Inala Review: Natural Hair Magic or Overpriced?

Inala Review: Natural Hair Magic or Overpriced?


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Inala is a hair care brand founded by celebrity La La Anthony that sells products for improving hair thickness and quality. The brand claims that “INALA was conceived to counter dull hair days with high impact, nourishing formulas.”

But does Inala use research-backed ingredients for improving hair thickness and quality? Does the brand use contain any unhealthy additives? Which retailer has the best price? And how do real users rate and describe the effects of Inala?

In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in two of Inala’s most popular products (Power Potion and Reset Rinse) to give our take on whether or not they're likely to be effective for improving hair quality and appearance, and whether or not they're healthy.

We’ll also document which retailer sells Inala for the best price, share a video of La La Anthony discussing what inspired her to launch the brand, and feature real Inala customer reviews.

Power Potion Ingredient Analysis

Inala Power Potion ingredients

The ingredients in Inala Power Potion Rice Water Drops are shown above. This is a hair growth serum applied to the scalp.

This formulation includes some research-backed active ingredients.

Rice bran was found in a medical review published in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology to cause hair growth when applied topically, although rice bran extracts were used.

Power Potion contains “rice bran water,” which is less concentrated than an extract.

Hydrolyzed Adansonia digitata seed extract was shown in a 2017 clinical trial to be an effective natural conditioning ingredient. It appears to increase the moisture content of hair and the scalp.

Arginine is an amino acid which can help protect hair from damage, as we discussed in our Moerie reviews article on another hair care brand containing this ingredient.

Benzyl alcohol, potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate are preservative ingredients.

We don’t consider any of these preservatives to be particularly harmful, but it may be worthwhile for health-conscious consumers to avoid preservatives in hair products, or at least avoid products containing more than one, as they can be irritating.

Overall, we consider Inala Power Potion likely to be effective for conditioning hair and potentially effective for improving hair quality based on a clinical review of its ingredients.

We don’t currently recommend this product due to the inclusion of three separate preservatives.

Does Rice Water Actually Grow Hair?

Rice water is one of the key ingredients in Inala Power Potion, and there’s been a lot of buzz about this ingredient on TikTok and from health influencers.

A dermatologist named “Dr Dray” discusses whether or not rice water can improve hair quality, and how to use it:

A YouTube creator named Audrey Victoria tried using rice water on her hair for a week and shared before-and-after images in a video with over 1 million views:

Reset Rinse Ingredient Analysis

Inala Reset Rinse

The ingredients in Inala Reset Rinse are shown above.

This product is applied to dry hair and massaged into the scalp as a once-weekly, pre-shampoo rinse.

Rice bran water is again one of the key active ingredients, and we consider it to be potentially effective given the strong research backing for rice bran extract.

Aloe vera may have scalp-relieving properties due to its anti-inflammatory effects, as we documented in our Nioxin review article on another hair product containing this ingredient.

Glycolic acid can correct some hair follicle abnormalities according to a 2021 medical review, which suggests it may improve hair quality.

However, derivatives of this ingredient are also clinically shown to cause acute kidney injury in rare cases.

The above-linked medical review reports that derivatives of glycolic acid are systemically absorbed when applied topically, at least in hair straightening products, and sent 26 otherwise healthy, young people to the ER.

Sodium benzoate is a synthetic preservative, and we consider it to be a good sign that this formulation contains one (rather than three) synthetic preservatives.

Overall, we consider Inala Reset Rinse to be potentially effective for improving hair quality, but we do not currently recommend it out of an abundance of caution, due to the inclusion of glycolic acid.

Real People Try Inala

A TikTok creator named "The Notary Boss" unboxes an Inala serum and shares her thoughts on how effective it was the last time she ordered it:

@dsignsthenotaryboss #inala ♬ original sound - The Notary Boss

A TikTok creator named Lindsey Alina has an Inala review with before-and-after images. There is no ad disclaimer but it seems somewhat promotional:

@llliindseyy @INALA Has been a life-changing product for my hair! I am now using the reset rinse once a week to keep my hair healthy and moisturized! Grab yours now, the link is in my bio! #strandstory #cleanhaircare ♬ Island In The Sun - Weezer

Where to Get the Best Price

Inala products are sold at a variety of online retailers.

Here’s a price breakdown for a one-time purchase of the two products reviewed in this article, at the time of updating this article:

Power Potion

Brand website: $55 (plus shipping, link)

Amazon: $57 (free shipping, link to official Amazon listing)

Reset Rinse

Brand website: $30 (plus shipping, link)

Amazon: $33 (free shipping, link to official Amazon listing)

Both products are currently around 5% cheaper at Amazon when factoring in shipping fees.

Why Did La La Launch Inala?

A video from The Real Daytime show interviews La La Anthony, Inala’s founder, about the motivation behind her product line:

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.

Customers Rate Inala

Amazon is a better resource for honest customer reviews than a brand’s website in our opinion.

At the time of updating this article, Inala Power Potion has been reviewed over 300 times on Amazon, and has an average review rating of 4 out of 5 stars.

A top positive review from a verified purchaser comes from a user named “Nancy” who gave the product a 5/5 rating:

“I liked the ease of use. I've notice less hair loss. It has caused flaky scalp that I did not have previously. So, must wash hair and oil scalp more than usual. Please reduce price. Too expensive.”

A top negative review from a verified purchaser is written by a user named “Diane” who gave the product a 1/5 rating:

“The price point of this product is absurd; I'm guessing we are paying for the fancy designer glass bottle rather than a product that actually delivers clear and quick results; I haven't seen any noticeable difference after 60 + days. It feels like someone is preying on a woman's fear of losing her hair rather than actually offering a product that works at a price that makes more sense.”

Inala currently has an 88% recommendation rating on Facebook.

Inala Pros and Cons

Here are the pros and cons of Inala in our opinion:

Pros:

  • Effective formulations
  • Should improve hair quality
  • Should improve hair appearance
  • Mostly positive Amazon reviews
  • Mostly positive Facebook reviews

Cons:

  • Power Potion contains three synthetic preservatives
  • Reset Rinse contains glycolic acid
  • Unclear clinical backing for rice water
  • Expensive
  • Brand's website charges for shipping
Stay up-to-date on our research reviews

Conclusion

Inala is a hair care brand with better-than-average formulations in our opinion.

The brand’s products are expensive, but contain research-backed ingredients that should improve hair quality and hair appearance.

Inala uses rice bran water, which is a novel ingredient that many online users (and a dermatologist) suggest can improve hair quality, although we haven’t seen much clinical evidence of its effect.

We don’t currently recommend either Inala product reviewed in this article due to the inclusion of a handful of questionable inactive ingredients, but we think Power Potion is better-formulated than Reset Rinse, because the latter product contains glycolic acid, and the derivatives of this ingredient have some concerning toxicity data.

Amazon currently has better prices on one-time orders of both Inala products reviewed in this article.

At the time of updating this article, Inala has mostly favorable reviews on both Amazon and Facebook.