Kentucky Court Gives OK to the Melting Hair Case

We here at Abnormal Use don’t pretend to know much about hair products. We do, however, know that they shouldn’t melt your hair. A host of new plaintiffs apparently know this as well, having filed suit against Unilever alleging that the manufacturer’s hair-strengthening Keratin product did just that. Unilever moved to dismiss the suit, but a Kentucky federal court recently denied the motion. We suppose a jury will now get to decide whether our presumption was correct. The plaintiffs allege that Unilever’s Suave Professionals Keratin Infusion 30-Day Smoothing Kit contains harsh chemicals that burned their scalps and melted or permanently destroyed their hair. The product was advertised as “formaldehyde-free,” but the plaintiffs have some suspicion that might not have been the case. Unilever recalled the product in 2012, but multiple plaintiffs were able to purchase and use the hair kit after the recall, the suit alleges.

Certainly, we know very little of the merits of the case at this point. Not that it would absolve all liability, but we do wonder whether the hair melting occurred after the first use or whether it was the result of the entire 30-day process. It will also be interesting to see the merit behind the “permanently destroyed” allegation. If the product had worked as advertised, straightening the hair by breaking down disulfide binds in curly hair, and the user didn’t like the result, would that also be damage? If so, it seems as if this analysis could be extended to any hair product such as hair dyes when repeatedly used. Moreover, last we checked, hair grows back, so how can the damage be permanent? Clearly, we here at Abmormal Use pay close attention to hair.