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.”
