | 59% | 34 | 12 |
| Body Crème St. Barts Scent | 84% | 32 | 10 |
| Scalp & Body Scrub - St. Barts Scent | 78% | 40 | 9 |
| Body Cleanser Melrose Place | 61% | 31 | 8 |
| Body Crème Melrose Place | 92% | 36 | 8 |
| Eau de Parfum Dean Street | 88% | 16 | 9 |
| Fur Bébé | 66% | 29 | 4 |
| Curl Crème | 76% | 34 | 11 |
| Thick Hair Treatment Masque | 75% | 55 | 12 |
| Fine To Medium Hair Treatment Masque | 89% | 87 | 10 |
| Hand Crème | 89% | 38 | 11 |
| Detox Clarifying Hair Shampoo - Refill | 62% | 34 | 11 |
| Detox Clarifying Hair Shampoo | 62% | 34 | 11 |
| Fine Hair Shampoo - Refill | 67% | 36 | 10 |
| Fine Hair Conditioner - Refill | 81% | 31 | 7 |
| Thick Hair Conditioner - Refill | 73% | 41 | 11 |
| Thick Hair Shampoo - Refill | 71% | 45 | 11 |
| Medium Hair Shampoo - Refill | 68% | 41 | 11 |
| Thick Hair Shampoo | 71% | 45 | 11 |
| Thick Hair Conditioner | 73% | 41 | 11 |
| Medium Hair Conditioner | 100% | 61 | 0 |
| Medium Hair Shampoo | 100% | 55 | 0 |
| Fine Hair Conditioner | 81% | 31 | 7 |
| Fine Hair Shampoo | 67% | 36 | 10 |
| Eau de Parfum North Bondi | 83% | 18 | 10 |
| Eau de Parfum Melrose Place | 92% | 13 | 6 |
| Scalp & Body Scrub Melrose Place | 78% | 50 | 8 |
| Hair Oil | 82% | 45 | 13 |
Full ingredient breakdown
The full ingredient by ingredient breakdown of all 54 OUAI products (1858 ingredients, each categorised by function, origin and safety concern) is free with an account.
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