Ookisa Hair Care – Shampoo, Conditioner, Souffle and Serum review

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase.

Go East, Young Woman, for Strong, Thick, Shiny Hair

Ookisa Hair Care, Shampoo, Conditioner, Souffle and Serumphotos: we heart this

“Ookisa” is the Japanese word for volume and dimension, something everyone could use more of in regards to their hair. As some of you know from my posts, I am hair challenged. If I were to become rich and famous one day, I would forgo the trainer, personal assistant and chef for a fabulous hairdresser. I have dreams that Ken Paves would travel the world with me for the sole reason of styling my hair on a daily basis (he could also be my new bestie, move over Eva and Jessica!). I have fine, straight hair that will not hold a curl and looks perpetually just… flat.

I was thrilled to learn that I would be testing and reviewing the Ookisa Hair Care System, an East merges with the West line touted to promote fuller, thicker hair. The LA based line is influenced by Asia and inspired by the legendary thick, shiny hair of its people. Did you know that an average strand of Asian hair is five times thicker than the average Western strand?

Ookisa Hair Care

Ookisa uses many Far East age-old botanicals such as Camelia oil, White Peony tea and Water lily, which have been used in Asia for centuries to enhance the hair’s thickness and shine. The company also claims to re-grow hair by stimulating the scalp with the Nighttime Follicle Renewal Serum one of the line’s four products. Plus, the line is also paraben, sulfate and cruelty free, which is an extra bonus.

The Ookisa line consists four products; the Fortifying Shampoo, and coordinating Replenishing Conditioner, a styling product in the Instant Volumizing Soufflé and a therapeutic treatment the Nighttime Follicle Renewal Serum, which are designed to work in harmony together. Of course, you can always mix and match at will, but for reviewing purposes, members of the wht team tested all four products.

The Fortifying Shampoo ($39.95) smells divine. It has a light flowery scent that both clean and soothing. The shampoo works to volumize hair by decongesting the hair follicles so hair is free to flourish. I like the shampoo and conditioner very much. I did not see a difference in my hair’s thickness, but it adds pleasure to my usually mundane shower.

My only negative comment (and it is not even negative, really) is that the shampoo takes a little effort to smear around the scalp. Now, I have never tried a sulfate or paraben free shampoo, so maybe that is the difference. The shampoo does lather and eventually get to all parts of the head with a little effort.

The Replenishing Conditioner ($39.95) claims to amplify hair strength by 175%, prevent color fading and reduce split ends. For me, the conditioner is your run-of-the-mill conditioner. Again, I like the light floral scent and it does feel nice and creamy in the shower. One final plus is that this conditioner does not weigh my hair down.

Ookisa Instant Volumizing Soufflé

The Instant Volumizing Soufflé ($27.95) did give my fine hair some lift and made it feel thicker. The thin mousse did not leave my hair feeling crunchy or sticky as other volumizers have in the past.

I tried the Nighttime Follicle Renewal Serum ($62.95)as well, and although I do not have thinning hair (thank goodness!) I tried it on either side of my bangs where my hair is thinner. Ookisa’s serum contains Follactiv; their answer for Rogaine’s Minoxidil. Follactiv is comprised of amino acids, vitamins and botanicals that “anchor hair to the scalp” and increases oxygen flow for healthier hair.

The company has been under scrutiny for its claims that the line can re-grow hair. According to some experts, only Minoxidil (found in Rogaine) is proven to re-grow hair. Since this is a relatively new line, the results have yet to come in – so I can’t wait to see what the review team thinks of the Ookisa line!

The serum is dispersed with a medicinal applicator that can easily access the scalp. On Ookisa’s website, instructions for a Massage Ritual is provided to apply the Follicle Serum that aids in the penetration of the product. This serum felt nice on the scalp with a slight cooling/tingling feeling. I will keep using the serum and have to let you know if I have a thick bang in the next few weeks!

Pros:
Nice shampoo and conditioner.
Great light scent.
Soufflé gives nice volume.
Paraben and Sulfate free line. Nice, High Quality Packaging.

Cons:
Pricey.
May or may not re-grow hair depending on the experts.

