Alternatives to Olaplex and K18 in the UK: An Honest Comparison with Innovatis
Yes — but it depends what you actually want the product to do. If you are looking for a salon-grade alternative to Olaplex or K18 in the UK, Innovatis is a Spanish professional hair care brand from Valencia, distributed directly in the UK, with 250ml shampoos priced between £28.00 and £29.00. The honest distinction matters: Olaplex and K18 are bond builders that work on the hair’s internal structure after bleaching, colouring or heat. Innovatis is a conditioning and appearance range, formulated to smooth, boost shine and help hair look and feel fuller. Most people use the two alongside each other rather than swapping one for the other.
That is the short version. Below is the longer one: what each brand does, where Innovatis is genuinely the better buy, where it is not, and what everything costs.
What Olaplex and K18 actually do
Both brands sit in the same category — structural repair — and both are well established for good reason.
Olaplex is built around a patented ingredient, bis-aminopropyl diglycol dimaleate. It targets the disulfide bonds inside the hair shaft, the bonds that break during bleaching, permanent colour and repeated heat styling, and works to reconnect them. It is the reason colourists reach for it in the bowl and clients reach for No.3 at home.
K18 uses a bioactive peptide, marketed as K18Peptide, which is designed to work inside the cortex on broken keratin chains. Its selling point is speed — a leave-in mask that works in a few minutes rather than a long soak — and it is popular on fine or heavily lightened hair.
Both are laboratory-engineered molecules aimed at one specific problem. That focus is their strength. It is also their limit: neither is designed to be your shine treatment, your frizz treatment, your scalp step or your everyday shampoo. That is the gap most people are actually trying to fill when they start searching for alternatives.
What Innovatis actually does
Innovatis is a professional range built around conditioning, smoothing and the visible condition of hair — not bond repair. It would be easy to claim otherwise, and a lot of comparison articles do. We would rather be straight about it, because the two ranges answer different questions.
Innovatis is organised into ranges, each with its own actives:
- Exo Cells — formulated with plant-exosome technology, using the Capilia Longa and Centella Reversa actives developed by Vytrus Biotech, a Spanish biotechnology lab. This is the flagship range. Luxury Exo Cells Shampoo 250ml is £28.92; the Exo Cells Lotion (5 x 10ml ampoules) is £73.44.
- Anti-Age — caviar extract, collagen, Vitamin E, Pro-Vitamin B5 and shea butter, aimed at reducing the visible signs of hair ageing: dullness, roughness, loss of softness. Anti-Age Shampoo 250ml is £29.00.
- Smoother Spa — a patented enzyme complex with thermal water, shea butter and macadamia oil, sulfate and paraben free. This is the range to look at for managing frizz and getting a smoother, glossier finish. Smoother Spa Shampoo 250ml is £28.50.
- Vol-Up — amino acids, a wheat protein complex and hydrolysed silk, for a fuller-looking finish on fine hair. £28.00 for 250ml.
- Ice Shine — cotton and wakame extracts with blonde and grey toning, for cooling brassiness and adding shine. £28.00 for 250ml.
- Renew — a peptide-based range. Renew Shampoo 250ml is £28.50.
- Stem Cells — plant stem cells with a protein-mineral complex, brewer’s yeast, menthol and bisabolol, in a scalp-applied lotion. The 15 x 5ml ampoule lotion is £64.50.
One thing worth stating plainly, because it is the sort of detail that gets blurred elsewhere: the efficacy figures that circulate for Capilia Longa and Centella Reversa come from Vytrus Biotech’s own supplier documentation for those raw materials. They are not the results of a human trial on the finished Innovatis product, and we do not present them as such.
Innovatis vs Olaplex vs K18: side by side
| Innovatis | Olaplex | K18 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it does | Conditioning and appearance: smoothing, shine, softness, a fuller-looking finish, frizz management | Bond building: works on broken disulfide bonds in the hair’s internal structure | Bond building: peptide technology aimed at broken keratin chains in the cortex |
| Key technology | Range-specific actives: plant exosomes (Vytrus Biotech), caviar extract and collagen, a patented enzyme complex, amino acid and silk proteins | Bis-aminopropyl diglycol dimaleate | K18Peptide |
| Origin | Spanish brand, based in Valencia | United States (California) | United States (Los Angeles) |
| Typical UK price | £28.00–£29.00 for a 250ml shampoo; ampoule lotions £64.50–£73.44 | Varies by product and retailer — check the brand or a stockist for current RRP | Varies by product and size — check the brand or a stockist for current RRP |
| Where to buy in the UK | Direct from innovatisworld.co.uk and through partner salons | Widely stocked: pharmacy, beauty retail, salons and online marketplaces | Widely stocked: beauty retail, salons and online |
Where Innovatis is the better buy
There are four situations where switching your spend to Innovatis makes straightforward sense.
