Thanks to TikTok, Mielle Organics’ already high sales are booming these days. If you’re a member of the natural hair community, you’re probably already familiar with the brand and may have some of its products in your cabinet. Oils have become a staple in many natural hair routines as they appear to promote hair growth.
But recently, longtime users of Mielle Organics seem to have noticed a lack of availability for cult favorites. White TikTok creator Alix Earle, who is white with 3.3 million followers, took center stage after she included oil in a video showcasing her favorite Amazon purchases in 2022. Her massive followers rushed to buy the product. Frustration was building within the naturally curly community as Earle fans eagerly purchased influencer recommendations. Here’s why:
Lack of accessibility
Founder Monique Rodriguez created Mielle Organics after embarking on her own natural hair journey and finding a product void that resonated with me as someone with curly, curly hair. And despite the aggressive efforts of stores like Target and Ulta to fill the gap, the “ethnic hair care” section remains a dozen filled with hair care products designed for straight hair his texture. It remains noticeably smaller than the aisle. As a result, face-to-face “ethnic hair care” sections and aisles typically offer limited product choices for purchase. Since Earle’s viral video, many of his Mielle supporters have found the product sold out in local stores, further limiting availability.
Not all is for everyone
While it’s always refreshing to see non-POC people supporting Black-owned brands, some products simply weren’t designed for them. The Mielle Organics site describes rosemary oil as “safe for color-treated hair and formulated for all hair types and textures.” However, some women with naturally straight textures have complained that rosemary oil may have caused hair loss.Mielle Organics rosemary-infused oil is suitable for all hair types. Although the brand is described as being sleek, the brand mostly caters to wavy, curly, and coily hair textures, as evidenced by our hair quiz.
Fear of history repeating itself
Before breaking this down, it’s important to reiterate that we’ve always rooted for black people, especially in the beauty space. As pointed out by the professor and a Twitter user Uju Anya, when Mielle’s best-selling products are being adopted by demographics that are not the foundation of the brand’s success, it’s a trigger. For her, it was a reminder of the obliteration that many felt in 2017. At the time, Black-founded brand Shea Moisture created ads featuring mostly Caucasian models and without any kinky textures.
“Black women have good reason to set aside white folks to ‘discover’ Mielle hair oil,” Anya tweeted. up, change the formula, erase BW from the image.”
Historically, the growing popularity of Black-owned/founded brands has led to significant price increases and changes in both marketing and product formulation. These changes are usually gradual, but they have a big impact on consumers. Especially when it comes to altering the formula for looser hair textures. Prices for Mielle Organics Rosemary Mint Scalp & Hair Strengthening Oil have increased significantly since the recent increase in demand. Before last week’s oil word of mouth, it usually retailed for around $8 to $10.Today, Amazon and Walmart have retailers selling his products for as high as $20.
Consumers shared their fears that Mielle Organics would fall into an all-too-familiar pattern, so the brand issued a statement on Jan. 3 to ensure that the product formula remained the same.
“I wanted to come here first to directly assure you that there are no plans to change the formulation of rosemary mint oil or any of our products,” Rodriguez said. social media posts“There have been several comments posted on this topic recently, but I can personally assure you that we have not made any ingredient changes. Please know that we will always notify you with full transparency.
While Mielle doesn’t seem to have any plans to change, this controversy shows just how much influencer culture has impacted consumer culture. The original post had more than 540,000 likes and comments from him, such as “Alix bought it, gotta buy it,” and the less than one-minute video sparked cross-cultural controversy. Talk about influence.
Haniyah Philogene is a multimedia storyteller and an all-around lifestyle reporter. Passionate about digital media, she pushes the envelope to find new ways to tell and share stories.
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