As a curly haired girl, I'm always on the lookout for products that will rejuvenate my 3C hair — and not weigh it down. And let me tell you: that seems to be the tallest of orders. I've tried a lot of curly care systems over the years, but I can barely count the number of products that actually work on one hand.
That’s where Prose, Olaplex, and OUAI come in. These brands have been making waves in the beauty industry for quite some time, but can they handle curly hair? I’ve compared Prose, Olaplex, and OUAI across several categories to decide which one (if any!) can meet my curly hair needs.
The 3 Hair Care Heavy-Hitters
Prose is an influencer-favorite for a reason: every person I’ve seen use Prose has gorgeous, flowy hair. But is a custom formula really all it’s cracked up to be? I turned to Olaplex for this comparison because its repairing formulas are beloved by stylists, and OUAI is another trendy-yet-effective choice. Let’s see which is for me:
Test #1: Customization
Prose: Prose’s custom haircare targets your specific issues, goals, lifestyle, and location. Yes, you read that right—even the water hardness in your area is taken into consideration! In this comparison, Prose is the only one that tailors your formula based on your consultation answers, hair goals, and preferences.
Olaplex: Olaplex has a Hair Diagnostic quiz and you can also shop by concern, but they don’t have truly custom haircare. Their systems are known to be effective, but their products are pretty one-size-fits-all.
OUAI: OUAI also offers a hair quiz, and they break down their systems by hair thickness (fine, medium, and thick hair). They also offer scalp & body scrubs, clarifying & anti-dandruff shampoos, hair masques, supplements, and styling products. While there’s lots of range, none of their products are custom.
Winner: Prose
Test #2: Adaptability
Prose: Prose’s Review & Refine® feature lets you provide direct feedback on your Prose formula, and Prose will make the tweaks necessary for your formula to be a 10/10 every single time. They also update your formula to match the weather where you live, so drier hair gets the heavy-duty moisturizers it needs in winter and weightless hydration during the summer. Prose makes it easy to fine tune your formula or adjust the scent as you like!
Olaplex: You can buy new products if your hair needs change, but unlike Prose, you can’t seamlessly update your current system. Plus, it’s not guaranteed that the new system is going to be your best fit.
OUAI: Similarly to Olaplex, you can buy different products as your needs change, but you can’t alter the system like you can with Prose.
Winner: Prose
Test #3: Value
Prose: All three brands hover around a similar price range, but Prose wins for its convenient auto-ship and subscribe & save feature, which unlocks 15% off plus free shipping on every subscription order. With Prose, you also don’t have to hit a $50 minimum to get free shipping.
Olaplex: While you can subscribe on Olaplex’s website, you won’t get a discount. You’ll also have to hit a minimum spend of $50 to get free shipping.
OUAI: OUAI does offer subscribe & save + free shipping, but not for every product. When browsing their site, I saw I could subscribe to some products but not others. At 10% off for subscribing, Prose’s discount is a little better. When not subscribing, you’ll have to meet a minimum $50 spend for free shipping.
Winner: Prose
Test #4: Variety
Prose: Prose is primarily focused on personalized haircare that addresses specific needs, but they have a smaller selection of styling products. I absolutely love my Custom Styling Gel and the Custom Curl Cream I’ve tried, but their styling products inventory is smaller than other brands I’ve seen.
Olaplex: Olaplex’s focus is on repair treatments, so like Prose, they also fall a little short when it comes to styling options. I like the No. 6. Bond Smoother, which serves as a leave-in styling treatment, but besides that and the No. 7 bonding oil, the choices are limited.
OUAI: OUAI’s founder is a hairstylist, so when it comes to the variety of styling products, OUAI outshines both Olaplex and Prose. OUAI has a large variety of styling products available for any hair type and style desired from beachy waves to romantic updos.
Winner: OUAI
Test #5: Clean ingredients
Prose: Prose is cruelty-free and only uses high-quality ingredients without the harmful additives found in other haircare products. They have a full detailed list of every ingredient they use on their website, along with their EWG rating and purpose. Prose goes above and beyond by excluding 32 potentially harmful ingredients.
Olaplex: Olaplex is also cruelty-free, vegan, and free from gluten, sulfates, parabens, and phthalates. Olaplex is also non-toxic and free of beauty industry toxins.
OUAI: OUAI is also cruelty-free, and they leave out the similar suspects of gluten, sulfates, parabens & phthalates.
Winner: Prose
The Ultimate Winner… Prose
OUAI and Olaplex are both viable contenders, but Prose has my heart. With customized formulas, the ability to recalibrate, and high-quality formulas that are just plain effective, Prose is what’s in my shower, and I’ve got the gorgeous, shiny curls to prove it!
