Davines OI Shampoo and the OI Line: A Complete Guide

Davines OI shampoo is a gentle daily shampoo from the Italian brand Davines, made with roucou oil and designed to leave hair soft and shiny. Davines says it suits any hair type, including coarse, curly, dyed and bleached hair, and it anchors the wider OI line of conditioners, butters and leave-ins built around the same oil and scent.

This guide covers what the OI line includes, how to use each product we stock, who it tends to suit, and how it compares with two other popular Davines lines, Momo and Love Smoothing. Product facts come from Davines' own pages and our listings.

About Davines

Davines is a family-run hair care company from Parma, Italy. According to the brand's official story page, it was founded in 1983 by Gianni and Silvana Bollati, who began by formulating hair care in their garage, and its headquarters, Davines Village in Parma, opened in 2018.

Davines is also a certified B Corporation. Its B Lab directory listing says the group has been certified since 2016, makes both Davines hair care and comfort zone skin care, and that its Italian and US companies have been Benefit Corporations since 2019.

What is the Davines OI line?

OI is Davines' "absolute beauty" range. The OI collection page says "All OI products contain Roucou oil, an antioxidant-rich plant from the Amazon," and that "All products are both sulfate and paraben-free." Davines describes roucou as an oil from achiote (Bixa orellana) seeds, rich in carotenoids.

The collection page lists these hair products:

• OI Shampoo: a gentle daily shampoo.
• OI Conditioner: a conditioning cream for softness and shine.
• OI Hair Butter: a rich, smoothing treatment.
• OI All In One Milk: a spray leave-in.
• OI Oil: a multifunctional hair oil.
• OI Soufflé and OI Liquid Luster: styling and shine products.

The line also includes a body wash and hand balm. We stock the shampoo, hair butter, all-in-one milk and a 250 ml OI hair care cream, but not the OI conditioner.

Davines OI shampoo: who it suits and how to use it

The OI Shampoo product page calls it a "gentle daily shampoo for radiant, shiny, velvety-soft hair" with a creamy texture. Davines says it suits any hair type, especially frizzy, damaged or healthy hair that needs extra care, and its FAQ says it can be used on coarse and curly hair and on dyed or bleached hair. The ingredient list includes conditioning agents, panthenol, glycerin and fragrance, so people with very sensitive scalps should read it in full.

Davines' directions:

1. Apply to wet hair and massage gently, focusing on the scalp.
2. Spread through the lengths to the ends.
3. Rinse thoroughly, and repeat if needed.
4. Follow with OI Conditioner or OI Hair Butter.

That scalp-first approach matches general dermatologist advice. The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) recommends applying shampoo to the scalp rather than the whole length of hair.

OI Hair Butter: how to use it

Davines' OI Hair Butter page describes it as a smoothing, nourishing hair butter best suited to coarse, curly or frizz-prone hair, and also lists damaged, color-treated, relaxed and bleached hair. It contains eucalyptus oil and fragrance. Davines gives two methods:

• Medium to coarse hair: after shampooing, apply to damp lengths and ends, leave on 5 to 10 minutes, then rinse.
• Medium to fine hair: apply to dry hair before shampooing, leave on 10 minutes, rinse, then shampoo.

The second method works like a pre-poo, a step we cover in our curly hair routine guide.

OI All In One Milk: how to use it

The OI All In One Milk page describes a lightweight leave-in that detangles, reduces frizz and adds shine, best suited to fine to medium hair. Davines' directions are to spray it 10 to 15 times onto washed, towel-dried hair, focusing on lengths and ends, then style without rinsing. Its FAQ recommends using it no more than once a day to avoid weighing hair down.

OI vs. Momo vs. Love Smoothing

All three are Davines lines, but each has a different focus according to Davines' product pages.

Choose OI if you want one all-round line for softness and shine. Choose Momo if dryness is your main concern; Davines says it "does not weigh the hair down." Choose Love Smoothing if frizz control matters most. Shoppers comparing gentle cleansers more broadly can read our sulfate-free shampoo guide.

