Aldi is known for its cheeky brand dupes which often surpass the real thing.
From products some say eerily resemble Penguin chocolate bars, called Seal bars, to seeing some of your favourite cereals nearly recreated, the shop is renowned for its great offerings at a cheaper price point.
Lucy Williamson, a health correspondent for MyLondon, tested out the German supermarket’s attempt to take on the “heroine of haircare - Olaplex”.
She called the expensive upmarket brand the “universally raved about hair range” that is often called the gold standard for treating coloured and damaged hair.
Lucy has long, bleached-blonde locks so has often felt the urge to turn to Olaplex’s products.
But one of their bundles, of a shampoo, conditioner and hair mask, can set you back as much as £100, so when she was sent Aldi ’s range that also treated coloured and damaged hair, she took the dip.
Lacura, Aldi’s hair and beauty brand, starts off with prices as low as only £3.50 and claims to boast a "nourishing and hydrating formula" that promises to "repair and revitalise dull, damaged and frizzy hair".
The supermarket claims the products are salon quality and Lucy said: “It is packaged in bottles of a very suspiciously similar look and feel to the well-known Olaplex variety. Just to soften the blow that you are in fact, cheap.”
Lucy ran through Aldi’s products and how they compared to the Olaplex up-market versions.
She said: “Pre-wash hair treatment (£3.49) A dupe for Olaplex’s No.3 hair perfector (£28 via Lookfantastic), the pre-wash hair treatment is designed to be used as a hydrating leave-in treatment before you wash your hair.
“Shampoo (£3.49) While it doesn’t contain Olaplex’s hero ingredient, bis-aminopropyl diglycol dimaleate, which helps hair bonding, Aldi does note that the cruelty-free formula is made with “premium ingredients.”
"These include vitamin E, hyaluronic acid and hydrogenated castor oil which are all beneficial for healthier hair.
“Conditioner (£3.49) - A whopping £24 cheaper than Olaplex’s No.5 bond maintenance conditioner.”
As Lucy usually faces a pretty extensive hair wash about three times a week, she was eager for any product which might keep her hair healthy and maintained for a bit longer.
She started first with the pre-wash treatment which asked for damp hair and led to her attempting “that awkward thing where you stand half in and half out the shower, flip your head and try to only get your hair wet.
“With damp socks and T-shirt, I padded out of the bathroom and was ready to apply the treatment,” she said.
Lucy was left astounded by the feeling of the Aldi beauty product and described the fragrance as “STUNNING” and compared it to a “bougie hair salon”.
The shampoo that followed next didn’t have the best first impression as she described hating the feeling of her hair after she rinsed it off.
But she said it left her squeaky clean and the following conditioner had the same “expensive-feeling scent and I could feel the tangles dropping out” she said.
Lucy added she had long been searching for a new shampoo but in this Aldi newbie, she might’ve just found a “winner”.
She said: “My hair was left feeling soft, light and smelling delicious. Even the next day, it's still shiny. The kind of shiny where it makes you want to take selfies. Bravo Aldi, Bravo. 9/10.”
