A Sephora customer says the haircare brand DevaCurl made her “disabled” and caused her to go from thick curls to “almost completely bald.”
TikTok user @migrainemiracle posted the video, captioned “My #devacurl nightmare,” on Dec. 12. In it, she describes how in 2019 and 2020 she used a shampoo called DevaCurl. @migrainemiracle explains that when she was younger she did some hair modeling, and had “very, very curly hair, about twice as big as it is now.”
That led her to use specialty products like DevaCurl, she says. Around that time, @migrainemiracle says she started to develop severe migraines, which persisted for years and at times caused her to be hospitalized. Doctors reportedly could not identify a cause for the migraines.
“I tried about 17 different migraine drugs, and at no point did I connect it to my shampoo and conditioner,” @migrainemiracle says. “I thought my hair was falling out because of the migraine drugs, which hair loss was a listed side effect from a few of the drugs.”
She continues, “It wasn’t until I was pretty much fully disabled and had made huge life changes that I found out what was going on. I had decided to make a career change, move across the country. I was at a Sephora – I was almost completely bald at this point – and I asked a Sephora employee, ‘Gosh, I’m so self-conscious about my hair, I used to use this product DevaCurl, do you have anything similar?’”
@migrainemiracle says the employee told her in response, “Honey, your hair isn’t falling out from migraine drugs, it’s falling out from DevaCurl. You should really look into the class-action lawsuit.”
@migrainemiracle My #devacurl nightmare #migraines #migrainesociety #chemicalexposure ♬ original sound - migrainemiracle
She followed his advice and learned that she had approximately two weeks to file. DevaCurl was indeed the subject of a class-action lawsuit, which alleged that the brand’s products caused scalp irritation and hair loss. In January 2022, DevaCurl settled the case for $5.2 million.
“About half my hair grew back, it never was the same color,” @migrainemiracle says. “Whatever, it doesn’t matter. I got a really pitiful settlement. The bottom line was I had brain damage. I had 26 migraines a month for five years. Yeah, it was pretty rough.”
The video has amassed more than 527,000 views and 1,700 comments as of Friday. In the comments section, users expressed outrage.
“Deva Curl owes you way more,” wrote one user. @migrainemiracle responded, “So many of us who were injured feel this way. Thank you for your support.”
DevaCurl — safe to use now?
byu/littleliongal incurlyhair
Another user wrote, “How is deva curl still allowed to be sold!?”
A Reddit user posed this question earlier this year to r/curlyhair. “DevaCurl – safe to use now?” the post reads.
In the comments, users pointed out that DevaCurl didn’t admit fault in the settlement and expressed skepticism that there was a true link between the product and hair loss. However, some users have lost confidence in the brand due to the ensuing formula changes implemented in the aftermath of the controversy.
The Daily Dot reached out to @migrainemiracle via TikTok DM and DevaCurl parent company Henkel via email for comment.
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