Most products on our shelves earn their spot quietly. The Davines OI Shampoo Refill is the one we point to when a guest asks why a flimsy-looking bag is sitting next to the pretty glass bottles at Sølvi. The short version: this pouch exists so you stop tossing a perfectly good bottle. The longer version is the story we want to tell behind the chair today.
Why the pouch exists at all
A refill pouch is a simple idea with a real reason behind it. You buy the OI Shampoo bottle once. When it runs low, instead of buying a brand new bottle, you buy the 500ml pouch and refill the one you already own. Davines states the 500ml pouch cuts plastic use by about 71 percent compared to two 250ml bottles. Less plastic, less packaging under your sink, and the exact same Roucou oil formula inside. It is not a different shampoo. It is the same softening cleanser in a format that respects the fact that you already have a good bottle at home.
What is actually inside
OI Shampoo is built around Roucou oil, pressed from the seeds of the Amazonian achiote tree, the same annatto plant that colors a lot of food orange. That seed is rich in carotenoids and beta-carotene along with vitamin A and selenium, antioxidants that help hair shrug off heat and environmental stress. It is a creamy, color-safe cleanser made with mild surfactants rather than harsh sulfates, so it washes without stripping. It softens across hair types, from fine to coarse, and leaves the light signature OI scent that lingers for days. Brooke, one of our senior stylists, reaches for it on dry and frizzy hair most weeks, which in Boise is a large share of the people in our chairs.
If you have spent a winter here, you know what high desert air does. Boise sits dry most of the year, and that dryness pulls moisture out of hair the same way it cracks your hands and lips. We see it spike from late October through March, when our North End regulars come in with static and dull ends almost on schedule. A gentle, antioxidant-rich shampoo that softens without stripping earns its keep in this climate, which is why we keep recommending the OI line to locals.
How we use it in the studio
We keep it simple. Apply a creamy amount to wet hair, massage the scalp, work it down through the lengths and ends, then rinse well. A little goes a long way. For most of our Boise guests with shoulder-length hair, two pumps is plenty, and a single 500ml refill tends to last a regular guest who washes a few times a week somewhere around four to five months. Pair it with OI Conditioner if your ends need more slip. The goal is clean, soft, shiny hair, not a stripped or squeaky feel.
If you want a stylist to walk you through where this fits alongside your color or cut, that is exactly what we cover during an appointment. See what we offer on our services page and bring your questions in.
The honest part: who it is not for
This is not a fix for everyone. The pouch only makes sense if you already own the OI Shampoo bottle, since it is meant to refill it rather than stand on its own. If you are brand new to the line, grab the bottle first, then switch to pouches later. At sixty three dollars for the 500ml pouch, which matches the Davines retail price as of June 2026, it is also not a budget shampoo, and we would rather be upfront about that.
It is also a softening daily cleanser, not a deep repair treatment. If your hair is very damaged or coarse and you are chasing intense reconstruction, a shampoo alone will not get you there. Some guests with thick, compromised texture need more, and we point them toward a bonding or repair mask to use alongside it. OI Shampoo is about gentle cleansing, softness, and shine, not deep rebuilding.
Should you keep it on your shelf
For most of our guests, yes. The combination of a real performance reason and a real packaging reason is rare. You get softer, shinier hair that holds up against dry Idaho air, and you cut plastic by refilling a bottle you already trust. If you want the dispenser the pouch tops up, we also stock the Davines OI liter pump so refilling stays clean and mess-free.
If you want to see it in person, we keep it stocked at our downtown Sølvi studio at 104 S Capitol Blvd, with street parking out front and the Capitol Boulevard garage a block away if the meters are full. Stop in, feel the difference between the bottle and the pouch, and let us show you how much product you actually need. You can pick up the OI Shampoo Refill here, and when you are ready for a cut or color, book your appointment with us. We will be behind the chair.