Question: Is Olaplex No. 3, a haircare product, permissible to use?

Answer:

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ʿalaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

Olaplex No. 3 is a haircare product advertised to repair damaged hair. It is a watery pre-shampoo product meant to be applied and then washed out afterwards with shampoo. The product contains the following ingredients[i]:

Water, Bis-Aminopropyl Diglycol Dimaleate, Propylene Glycol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Cetyl Alcohol, Phenoxyethanol, Glycerin, Hydroxyethyl Ethylcellulose, Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Quaternium-91, Sodium Benzoate, Cetrimonium Methosulfate, Cetrimonium Chloride, Fragrance, Polyquaternium-37, Tetrasodium EDTA, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Etidronic Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Phytantriol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Panthenol, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Citric Acid, Potassium Sorbate.

It has not been possible for us to source all these ingredients. Some of them likely derive from impure (najis) sources. The deliberate application of impurity is makrūh in the Sharī`ah.[ii] The directions ask that one apply the product to damp hair and leave for ten minutes. If the product is impure, ṣalāh would be invalidated while it is in the hair. One should also be cognizant of other objects the product may get on rendering those objects impure as well.

After ten minutes, the product is washed out followed by application of shampoo and a second washing. One would follow this with application of conditioner and another washing. Even if one or more of the chemicals in Oleplex No.3 were impure, the subsequent steps are sufficient to remove the product. Ṣalāh would be valid after washing out.

As merely a non-medical haircare product and with plenty of alternatives otherwise, based on the information available to us, we cannot justify a strong need for its deliberate application. Therefore, using Olaplex No.3 is makrūh, and best avoided in favor of permissible alternatives.

And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best

Mufti Faisal bin Abdul Hameed al-Mahmudi (S1)
www.fatwa.ca 

[i] https://olaplex.com/products/olaplex-no-3-hair-perfector (accessed Feb. 16, 2021)

[ii]
فتاوى محمودية،18:356

فتاوى دار العلوم ديوبند، 16:316

رد المحتار على الدر المختار، دار الفكر، 1: 404

(قَوْلُهُ وَلَهُ لُبْسُ ثَوْبٍ نَجَسٍ إلَخْ) نَقَلَهُ فِي الْبَحْرِ عَنْ الْمَبْسُوطِ، ثُمَّ ذَكَرَ أَنَّهُ فِي الْبُغْيَةِ تَلْخِيصِ الْقُنْيَةِ ذَكَرَ فِيهِ خِلَافًا. قَالَ ط: وَلَمْ يَتَعَرَّضْ لِحُكْمِ تَلْوِيثِهِ بِالنَّجَاسَةِ. وَالظَّاهِرُ أَنَّهُ مَكْرُوهٌ لِأَنَّهُ اشْتِغَالٌ بِمَا لَا يُفِيدُ