OUAI is the haircare brand celebrity stylist Jen Atkin built for Instagram, and since 2021 it has been owned by Procter and Gamble, one of the largest consumer goods companies in the world. What sets OUAI apart from most of its corporate parent's stable is how openly it takes sides on hot-button social issues. The brand has publicly called abortion healthcare and given money to abortion funds, and it has paid for chest binders to help youth affirm their gender identity as part of its Pride giving, all while sitting inside a company whose employee funded political action committee aims for even support of Democrats and Republicans.
- OUAI publicly called abortion healthcare and donated to abortion funds after Roe fell.
- For Pride, OUAI funded chest binders to help youth affirm their gender identity.
- OUAI backed a Florida group it said was fighting the state's Don't Say Gay law.
- Parent P&G runs an employee funded PAC that aims for even support of both parties.
- OUAI gave two hundred thousand dollars to LGBTQ groups in a single Pride campaign.
Quick Take
OUAI, pronounced "way," was founded by hairstylist Jen Atkin in 2016 and acquired by Procter and Gamble in December 2021. Under P&G ownership, the brand has kept a loud, values forward voice: a 2022 statement declaring that abortions are healthcare, paired with a donation to abortion funds, and Pride campaigns in 2023 and 2025 that pledged hundreds of thousands of dollars to LGBTQ groups, including money set aside for chest binders to help youth affirm their gender identity. Its parent, P&G, trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker PG, runs an employee funded political action committee that it says aims for even support of Democrats and Republicans, and reported about 2.8 million dollars in federal lobbying in 2024. The brand's activism is its own foregrounded identity; the parent's political money is bipartisan by design.
Who Owns OUAI
Jen Atkin, a hairstylist known for clients including the Kardashian-Jenners, Hailey Bieber, and Bella Hadid, launched OUAI in 2016 as an Instagram-native haircare line and expanded it into body care, fragrance, candles, and supplements [4]. In December 2021, Procter and Gamble acquired the brand for an undisclosed sum, with industry sources projecting roughly 50 million dollars in 2021 sales; Atkin stayed on as founder and chief creative officer, and Colin Walsh remained chief executive [4][5]. P&G, based in Cincinnati, is one of the world's largest consumer packaged goods companies and trades publicly as PG.
A Brand That Takes Public Positions
OUAI is unusually direct about social issues for a mass-owned beauty brand. In May 2022, as the Supreme Court prepared to overturn Roe v. Wade, the brand published a statement on its own site saying that abortions are healthcare and that a woman is the only person who should make decisions about her body; it pledged 15,000 dollars to the group Keep Our Clinics plus an additional dollar for every like on the post, to fund networks working to remove what it called the financial, logistical, and political barriers to abortion [1].
The brand has been similarly forward on LGBTQ causes. In a June 2022 Pride campaign, OUAI said conversations about gender identity and sexual orientation in schools should be welcomed and that LGBTQ youth deserve access to healthcare and mental health resources; it donated 50,000 dollars to the Los Angeles LGBT Center and to PRISM, a Florida group that OUAI said was fighting the state's Don't Say Gay law [10]. Its 2023 "Born This OUAI" Pride campaign pledged 200,000 dollars to LGBTQ organizations in the United States, including The Trevor Project, which works to prevent suicide among LGBTQ youth, and the Ali Forney Center [3]. In June 2025, its "OUAI It Forward" campaign pledged 100,000 dollars to The Los Angeles LGBT Center as the center's exclusive housing product sponsor, and itemized the impact to include funding 400 chest binders to help youth affirm their gender identity [2]. On its current OUAI It Forward page, the brand states in its own words what it stands for: women's rights, the LGBTQIA community, and racial equity, describing them as values it has partnered around for years [11].
That reach beyond Pride shows up in other statements the brand has made. For Juneteenth in 2022, OUAI said there was still work to do to dismantle systemic racism and pointed readers to racial justice organizations [12]. In October 2022, it published a statement in solidarity with the women of Iran, backing their right to control their bodies and their lives and urging readers to contact their representatives and support human rights groups [13].
All of these are the brand's own public statements and giving, reported here as documented fact, and each was published after Procter and Gamble acquired the company.
