Thinning hair and a painful, itchy rash are complaints from some users of a trendy hair care product line.
Rebekah Snyder of West Allis said she first heard about MONAT on social media. She started using the products shortly after she had a baby. She said she had postpartum hair loss and she wanted to keep it from getting worse.
She said for the first few months she used the products they worked great, "I had shiny hair, I felt like it was growing."
But then she said, "I was getting lots of hair falling out when I was washing. I noticed my hair getting very, very thin."
Snyder said her hair was also dry and then she developed a rash on her neck and chest.
She said she eventually went to the doctor, "All my blood work came back normal. Everything was fine."
She researched MONAT hair products and learned she was not alone.
"I discovered there were hundreds of women and men that were experiencing the hair loss, breakage, dryness, rashes, the other problems and symptoms that I was having while using the product line."
Multiple class action lawsuits filed against MONAT accuse the company of fraud and deception alleging "an inherent design and/or manufacturing defect in MONAT hair care products causes significant hair loss and scalp irritation to many consumers."
According to the Better Business Bureau, in three years, more than 500 complaints have been filed against MONAT Global, almost 400 of them because of problems with the service or product itself.
In a Facebook Live interview with Scripps station KTNV in Las Vegas, the company said it had commissioned independent clinical testing and went on to report hundreds of thousands of happy customers.
In a separate, emailed statement, company spokeswoman Brittany Pillars told TODAY'S TMJ4: "I also know that as with any consumer product, some people may develop adverse reactions. When that is the case, they should stop using the product and report their reaction to the company."
Snyder stopped using the product in January. She said her rash has gone away and her hair has not been as dry, but she does still experience some hair loss.
A MONAT spokeswoman told TODAY'S TMJ4 people can learn more about its products by clicking here.