Is Aldi's Kairplex system as good as the famous Olaplex?

by Melissa Williams-King October 31, 2019

In my career as a beauty editor I've found two things to be true. One is that, often, you can find just as good quality products without spending the big bucks. The other is that, maddeningly, sometimes you do get what you pay for. It's just a matter of figuring out when it's worthwhile to invest.

As a big fan of Aldi's special buys (westuits! feather duvets! bath salts!), I was excited to see a recent promo for its haircare items. One of them was Kairplex 3-Step System with a "salon-inspired" technology called Plex. I think we all know what they're going for here - Olaplex is the most famous hair conditioning/rebonding brand on the market, and it's available in salons. There are already a ton of Olaplex-wannabes out there, most with "plex" or "bond" in the brand name. Aldi's plain black and white packaging on this kit is also very similar to the orginal.

Aldi do have to be careful though - they're great at making dupes (and picking the hero products to emulate) but they also recently lost a lawsuit filed by Charlotte Tilbury over a copycat bronzer palette.

I've always been a fan of deep conditioning treatments for my thick but frizz-prone hair, and lately have found it needs more TLC than ever thanks to the uptick in colouring sessions now required to keep on top of those pesky greys. I've had great results with Olaplex in salon, but it is pretty expensive. (The at-home kit is over $100). The Aldi kit was only $19.99 - worth a try, right?

Before using the pre-treatment, shampoo and conditioner I did a little research into the ingredients list of both products. The main point is that Olaplex has one key, game-changing ingredient - Bis-Aminopropyl Diglycol Dimaleate. This is what helps re-bond or repair the broken bonds in damaged hair. It's completely different from a conditioning ingredient.

And despite all the claims made by other brands (everyone from Redken and L'Oreal to Wella), this specific ingredient is exclusive to Olaplex so other products aren't doing the same thing. They could be similar, but at their price, you may as well buy the real thing.

As for my results with Kairplex? Despite it lacking the key Bis-Aminopropyl Diglycol Dimaleate, the products contain a ton of rich conditioning ingredients, and it made my hair very soft and silky. The product have a lovely scent and the bottles are a very handy size for travel. I'll still be getting the Olaplex the next time I'm in the salon though, because that's the product that actually helps rebuild and rebond the hair - not just deeply condition it.