Overall, I like the Ookisa line very much and will continue to use it. Each product is enjoyable to use and I was happy to try a chemical free line that still cleansed the hair. The line is a bit pricey, but when I become rich and famous, I’ll ask my Bff Ken Paves to pick some up on his way to my Beverly Hills mansion! I’m giving 4 stars for the entire Ookisa Hair Care line – and it would have been 5 if not for the price tag.

we heartsters and testers – Has the Ookisa Hair Care line naturally added volume and dimension to your hair? Share your hair experience in the comments!

Stephanie was born in France and travels there every year to visit her mom and relatives. She now lives Stateside with her fiancee Bubba, and their two-year old kitties; Winston and Clementine. Makeup is her passion (she worked as a makeup artist for Laura Mercier), she also loves to cook, do artsy stuff and garden.

Disclosure: This review includes products that were provided by the manufacturer/PR firm for our consideration. For more info, or any questions, please see our disclosure policy.

Author

  • glamazon56

    Stephanie was born in France and travels there every year. Makeup is her passion (she worked as a makeup artist for Laura Mercier). She also loves to cook and do artsy stuff and garden.

12 Comments

  1. This stuff sounds really, really neat! But I am unsure of how it would affect my curls. I wonder if it would be weird or nice?

  2. The scalp Massage Ritual sounds nice! I’m looking forward to hearing if you have continued good results. Great review of a line that’s new to me, @glamazon56 !

  3. This sounds very interesting! it sounds like a god-send for those with thining limp hair. Great review, I really like the sound of this @glamazon56.

  4. Just one more reason to be thankful for my crazy thick hair instead of cursing it. Nearly $40 for shampoo? No thanks! Then again, with hair like mine it takes way too much shampoo/conditioner, so the price probably hurts me more than it would for those with thin hair, precisely the audience it’s aimed at! In any case, very interesting stuff @Glamazon56 !

  5. I got to test out this line and was pretty excited about it. I have baby fine hair and with an unusual amount of stress for pretty much the past year, I have noticed more hair in the hairbrush and in the drain of the shower than usual. So, I was pretty stoked to receive this for review.
    First up is the Fortifying Shampoo. I have to admit, I pretty much hated this stuff. Prior to using this, I touched up my roots and gave my hair a week to settle in with the color and used my normal shampoo/conditioner during that time and no dye leached out. Then I felt like my color had fully set and I started using this. Seriously, it stripped away about 25% of the dye from my roots after one use. I could see my greys with a tinge of dye on them, whereas they were totally covered prior to using this shampoo. After 2 weeks, my roots looked like I hadn’t dyed them at all because the color was totally stripped. Then there’s the issue I had where the shampoo didn’t fully rinse out. Maybe it’s because I’m not used to sulfate-free shampoos or because I now have well water (we use a water softener), but this stuff seriously refused to rinse clean while making my hair feel like gunked up straw. My hair didn’t even feel clean, just stripped.
    The Replenishing Conditioner, however, was fantastic. It made my straw-like hair feel more normal. I can’t say as this is a particularly “thickening” conditioner, though, so I don’t know how special it really is. It didn’t weigh my hair down.
    Overall, my Ookisa shampooed/conditioned hair feels kind of “gunky” once I let it air dry. I only really notice thickness at the ends of my hair, but that’s because the ends are kind of bushy now.
    The Instant Volumizing Souffle is alright. It’s not really a styling mousse–you use it and then your normal styling products. On its own, I didn’t notice much difference other than my roots felt “heavier” if that makes any sense. When used with my usual spray gel, my hair looked like it usually does. Not thicker or like a 90’s Supermodel. Just like it usually does–I will say my hair is getting a little bit past my shoulders, so maybe my hair is weighing itself down? Maybe someone with shorter hair would have more profound results? I don’t know.
    The Nighttime Follicle Renewing serum is the only thing I can see in the system that might improve the actual scalp/hair. Application is simple and the pump is easy to direct where you put the product. The stuff does tingle–not burn as some sites have mentioned. I have a very sensitive scalp and I only experienced a cool tingle, not a “my scalp is on fire” tingle, so no worries using this, ladies. I’ve been using it for about 3 weeks now. I can’t really notice a difference, but I think in matters of hair growth, you need way more time to see an improvement, so I’m going to hold off on giving a full verdict on it just yet. I’ll come back and post about it in about another month. Based on the shampoo, conditioner, and souffle, I’d give this line 3 stars. If the serum works, that would bump this line up considerably. I’ll keep you all posted in a few more weeks.

