Mielle is adjusting the ingredients in its headline-making Rosemary Mint range.Courtesy of brandSave StorySave this storySave StorySave this story

Not many hair oils ever achieve headline-making status, but Mielle Organics' Rosemary Mint Hair Strengthening Oil certainly has. Since its launch in 2018, it's made news for its cult following, then its TikTok virality, then its alleged hair loss risk. And somewhere along the way, Mielle's Rosemary Mint Strengthening Hair Oil spawned a 10-product collection and nabbed an Allure Best of Beauty award. Now, that entire collection is getting a subtle refresh.

Which is pretty risky business — these products are Mielle’s best-sellers and fear of losing access to the original formula has struck nerves in the past. In December 2022, when Alix Earle praised the Rosemary Mint Hair Strengthening Oil on TikTok for inspiring growth in her long blonde hair, the brand’s longtime textured hair fans were afraid they wouldn’t be able to find it anywhere. Shortly thereafter, Mielle’s acquisition by Procter & Gamble Beauty (which also owns Pantene, Herbal Essences, and Head & Shoulders) made shoppers afraid a reformulation was imminent. And the fear isn’t totally unfounded; it’s happened in the past when Black-owned brands have gotten acquired by large corporations.

Neither fear came to pass in the following months, but then in 2024, TikTok was awash in accusations that the Mielle Rosemary Mint Strengthening Hair Oil was causing hair damage, dryness, breakage and loss. At the time, Mielle’s founder, Monique Rodriguez, said in an Instagram video, “My whole family and myself are avid users of Mielle […] because we believe in the power of our products,” adding, “I am so grateful for the opportunities this partnership [with P&G] has brought us. This partnership has allowed us to expand our reach and make a positive impact in the world.”

That conversation eventually died down, and the line remained at the top-selling list for Mielle. And through it all the formulas across the now 10-product Rosemary Mint collection stayed the same. Until now, with Mielle adding rosemary extract to the shampoo, conditioner, mask, leave in and styling cream, and getting its rosemary and peppermint oils certified by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, which validates the quality natural origin of the oils for consumers. Rodriguez told Allure last week that these 2026 updates are not about getting away from past controversies but about new resources available to the brand. “I can understand why some may think this is a reaction to controversy. But, no, point-blank, it’s not,” she says. “Our whole journey with Mielle has been, ‘how do we find the best?’”

A big part of searching for the best is the expanded access to ingredients, labs, and testing a global partner like P&G brings. “Because of the partnership with P&G, it has allowed me to have access to resources like this. I had never heard of Kew before the partnership,” Rodriguez says. “When it was presented to me what they provide, and the certification and quality of ingredients, I was all in. I want to go out here and do research myself. I’m putting myself in the shoes of my consumers.”

As for the formulas themselves, the brand is framing the changes as “enrichment” and not “reformulation.” And perhaps that’s fair. In the original oil and its lighter counterpart themselves, the ingredient list isn’t changing—the namesake ingredients are just being certified by Kew so there is the utmost guarantee that they are what they say they are. “Mielle wants reassurance that the ingredients that they’re incorporating into their products are of highest quality and they’re certified plant material,” says Phil Stevenson, science lead at Kew. Without the certification, “It’s possible that something like an antioxidant component from Rosemary, which is one of its fantastic qualities, you could get from a synthetic chemical. What we’re able to do is verify that it is actually plant material that has gone into that product, and I think that’s important. It’s about trust with your customer. If you’re making a product and you’re telling your customer that your product has natural ingredients, you want to be certain.”

Kew has worked with P&G in the past, starting with a range of products from Herbal Essences in 2020. This Mielle certification will have Kew regularly reviewing the sourced rosemary and peppermint oils that go into the line. It’s not uncommon for Kew to re-validate its certified ingredients, more or less on an annual basis, Stevenson says. “We also can provide accurate information on the quantities, so that we can be certain the product provided to Mielle is not just high-quality, but that those bioactives are at the right amount to be effective in a way Mielle would wish them to be.”

In five other care products, Mielle has also added rosemary extract. Upon evaluating the old and new ingredient lists on the shampoo, cosmetic chemist Dr. Julian Sass, Ph.D., says the experience and results will be virtually the same. “The addition of any extracts in addition to the oils will likely do little to change the performance of the product,” he says, “This new formula seems quite similar to the old one, with a lot of the key functional ingredients like the surfactants [cleansing ingredients] not changing or potentially having small percentage tweaks. Many of the plant extracts/oils here are added for marketing purposes and any tweaks there likely won't provide tangible benefits.”

To further evaluate all seven “enriched” products, Mielle tapped a third-party lab for a set of dermatologist-overseen patch tests on 30 subjects, which were reevaluated both upon application and afterwards, to confirm low allergenicity. You’ll also see updated education around how to use the product like application and washing techniques to prevent buildup. The way Rodriguez sees it, these updates are really just more of the same from Mielle. “This is how Mielle has always operated,” she says. “My philosophy from day one has always been listening to our mavens and hearing what they have to say. Then I take that feedback and use what I already know in my gut about the textured hair consumer because I’m also a textured hair consumer. Science is ever-changing, and how can we stay on top of the evolution of the science behind the ingredients, work to improve, and be better?”

Given the subtleties of the refresh, many founders wouldn’t have drawn attention to it at all. However, “the brand has always been founded on transparency, trust and authenticity,” Rodriguez says. “I trust a brand that is telling me what they’re doing, versus when a customer notices a packaging change and is like, ‘what happened?’ I want consumers to know I’m being transparent and they’re still on this journey with me. I trust a brand that does that, and our consumers deserve that same type of trust.” Mielle has always been a brand that inspires conversation – both good and bad. Whether brand fans notice changes in the product, for better or for worse, only time will tell.