Olaplex is to hair care on TikTok what CeraVe is to skin care on the social media platform. According to a recent Cosmetify 2021 Hair Report, Olaplex was ranked as the hottest hair brand with the biggest social following boasting 11.3 million hashtag mentions.

The brand is going viral and with an already verified account, the #olaplex hashtag has close to 290 million views, up from 24 million in April 2020. Olaplex is being touted as the must-have hair product by celebrity hair stylists, showing up in many a shopping haul in a list of all-star products— in short, the brand is everywhere—especially TikTok.

It’s latest best seller, Olaplex No. 3 Hair Perfector, is sold every five seconds. The launch of the new Olaplex No. 8 Bond Intense Moisture Mask is receiving positive reviews on social media, as well.

Here, Beauty News we caught up with JuE Wong, CEO of Olaplex, and Vanessa Schneider, Director of Social Media, to learn more about Olaplex’s rise on TikTok.

Beauty News: When did Olaplex emerge on TikTok? What’s the journey the brand took to get where it is today?
Vanessa Schneider: Olaplex joined TikTok in March 2020. It was more than just posting on a new platform for us; joining TikTok was a way to get to know our community on a more relaxed level. We viewed it as a unique opportunity to show our audience a fun side to the brand’s personality.

BN: Why do you think it lends itself so well to that platform in particular?
VS: Olaplex users love to share the immediate results they see after using the products and we love to showcase their results. As a brand that originally launched on social media, it is important for us to continue to be pioneers in this space. When TikTok came on to the scene, we couldn’t wait to connect with this audience in new and interesting ways. We are fans of TikTok just as much as everyone else. We use the platform to develop intimate relationships with our fans and engage in meaningful conversations with creators worldwide.

Our journey to play in this fun, new platform was a natural expansion of our current presence on social media. The key to our strategy is prioritizing our relationship with users which reflects in our growth. In the last 30 days, our video views, profile views, and likes have gone up an average of 26 percent, while comments and shares have gone up more than 40 percent.

BN: Which came first — Olaplex’s presence on TikTok or TikTok influencer buzz on the platform?
VS: For Olaplex, TikTok influencer buzz came before we established an official account. Much of the organic content overflowed from other social platforms, including our Instagram account, which drove the largest followers over to TikTok. Through engaging with our audience and being very active in the TikTok community, the #olaplex hashtag has now been used almost 300 million times.

BN: Can you speak to Olaplex’s TikTok/social strategy?
JuE Wong: TikTok is a platform where we are reaching the younger consumers who are after authentic content that is #unapologetic, and #unretouched because they see themselves as #unstoppable. We never retouch any of our content on any of our social media channels and therefore serve up content that empowers, embraces and enlightens our customers.

Our goal is to provide a platform for peers to speak to each other on the power of Olaplex. We share real people with real results, reviews, and routines. Along with sharing UGC, we create exciting in-house content to educate our viewers with myth-busting and product knowledge pieces. These are efforts to grow brand awareness and understanding. We then dive into the professional community by sharing content to show in-salon results clients can achieve.

BN: Can you tell us a bit about how your social team interacts with the Olaplex fanbase on social?
JW: Our social team engages with our audiences daily to thank those who are using Olaplex and to teach them fun tips and tricks. We have team members dedicated to strengthening our relationships with those who tag and connect with us. Our goals are to continue to increase brand awareness, build a loyal fanbase, and jump on trends that match our mission of fun, engaging and educational content.

BN: What metrics is the brand using to measure biggest and most popular on TikTok?
VS: TikTok is a platform that captures word of mouth. It offers a true, raw look at the world where honesty and education are embraced. By understanding why people are attracted to the platform, we developed an understanding of how to measure our brand’s success. Whether it’s being touted as the must-have hair product from celebrity hair stylists or as part of a shopping haul in a list of all-star products, Olaplex is all over social media, especially TikTok.

We’ve witnessed that Olaplex’s brand name has been turned into a verb. “I’m Olaplex’ing this Self-Care Sunday, have you Olaplex’d today?” Outside our following and hashtags, these are ways we measure success on the platform.