  6. I really really enjoyed using this set. I received the entire set and my thin (but long) hair was thrilled to try out a set that is made for hair just like mine (jealous of you @glamazon56!).

    The shampoo is lovely. It has a great smell and I’m not sure if it’s doing any volumizing wonders on my hair but I will continue to use it. I agree with Stephanie that the conditioner is kind of like your run of the mill conditioner and since I don’t use conditioner that often, the usage levels of the shampoo and conditioner do differ a bit at this point.

    What I DID love are the Instant Volumizing Souffle and the Nighttime Follicle Renewing Serum. I use the Volumizing Souffle when my hair is still damp but before blowdrying. After blowdrying my hair feels super thick and not heavy but just like I have a lot more hair than I really do! And the Nighttime Serum is a really cool product. It tingles your scalp so you know it’s letting the blood’s flowing in your scalp.

    So far I have not noticed a huge difference in my hair overall but I can tell that these products do assist in helping to lift and thicken within time. I’m going to give this line 5 stars because it seems to be helping my hair day by day.

  7. hmm I would be a happy camper if the serum worked! I’ve always complained my hair is not as thick as I would like. I have to say that when I use organic, sulfate-free shampoo for a consistent amount of time I do notice a bit of a difference. Wearing a hat makes a difference too! ;-)

  8. I was thrilled to get to try all four of these products together! It really gave me a feel for the line when using them all at once. The shampoo and conditioner do have a wonderful light, clean scent. I really enjoyed it. And, while my hair may not have gotten thicker quite yet, I will say I felt like these products definitely made my hair shinier and look healthier. The shampoo is a little hard to lather (which is supposed to be a good thing!) but I was still able to get it worked through my hair and it lathered enough to get it clean. The Nighttime Follicle Renewing Serum does feel great on, and while I feel it added to the health of my hair, I’m not sure if I saw noticeable regrowth, but I think it needs to be used for awhile, so I will continue to test it out! Finally, the Volumizing Mousse was a nice consistency and did manage to give me a little umph to my flat hair. It also doesn’t create a crunchy feeling the way some do.

    All in all, I really like the Ookisa line and felt like I was doing something good for my hair, with all of the wonderful ingredients they had in them. The only downside for me is the price, but that’s what happens when you’re paying for quality. I do think the serum will last awhile. I give it 4 stars!

  9. I’m always interested in volume since my hair is superfine and flat so I was happy to give this line a whirl. I liked the results but wasn’t overwhelmed by them.
    The follicle stimulating serum certainly did not regrow any hair (I’m not thinning though, so I imagine the product wouldn’t plant extra rows of follicles, only stimulate the existing). I’m, of course, still wary of this claim and, though I liked this little nighttime ritual, see no need to continue it.
    The shampoo and conditioner smelled fresh and clean but didn’t last long. The tubes are smallish (and conditioner was gone before shampoo, as usual). Also, as @Glamazon56 mentioned, the shampoo is super-thick–almost the consistency of hair gel–and hard to distribute. More volume? It certainly seemed so when my hair was wet and towel dried–getting a comb through it was a challenge.
    The volumizing souffle does as good a job volumizing as my favorite mousse. That’s pretty much what this is–a small bottle of mousse. Again, nice products, lovely fragrance but small and not special. At this price point I wouldn’t run right out and purchase again. Can I give 2 1/2 stars? No? I’m sorry, I’ll have to round down (it’s the price to size ratio, guys).

  10. Best hair care system I ever tried. Unfortunately, the products are not available anymore. Ookisa really helps with thinning hair and stops hair loss. I grew shiny strong hair with this system when I was using it, specially the hair serum. I desperately need Ookisa products.

  11. Margarita Fraire says:

    What ever happen to Ookisa. Did they stop make this superb Shampoo and Conditioner or is it just not being sold here in the USA. If they are still making it and you have any information where I can find it please let me know.

    Margarita Fraire

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *