Every few months a styling product gets enough buzz that clients start asking about it by name at the front desk. The Davines Oi Souffle is one of those. We have been using it behind the chair at our downtown Boise studio for a while now, so when someone slides into the chair and asks if it is actually worth the money, we have a real answer instead of a shrug. Here is our honest take, the good and the not so good.
What it actually is
Oi Souffle is a weightless softener from the Davines Oi line. It is built around roucou oil, the same antioxidant rich ingredient that runs through the whole Oi family, and the job it does is simple. It softens and smooths the hair without adding weight or grease. You work a small amount through clean, damp hair, comb it through, and style as normal. That is the entire routine. It is not a serum you fight with or a cream that needs three steps. It is one product, one pass, done.
It comes in two sizes. A travel size at 1.69 fl oz for $21, and the standard 4.22 fl oz bottle for $50. The standard size is the one most of our regulars end up taking home once they have tried it on a wash day.
Why we reach for it in the studio
Boise is dry. Anyone who has lived through an Idaho winter, or honestly a high desert summer, knows what that low humidity does to hair. It pulls moisture out and leaves a lot of our clients fighting frizz and flyaways by mid afternoon. Oi Souffle handles that better than most softeners we have tried. The roucou oil smooths the cuticle so the hair lies down, and the antioxidant finish tames the static and flyaways that our climate seems to manufacture out of thin air.
The other thing we love is the weightless part, and we mean it. Most softening products that actually soften will flatten fine hair or leave it looking greasy by lunch. This one does not. Our stylists use it on everything from fine to coarse hair, and on the fine clients it still leaves shine without collapsing the volume. The signature Davines scent is also genuinely nice and it lingers most of the day, which clients notice.
The honest drawback
Here is the part we will not gloss over. At $50 for the standard bottle, this is a premium product, and it is a softener, not a treatment. It does not repair damage, it does not deep condition, and it will not fix the underlying dryness. It manages the surface beautifully, but if your hair is genuinely damaged or starved for moisture, Oi Souffle alone is not the answer. You would want a real conditioning or bond treatment doing the heavy lifting first.
It is also worth saying who it is not for. If you have very heavy, oil prone hair that already lies flat, you may not feel like you need a softener at all, and the cost is hard to justify in that case. And if you are someone who wants a strong styling hold, this is not that. It softens and finishes, it does not sculpt.
How we use it on clients
In the chair we keep it simple. After a wash, we towel dry to damp, then warm a small amount, less than you think, between the palms and work it from mid lengths to ends. A little extra on the very ends if they are dry, then comb through and blow dry or air dry. Starting with a tiny amount is the trick. It is easy to add more, much harder to take it back out once you have over applied. If you want help dialing in your at home routine, our team is happy to walk you through it during a service appointment.
So is it worth it?
For most of our clients, yes. If you live with Boise dryness and you want softer, shinier hair that does not feel weighed down, Oi Souffle earns its spot on the shelf. It is the product we reach for when someone wants that smooth, finished, healthy looking result without a complicated routine. If your main issue is damage rather than dryness, spend your money on a treatment first and come back to this once the hair is in better shape.
Want to feel it for yourself before you commit to a bottle? Ask us to use it during your next appointment so you can see how your hair responds. You can book online or stop by the studio at 104 S Capitol Blvd in downtown Boise. We will give you the same honest read in person that we gave you here.