Where the Parent's Money Goes
The measurable political money sits with the parent, not the brand. Procter and Gamble runs a federal political action committee, the Good Government Fund, and it is funded by voluntary donations from P&G employees, not from company cash, because federal law bars corporations from giving money straight to candidates [8]. That PAC gave 249,500 dollars to federal candidates in the 2023 to 2024 election cycle, and P&G says its goal is even support between Democrats and Republicans [6][8]. P&G also limits its own corporate political spending: it says it does not use company funds for super PACs, 527 groups, or candidate donations, and since 2012 it has told its trade associations that P&G dues cannot pay for electioneering [8].
On lobbying, OpenSecrets calculated about 2.79 million dollars in federal lobbying by P&G in 2024 and about 3.59 million dollars in 2025; P&G's own report puts the 2024 federal figure a little higher, at about 2.9 million dollars [7][8]. P&G also reported about 1.25 million dollars spent lobbying US state governments in 2024, and lobbying at the European Union level in the range of one million to about 1.25 million euros in its 2023 to 2024 fiscal year [8]. Separately, it reported 100,000 dollars in 2024 for state ballot initiatives and issue advocacy tied to its business, and it says it makes no political contributions outside the United States [8]. OUAI itself does not operate a federal PAC; its political footprint runs through its values based marketing and donations rather than campaign checks.
The Founder
Jen Atkin, whom the New York Times has called one of the world's most influential hairstylists, remains the creative face of OUAI after the sale and built the brand around a close, survey-driven relationship with its large social following [4]. Her personal political views are her own; the positions described above are the brand's corporate statements and giving.
What They Sell
OUAI sells haircare (shampoos, conditioners, styling products, treatments, and supplements) along with body care, fragrance, and candles, at prices typical of the prestige beauty aisle [4]. The brand grew online and through Sephora and is also carried at Ulta. Its name is a play on the casual French word "ouais," meaning "yeah."
Where to Find Them
OUAI sells directly at theouai.com and through Sephora and Ulta in the United States. Its parent, Procter and Gamble, is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio [9].
Footnotes
[1] OUAI, "Supporting Women During the Roe VS Wade Possible Overturn," by the OUAI blog, May 2022, accessed August 2026. https://theouai.com/blogs/by-the-ouai/roe-v-wade-statement
[2] OUAI, "OUAI It Forward: Celebrating Pride Month," by the OUAI blog, June 5, 2025, accessed August 2026. https://theouai.com/blogs/by-the-ouai/ouai-it-forward-celebrating-pride-month
[3] OUAI, "Born This OUAI: Show Your Pride," 2023, accessed August 2026. https://theouai.co.uk/blogs/news/born-this-ouai-show-your-pride
[4] WWD, "P&G to Acquire Jen Atkin's Ouai," December 6, 2021. https://wwd.com/beauty-industry-news/beauty-features/feature/pg-acquire-jen-atkin-ouai-hair-care-1235009718/
[5] BeautyMatter, "Procter & Gamble to Acquire Jen Atkin's Ouai," accessed August 2026. https://beautymatter.com/articles/procter-gamble-to-acquire-jen-atkins-ouai
[6] OpenSecrets, "Procter & Gamble PAC Contributions to Federal Candidates, 2024 cycle," accessed August 2026. https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/procter-gamble/C00257329/candidate-recipients/2024
[7] OpenSecrets, "Procter & Gamble Federal Lobbying Profile," 2025 cycle (use the year selector on the page to reach 2024), accessed August 2026. https://www.opensecrets.org/federal-lobbying/clients/procter-gamble?client_id=152643&cycle=2025
[8] Procter & Gamble, "Our Political Involvement," accessed August 2026. https://us.pg.com/structure-and-governance/our-political-involvement/
[9] OUAI, company website, accessed August 2026. https://theouai.com/
[10] OUAI, "Join Us in Fighting For Equality For the LGBTQIA+ Community," June 2, 2022, accessed August 2026. https://theouai.com/blogs/by-the-ouai/join-us-in-fighting-for-equality-for-the-lgbtqia-community
[11] OUAI, "OUAI It Forward," What We Stand For page, accessed August 2026. https://theouai.com/pages/ouai-it-forward
[12] OUAI, "Happy Juneteenth National Independence Day," June 19, 2022, accessed August 2026. https://theouai.com/blogs/by-the-ouai/juneteenth-2022
[13] OUAI, "OUAI Stands With the Women of Iran," October 4, 2022, accessed August 2026. https://theouai.com/blogs/by-the-ouai/ouai-stands-with-the-women-of-iran
Comments
(0)No comments yet. Be the first to comment.