Once touted as a viral hair growth oil, this product is now being accused of causing severe hair loss.
What is Mielle Organics?
Mielle Organics is a Black-owned haircare company that specializes in products for naturally curly, coily, and textured hair. Founded a decade ago by Monique Rodriguez, the brand is known for its high-quality, organic ingredients.
In 2022, the brand exploded on social media. People raved about seeing results from the Rosemary Mint Scalp & Hair Strengthening Oil. Customers, who mainly consisted of Black women at that point, said the oil helped quicken growth and thicken their hair.
Then mega influencer Alix Earle started promoting the product, creating a two-fold controversy.
One, Earle is a white woman promoting a Black hair care product. This sparked a conversation about cultural appropriation and led to concerns that, like Shea Moisture (a once beloved Black hair brand), the brand would start catering to a whiter demographic and leave behind the needs of the Black women who made the brand a success.
Two, once non-Black women heard about the oil, it started selling out, so its original consumers no longer had access to the product.
What are the accusations?
Now Mielle is going viral for a different reason—and it’s not good.
The same product touted as a holy grail oil now has customers accusing it of leading to scalp irritation, dryness, and hair loss.
Several people across the internet—from TikTok to Reddit—have made this claim.
Curly girly Anna Alicia’s (@annaaliciaaa) video talking about her bad experience gained nearly 3 million views in a week.
“Mielle. Count your days. Cause lemme know you’re the reason why my hair has been coming out in clumps in the shower,” Anna Alicia said.
She added that she’s been using the viral hair oil to grow out her hair but is now worried that the “whole time, it was doing the exact opposite.”
“Is Mielle cancelled?” she asked.
She added that at least in her household they are since she’ll be throwing their products in the trash.
Can a hair product cause hair loss?
The short answer is: It’s unlikely that a single hair product will lead to that much hair loss.
For context, people naturally shed 50 to 100 hairs a day, according to the American Academny of Dermatology.
Robert Finney, MD, FAAD, a board-certified dermatologist, told Marie Claire that no ingredient should cause clumps of hair to fall out.
“It’s unlikely they cause severe hair loss—it’s usually multi-factorial,” hair expert and chemist Alexandra Arriaga explained to Marie Claire. “Things like genetics, stress, and medical conditions can play a role, so evaluating all possibilities is essential before attributing them solely to the products.”
Some of the ingredients in Mielle’s products, especially the essential oils and seed oils, could be causing scalp sensitivity, inflammation, or an allergy leading to contact dermatitis. If you’re excessively itching and have an irritated scalp, this can lead to hair loss.
While some people accused the brand of changing its formula after being acquired by beauty giant Proctor and Gamble, there is no evidence of this, as the ingredients label has remained the same.
CEO’s response
In a statement on Instagram, the company’s founder said the following:
“When I made the decision to partner with P&G, it was driven by my vision to take Mielle to new heights and become a global beauty brand. Our products are created with healthy ingredients and formulated to deliver safe and healthy results.”
“That commitment has never wavered. If you have any doubts, I encourage you to explore our labels. There have been no changes…Since the P&G acquisition, nothing has changed.”
Viewers react
“People forgetting everyone’s hair is different mielle might just be the wrong brand for you works perfrct for me tho,” a top comment read.
“Mielle makes my scalp soooo itchy especially the rosemary oil,” a person said.
“YESS I have lost so much hair and my hair is so thin,” another wrote.
The Daily Dot reached out to Anna Alicia for comment via email and to Mielle via email.
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