Odele is a popular shampoo brand that launched in 2020. Their products are branded like a luxury shampoo but not priced like a luxury shampoo, costing only $12 for nearly a pound of shampoo.
But does Odele shampoo contain research-backed ingredients for improving hair quality? Are their products really more effective than drug store shampoo? Does Odele shampoo contain any questionable additive ingredients? And how do real users rate their products?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Odele’s most popular shampoos to give our take on whether or not the brand is likely to improve hair quality.
We’ll highlight some questionable additive ingredients, feature unsponsored customer reviews and highlight some questionable marketing claims made by the brand.
Ingredient Analysis
The ingredients in Odele Clarifying Shampoo are shown above.
This shampoo contains some research-backed active ingredients.
Amaranthus caudatus seed extract was described in a 2022 medical review as having these effects when applied topically:
“It perfectly moisturizes, soothes irritations, accelerates wound healing, and has antimicrobial properties. It provides skin-nourishing and anti-aging effects.”
Hydrolyzed rice protein may promote hair growth based on early research documented in a 2022 meta-study.
Glycerin is proven in clinical studies to have a moisturizing effect which can reduce scalp dryness and flaking, as we documented in our review of another hair care brand called Nioxin.
Odele Clarifying Shampoo also contains one inactive ingredient that may be questionable from a health perspective.
Fragrance is included in this formulation, and a medical review on fragranced consumer products published in the Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health journal concluded the following:
“Results of this study provide compelling evidence that everyday fragranced products can impose serious risks to human health, environmental quality, businesses, and society.”
We would take no issue if the fragrance was derived entirely from essential oils, but the brand also claims that the fragrance is sourced from "naturally derived materials" without explaining what those materials are.
Odele has significantly improved this formulation from a health perspective since the initial publication of our review, by removing two questionable synthetic preservatives (phenoxyethanol and cetrimonium chloride).
Overall, we consider Odele Clarifying Shampoo likely to improve hair quailty, although this is not a product we currently recommend due to our concerns over the ingredient disclosures in the fragrance.
Real People Try Odele
A YouTube creator with a channel called “The Clean Beauty Code” shared her thoughts about various Odele hair products:
A TikTok creator named Nancy Herrera claims that Odele shampoo has helped support hair growth:
@nancygherrera no gatekeeping here 🙅🏻♀️ #hairgrowth #hairhealth #postpartumhairloss #MomsofTikTok #Lifestyle #fyp #foryou #odelebeauty @Odele Beauty #shampooandconditioner ♬ original sound - Nancy Herrera
Questionable Health Claims
There are a number of health and marketing claims on the Odele website that we consider to be questionable.
Odele claims above that their Clarifying Shampoo is formulated with a “chelation technology” that “acts as a magnet for impurities.”
There is no citation for this claim and we consider it to be unscientific. What does this even mean? Toxins are not hiding right under the scalp’s surface waiting to be removed from the body by a shampoo.
The brand also claims that their Volumizing Shampoo is “fortified with amino acids to promote hair strength” however we cannot identify any amino acids in the ingredient list.
Odele also claims that their Moisture Repair Shampoo can “enhance color” of hair but there is no citation for this claim or explanation of which ingredients are proven to have this effect.
We cannot identify any active ingredients that we would consider likely to have this effect.
We urge Odele to either provide citations for the health and marketing claims they’re making on their product pages or remove them.
Are Odele’s Other Shampoos Better?
Odele sells a wide range of shampoos for different purposes. Below is our quick breakdown of each.
Volumizing Shampoo: Contains similar ingredients to Clarifying Shampoo.
If nearly all of the active ingredients are the same, how is one “Clarifying” and one “Volumizing”? Contains multiple preservatives and fragrance.
Verdict: Do not recommend
Smoothing Shampoo: Similar formulation to the other shampoos but also contains cetrimonium chloride which may be irritating.
Verdict: Do not recommend
Dry Shampoo: Lavandula stoechas extract was shown to promote hair growth in an animal study.
This shampoo also contains Chlorella vulgaris extract which is clinically shown to promote cell growth and protein expression, so it may also support hair growth.
We consider this the most impressive Odele formulation from an efficacy perspective, although it still contains cetrimonium chloride and fragrance.
Verdict: Do not recommend
Moisture Repair Shampoo: Extremely similar formulation to Clarifying Shampoo and Volumizing Shampoo. Contains fragrance and some synthetic preservatives.
Verdict: Do not recommend
We do not currently recommend any Odele shampoos, although we'd consider shifting our stance and recommending some if the brand clarified what compounds other than essential oils are used in the fragrance.
Our Clean Hair Care Picks
Acure Vivacious Volume Shampoo is our top shampoo pick.
It contains argan oil which is clinically shown to help protect hair from damage.
Happy Head Topical is our top premium hair growth solution.
This formulation uses FDA-approved hair loss ingredients like minoxidil which is clinically shown to increase hair count by 11%.
Ritual HyaCera is our top hair growth supplement.
This supplement contains wheat oil extract, and a 2024 clinical trial reported that a wheat lipid complex had "a reducing effect on hair shedding and a stimulating effect on hair reappearance and growth."
All of the products recommended in this section are entirely free of ingredients we consider to be unhealthy.
Odele Pros and Cons
Here are the pros and cons of Odele shampoo in our opinion:
Pros:
- Contains research-backed active ingredients
- May improve hair quality
- Improved Clarifying Shampoo formulation since initial review
- Great packaging/branding
- Affordable
Cons:
- Incomplete fragrance ingredient disclosure
- Questionable health claims on brand's website
- Doesn't appear to be clinically tested
- Some formulations contain synthetic preservatives
