Acure Organics Class Action Says Shampoo Doesn’t Repair Hair

A New York woman says Acure Organics hair products are falsely advertised as being able to repair hair, when in fact they can do no such thing.

In her recently filed Acure class action lawsuit, plaintiff Jocelyn Morales takes issue with Better Planet Brands LLC’s claims that its Acure Repair Shampoo and Acure Repair Conditioner actually repair damaged hair.

She says these claims are “false, misleading, and reasonably likely to deceive the public” since the products do not contain any ingredient capable of repairing hair damage.

Morales argues that for Acure Orgaincs products to actually repair hair, they would need to contain ingredients that work on keratin protein, which is what hair is primarily composed of.

Dying, bleaching, heat treatments, and daily brushing damages that keratin, she says. The Acure products at issue may create the illusion of healthy hair, she says, but they cannot actually repair the damaged keratin.

Acure’s claims of the products’ ability to repair extend beyond the labeling on the package, according to this Acure class action lawsuit.

Morales quotes advertising copy from the products’ pages on Amazon’s and Target’s websites that claim the products can “repair damaged hair with an all natural moroccan [sic] argan oil treatment” and that they can “[l]ock in moisture, repair damage, and strengthen hair follicles.”

The defendants claim these products have been “clinically proven” to repair hair, Morales says.

She argues that consumers have to rely on representations like those, since they lack the ability to verify them independently. She and each proposed Class Member relied on those representations when they chose to buy Acure Organics product, she says.

The resulting harm was the premium Morales paid over the lower price she could have paid for a similar product, she alleges. The plaintiff lists several different shampoos and conditioners that allegedly sell for much less than the Acure products at issue.

For example, one 28-ounce bottle of Suave shampoo sells for $2.69 on Amazon, and a 28-ounce bottle of TRESemme conditioner sells for $3.50, according to Morales. Yet eight-ounce bottles of Acure Organics Repairing Shampoo and Repairing Conditioner are each priced at $9.99, she says.

Morales says she bought both Acure Repair Shampoo and Repair Conditioner based on the advertising copy she read on Amazon.

Despite her using the Acure Organics products according to their instructions, Morales claims they did not “repair and improve the overall health” of her hair. Had she known the products would not actually repair her hair, she says, she would not have bought them.

Morales proposes to represent a nationwide Class consisting of all persons in the U.S. who purchased the Acure Organics products at issue during the applicable statute of limitations period. She is also proposing a subclass consisting of all Class Members who are residents of New York.

She seeks an award of restitution and disgorgement of all revenue gained by the defendant due to its alleged misconduct, plus reimbursement of court costs and attorneys’ fees.

The plaintiff is represented by C.K. Lee and Anne Seelig of Lee Litigation Group PLLC.

The Acure Organics False Advertising Class Action Lawsuit is Jocelyn Morales v. Better Planet Brands LLC d/b/a Acure Organics, Case No. 1:16-cv-06464, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.