L’Oréal is the latest beauty brand to be hit with a nasty lawsuit. Dozens of customers are enraged, saying the SoftSheen-Carson Optimum Amla Legend No-Mix, No-Lye Relaxer (owned by parent company L’Oréal) causes serious side effects, one of which is hair loss.
According to TMZ, big-wig attorney Mark Geragos filed a class-action lawsuit claiming that the hair relaxer is “short on oil and and long on danger, causing hair loss, breakage, scalp irritation, blisters and burns.” The oil he’s referring to is botanical amla oil, which has been generally considered efficacious and “safe” in the beauty industry and used in Indian cultures for years. It’s formulated in many hair care products for its ability to deeply condition, and believe it or not, it’s even been said to help improve hair growth.
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The lawsuit also mentions that the women involved felt like they could trust the product because it was backed by celebrities such as Tracee Ellis Ross and The Real Housewives of Atlanta’s Cynthia Bailey—even Michelle Obama’s hairstylist vouched for it.
The reviews on Amazon are pretty tough to read. According to one reviewer: “After using the ENTIRE bottle of neutralizer, when I went to detangle after conditioning, my hair started coming out in chunks. Just, chunks of hair coming out. It’s a week later, and my hair is still coming out. And I’m not talking about breakage, I’m talking about the entire strand is coming out from the root (and I have armpit length hair).”
Another one: “Please do not buy this relaxer!!! This is the worst relaxer I have ever used!!! It caused severe damage to my hair and I am now dealing with balding and shedding for the first time in my life!!! Do not use optimum amla relaxer if you want to keep your hair!!! I almost never post reviews but after using this product I feel compelled to warn other women about this product!!!
And one more: “Don’t use it! My 26 year old daughter is upstairs crying her eyes out because her hair is gone. And I (her mother) relaxed it for her. We followed directions she has been relaxing for years. We did not leave it on too long. She now has no hair on the sides or back of her head. Even with the scalp protector and vaseline around her edges No Hair and her scalp is burned badly. I did notice a lot of hair loss during rinsing but never imagined this. Stay away from this product I didn’t know how to do no stars so I did one but for us it’s a big fat 0 stars.”
L’Oréal has not yet commented on the lawsuit, but stay tuned to NewBeauty.com for updates!
