Consumers Pursue Lawsuit Against DevaCurl for Products being Hazardous to Health
DevaCurl was one of the most popular brands in hair care during the early and late 2010s. The company founded by Lorraine Massey in 1994, had a niche for people with natural curls. Now as of recent weeks the curl savvy company has been under fire by consumers purporting that their products are the source of many health problems. Customers made claims of hair damage, hair loss, and skin irritation that has now lead to a class-action lawsuit.
As of February this year, court proceedings have been filed in Florida, California, and New York. The plaintiffs argue that the company failed to disclose the dangers of their products. Court documents bring up a “DevaCurl Phenomenon”, which in short refers to the initial release of an innovative “conditioning” cleanser in 2002. The cleanser renowned as “No-Poo” claimed to be the first of its kind, capable of cleaning curly hair gently without removing natural oils and with little damage to colored hair. Plaintiffs are making the argument that Deva Concepts (owner of DevaCurl) has been deceiving consumers who were willing to pay a premium price and failed to list warnings of potential side effects.
A prominent figure in this battle of consumer health is Stephanie Mero. She is a stylist that got her certification from the company who is now an advocate for victims. She started a private support group page on Facebook that now has over 58 thousand members. The page started in August of 2019 and many customers voiced concerns about impairment to their health saying that the company must recall their products.
The products not only affected consumers and stylists but influencers as well. Former DevaCurl ambassador, Ayesha Malik published a video with over a million views to her YouTube channel explaining the damage DevaCurl has done to her hair and why she is severing ties with the company. It also features documentation of her before and after showing a difference in hair texture.
Within the community of victims is Blanca, who is another certified hairstylist in Long Island New York. She received her styling certification from DevaCurl back in 2019 and says she has been experiencing a reprisal from the company. “June 12th, 2019 I was fired in retaliation for all the safety concerns I had brought to management. I filed an OSHA complaint a few weeks later,”.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration response to her complaint stated, “We have had no reports of rashes from any employees or clients alike as it pertains to product usage,”.
In terms of side effects, Blanca has experienced hair thinning, hair loss and scalp issues. She also develops an allergic reaction on her hands that causes dryness and redness whenever she uses the products.
Sydney Vasquez is a Bronx resident who was a loyal DevaCurl user. In 2017 she went to a DevaCurl salon (known as Devachan) to get a haircut. Since then she had been using their products on her hair exclusively until she started to notice a difference in her hair.
“I definitely do not have it as worse as the other victims, but I noticed that when I would wash my hair my scalp was very irritated, kind of like a burning feeling but I never really thought anything of it. And then when it would dry, it was like a snowstorm of dandruff, my hair was so dry. I noticed that my hair wasn’t lasting, by the third day it would already be frizzy.”
When asked about her attempts to address concerns with the company Vasquez stated, “I called the DevaChan salon in Soho, I asked for a manager and he said that there wasn’t anything that he really can do, that I can contact the customer care line.”
In response to consumers growing concerns, DevaCurl has released two statements. Their first statement initially addresses the curl community in an attempt to reassure consumers that their products are safe. A second statement introduced a curl care council and launched a new website that allows consumers to get an in-depth look at the company’s responses to hair and health problems, and even features downloadable test results of their products. Some consumers were able to be financially compensated, the amounts varying on the products they bought as court proceedings are still in motion.
