L’Oreal Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Class Action Lawsuit

If you’re using Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Anti-Frizz Serum, you may want to put down the curling iron and step away slowly. A federal class action lawsuit claims L’Oreal failed to warn consumers that the two main ingredients in its “leave-in” hair-styling product “are flammable upon contact with most temperatures reached by most hair styling appliances,” and can put consumers at risk of injury from burns to the face, head and neck.

The L’Oreal class action lawsuit claims that Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Anti-Frizz Serum — which is marketed to be used immediately before styling hair using a blow-dryer, curling iron, straightening iron or other styling appliance — is actually flammable when it comes into contact with the very heated styling appliances it’s advertised to be used with.

The Serum’s two main ingredients, cyclopentasiloxane and dimethiconol, “are known to be flammable substances that should be kept away from heat sources and sources of ignition,” the Garnier Fructis serum class action lawsuit says. These ingredients are each reported to have a flashpoint of only 171 degrees Fahrenheit, which means the vapor in either of these ingredients can be made to ignite and maintain a burn at this temperature. “The normal and ordinary sustained heating range for commonly used styling appliances is approximately 200 to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.”

The Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Anti-Frizz Serum class action lawsuit says L’Oreal failed to warn consumers about the risk, saying:

“L’Oreal placed a misleadingly limited, and inaccurate, warning [on the product packaging] that implied its product was safe to use with styling appliances, stating, ‘AVOID FIRE, FLAME, SMOKING AND HEAT [EXCEPT FOR STYLING APPLIANCES] DURING APPLICATION AND UNTIL HAIR IS COMPLETELY DRY’ (emphasis added). On other Serum product packaging, L’Oreal provided no warning of any kind.”

The Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Anti-Frizz Serum class action lawsuit is brought on behalf of three separate classes of purchasers, including anyone in the United States, California or New York who purchased Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Anti-Frizz Serum in the U.S. during the period of February 4, 2007 through the present. 

The L’Oreal class action is seeking class certification; actual, statutory and treble damages; an order requiring L’Oreal to issue a recall of the product and provide an accurate warning label; and attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses. 

A copy of the L’Oreal Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Anti-Frizz Serum Class Action Lawsuit can be read here.

The case is Catherine Altamura, et al. v. L’Oreal, USA, Inc. and L’Oreal USA Products, Inc., Case No. 11-cv-05465 6W(CWX), United States District Court for the Central District of California.