1. Your hair is not structurally damaged — it just looks tired
If you are not bleaching, not colouring aggressively and not heat styling daily, a bond builder is solving a problem you may not have. Dullness, frizz, roughness and hair that has gone flat are conditioning and cuticle issues. That is exactly what the Smoother Spa and Anti-Age ranges are formulated for, and you will get more visible change for your money.
2. You want the whole routine to be salon-grade, not just the treatment step
Bond builders are usually a single step bolted onto a supermarket shampoo. Innovatis is a full professional system — shampoo, conditioner, mask, lotion — at a consistent price point of under £30 for a 250ml shampoo.
3. You want something that is not sold everywhere
Innovatis is distributed directly in the UK. It is not in Boots and it is not being undercut on Amazon. For salons, that means the retail margin stays with the salon that stocks it. For home buyers, it means the price you see is the price, without the discount-code chase.
4. You are already using a bond builder and want to add to it, not replace it
This is the most common case. A bond builder handles the structural damage from your colour appointment; an Innovatis shampoo, mask or smoothing treatment handles how the hair looks and behaves between appointments. They are not competing for the same job.
Where Innovatis is not the right answer
We would rather you buy the right thing than buy from us.
- You have just had a heavy bleach or a colour correction. Use a bond builder. That is a structural problem and Innovatis is not formulated to solve it.
- Your hair is snapping mid-length or stretching when wet. Again — that is a bond and protein-structure issue. See your colourist and use a bond treatment.
- You are looking for a hair growth or hair-loss product. Innovatis products are cosmetic products for the appearance and condition of hair and scalp. We do not make growth, hair-loss or density claims for them, and you should be sceptical of any hair care brand that does so without published human-trial evidence.
- You want thousands of reviews before you buy. Innovatis is a small, quietly distributed brand in the UK with very few published reviews. If review volume is your deciding factor, the American brands have it and we do not pretend otherwise.
How to use Innovatis alongside Olaplex or K18
A simple routine that keeps both doing what they are good at:
- Post-colour or post-bleach: your bond treatment, as directed by the brand or your stylist.
- Everyday washing: an Innovatis shampoo matched to your concern — Smoother Spa for frizz and a smoother finish, Anti-Age for dull, rough, ageing-looking hair, Vol-Up for fine hair that needs a fuller-looking finish, Ice Shine for blonde and grey tones.
- Weekly: an Innovatis mask, or the Exo Cells routine if you want the plant-exosome range.
You do not need to choose a side. You need to stop paying bond-builder prices for a conditioning job, and stop expecting a conditioner to fix structural damage.
Frequently asked questions
Is Innovatis a bond builder like Olaplex or K18?
No. Innovatis is a professional conditioning and appearance range. It is formulated to smooth, add shine and help hair look and feel fuller. It does not use bond-building chemistry and we do not claim it repairs the hair’s internal structure the way Olaplex or K18 are designed to.
Can I use Innovatis at the same time as Olaplex or K18?
Yes. They do different jobs, so they work well together. Use your bond treatment after colouring or bleaching as directed, and use Innovatis shampoos, conditioners and masks as your everyday and weekly routine.
Where is Innovatis from?
Innovatis is a Spanish professional hair care brand based in Valencia. Innovatis UK is its direct UK distributor, selling from innovatisworld.co.uk and supplying partner salons.
How much does Innovatis cost in the UK?
250ml shampoos are £28.00 to £29.00: Exo Cells Shampoo £28.92, Anti-Age Shampoo £29.00, Smoother Spa Shampoo £28.50, Renew Shampoo £28.50, Ice Shine Shampoo £28.00, Vol-Up Shampoo £28.00. Ampoule lotions cost more: Exo Cells Lotion 5 x 10ml is £73.44 and Stem Cells Lotion 15 x 5ml is £64.50.
Which Innovatis range should I start with?
For frizz and a smoother, glossier finish, start with Smoother Spa. For hair that looks dull, rough or tired, start with Anti-Age. For fine hair that needs a fuller-looking finish, start with Vol-Up. If you specifically want the plant-exosome technology, start with the Exo Cells Shampoo.
Does Innovatis help with hair growth or hair loss?
No. Innovatis products sold in the UK are cosmetic products for the appearance and condition of hair and scalp. We do not make hair growth, hair-loss or hair-density claims for them. If you are concerned about hair loss, speak to a GP or a trichologist.
Is Innovatis sold in Boots or on Amazon?
No. Innovatis is distributed directly in the UK through innovatisworld.co.uk and partner salons, which is why you will not find it discounted on marketplaces or on the high street.