What to look for when buying Davines OI

1. Match the product to the step. Shampoo to cleanse, butter or cream to condition, milk to leave in.
2. Check the size. Some of our OI listings are 1000 ml salon sizes, so compare price per use.
3. Read the ingredient list if you avoid fragrance or essential oils.
4. Buy from listings that state the size and product name clearly.

Browse the full Davines collection or everyday options in clean shampoo. From our listings:

• Davines OI Sulfate-Free Shampoo (1000 ml) is described as a gentle, sulfate-free shampoo for all hair types, listed at $234.29.
• Davines OI Hair Butter (1000 ml) is described as a rich hair butter to moisturize and condition dry or damaged hair, listed at $390.03.
• Davines OI/OIL All In One Milk (4.56 fl oz) is described as an all-in-one nourishing hair milk for all hair types, listed at $69.94.

We also stock a smaller Davines OI Hair Care Cream (8.45 fl oz), described as a nourishing, moisturizing treatment for all hair types, listed at $79.71.

Who should be careful

• Fragrance-sensitive skin. The OI Shampoo, Hair Butter and All In One Milk ingredient lists include fragrance, and Davines notes eucalyptus oil in the hair butter. The AAD's home test is to apply a product to the inner arm twice a day for 7 to 10 days.
• Very fine hair. Rich products like the hair butter can weigh fine hair down; Davines suggests using it before shampooing on finer hair.
• Children. Davines' hair butter page advises keeping it away from children and eyes.

FAQ

Is Davines OI shampoo sulfate-free?

Davines' OI collection page says "All products are both sulfate and paraben-free," and our 1000 ml listing describes the shampoo as sulfate-free. Davines describes the cleansers as mild surfactants. Formulas can change, so if sulfates matter to you, check the ingredient list on your bottle, which Davines notes is the most up-to-date source.

Is Davines OI shampoo good for fine hair?

Davines says OI Shampoo suits any hair type. Fine hair can be weighed down by rich follow-ups, though, so pair it with a light conditioner on the ends. Davines suggests applying OI Hair Butter to dry hair before shampooing on medium to fine hair, and recommends the lighter All In One Milk for fine to medium hair.

Can you use Davines OI shampoo every day?

Davines calls OI Shampoo a "gentle daily shampoo," so it is designed for frequent use. How often you actually need to wash depends on your scalp. The AAD notes that straight hair with an oily scalp may need daily washing, while dry, curly or thick hair can often go longer between washes.

What is roucou oil?

Davines describes roucou as an oil from the seeds of the achiote plant, Bixa orellana. The brand says every OI product contains it and describes it as rich in carotenoids, vitamin A and selenium, with antioxidant properties. Those are the brand's descriptions, not independent research findings, so treat them as product information rather than proven benefits.

Is Davines OI good for curly hair?

Davines' FAQ says OI Shampoo can be used on coarse and curly hair, and it lists OI Hair Butter as best suited to coarse, curly or frizz-prone hair. For curls, a typical OI routine would be the shampoo on the scalp, the butter through the lengths, then a leave-in such as the All In One Milk.

What is the difference between Davines OI and Momo?

OI is Davines' all-round line for softness and shine, built around roucou oil and suited to any hair type. Momo is a moisturizing line for dry or dehydrated hair, built around apricot extract, and Davines says it does not weigh hair down. Choose by your main concern: overall softness and shine, or dryness.

Sources

• Davines: OI collection
• Davines: OI Shampoo
• Davines: OI Hair Butter
• Davines: OI All In One Milk
• Davines: MOMO Shampoo
• Davines: LOVE SMOOTHING Shampoo
• Davines: Our story
• B Lab: Davines Group, Certified B Corporation directory listing
• American Academy of Dermatology: Tips for healthy hair
• American Academy of Dermatology: How to test skin care products

This guide is general information, not medical advice. Patch-test new products and ask a dermatologist or doctor about skin or health concerns.