L’Oreal’s EverSleek Keratin Caring Products Contain No Keratin, Lawsuit Claims [UPDATE]

The proposed class action detailed on this page has been dismissed, with United States District Judge George B. Daniels granting L’Oreal’s motion to toss the case on the grounds that the plaintiff failed to state a claim for which relief could be granted. 

In dismissing the case, Judge Daniels wrote in a 12-page order issued September 14 that the plaintiff’s amended class action did not credibly allege L’Oreal’s marketing was likely to deceive a reasonable consumer. The court filing relays that the plaintiff failed to address not only the discrepancy created by her “conflicting assertations” that L’Oreal’s keratin shampoo products were vegan and contained keratin, a chemical found in the human body, but also the fact that none of the ingredients listed on the shampoo bottles included keratin as a component.

“Conveniently, the amended complaint here does not address the ingredients list, nor does it reconcile the fact that a simple reading of the ingredients list would have made it clear that the Products do not contain keratin,” the judge wrote. 

Judge Daniels emphasized that L’Oreal’s product labels state “multiple times—including on the center of the front labels, as well as in small font on the backs of the labels—” that the shampoos are, in fact, “Keratin Caring,” which a consumer could reasonably understand to mean the products were made to care for the keratin already found in the hair and do not actually contain keratin. 

“Indeed, other than reasserting the fact that the Products’ labels use the phrase ‘keratin caring,’ Plaintiff does not describe how Defendant fraudulently represented that the Products actually contained keratin,” court papers read.