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Like all good high-ticket dupes, rumours of a major Olaplex copy have been whispered in beauty circles over the past week. Will Oladupe No.160 really be as good as the OG Olaplex No.3 Hair Perfector at repairing tatty ends, we asked in hushed tones? Will it have the same patented bond-building technology and, crucially, how much cheaper will it be than the real thing?

When Olaplex first launched back in 2014, no one knew what bonds were, let alone knew how to pronounce the brand's patented first-of-its-kind Bis-Aminopropyl Diglycol Dimaleate molecule.

Olaplex – helped by early adopter Kim Kardashian – undeniably put bond repair on the map, promising that going from dark to peroxide blonde would barely make a dent on your hair health and even damaged strands could feel swishable once again. Rather than gloss over frazzled strands like your average hair repair mask, Olaplex's molecule essentially dives in and attaches itself to damaged disulfide bonds, repairing them from the inside out.

Fast forward nine years and bond-building is a booming hair care category in its own right with a market expected to be worth $264.1 million by 2028. So it's perhaps unsurprising that the search term “Hair Dupes For Olaplex” has experienced a parallel boom with 4.7million views on TikTok. Even Aldi has jumped on the bond-repair bandwagon with bottles that don't look dissimilar to Olaplex and a £3.49 price tag.

So how will Oladupe stand up against Olaplex's cult Hair Perfector No.3?

This week alone, #OLADUPE has amassed over 4 million views on the platform thanks to unboxing campaigns by content creators including Audrey Boos, Lelani Green and Shae Alexis.

In a video, celebrity ‘duper’ Taylor Madison described Oladupe as “the first ever genuine Olaplex dupe. I love Olapex so I'm really excited to try this.” After going away to try the product on her hair, Taylor says “automatically it is so much healthier-looking and shiny.”

I've tried Oladupe and I can categorically say that if you're already an Olaplex No.3 fan, you'll love it. Unbelievably, it contains the exact same ingredients, the exact same formula and even the same 160 patents.

That's because – spoiler alert – Oladupe isn't your run-of-the-mill dupe. In fact, it isn't a dupe at all – let us explain.

Ask any well-established beauty brand what their biggest bugbear is, and slash-price copies that piggyback off the creativity and scientific prowess of the original are likely to top the list. So, in a deft sleight of hand, Olaplex launched the fictitious Oladupe No.160 with the tag line “The only genuine Olaplex dupe”.

160 refers to Olaplex's 160 patents and consumers were driven to Oladupe.com, where the first 160 people to register were sent a free bottle of Oladupe (actually a bottle of Olaplex No. 3) and the joke was explained.

In other words, Olaplex has decided to enter the dupe space but with its very own product. "This campaign tapped into the cultural zeitgeist, meeting consumers where they are and playfully educating them on the one-of-a-kind and proven repair and strengthening benefits of our bond-building technology, which cannot be copied or duped,” JuE Wong, Chief Executive Officer of Olaplex, explained in a press statement.

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery but, in this instance, Oladupe will surely go down in beauty folklore as the ultimate clap back to dupe culture.

For more from Fiona Embleton, GLAMOUR's Acting Associate Beauty Director, follow her on @fiembleton.

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