Does MONAT Really Work?
If you are looking for a universal hair product that can make your hair stronger and more beautiful, you may have heard about MONAT. The founders of Monat have made millions selling their products with Monat gaining lots of media attention, so the question you might be asking, does Monat really work? In this review, we’ll find out if Monat is worth the hype.
Table of Contents
Overview
First, a few words about the Monat brand. Monat stands for “Modern Nature“. The company behind the product, MONAT Global, was started by the Urdaneta family in October 2014. MONAT Global is a subsidiary of Alcora Corp and they sell their products in the USA, Canada and Europe. They have a very extensive line of products that become very popular in a short period of time. Here are just a few of the popular products from Monat:
The Claim
Monate claims to be the #1 hair care brand in the US and Canada. They claim their product is “all natural” and will completely rejuvenate and restore your hair, making it thicker, smoother, softer and better in every way possible. These are just some of the claims you will find on the “Monat’s science” page telling you how natural the products are:
Monat claims their products will detoxify your hair, clear out the follicles, revive your hair and help it grow long and healthy again. Monat claims their products can help you restore your hair to its natural virgin hair state. Monate claims that the first 90 days of using the product are the most crucial.
The first 30 days are what is know as the “detox stage”. That’s when the toxins will begin to get pulled out of your hair follicles. You may notice that your scalp becomes very warm to the touch and feel sticky, oily gunky. You can even experience some shedding, flaking, and itching. Your hair will most likely not look nice during the first 1-4 weeks, but that is completely normal according to Monat and your hair is just detoxing.
The second 30 days are known as a “recovery stage”. That’s when your hair is supposed to go back to normal with all the symptoms disappearing and your hair acquiring the new great look. According to Monat, you will experience increased volume, increased control, balanced oils and increased hydration, your hair will become less tangly and look more alive, healthy and much more manageable.
The third 30 days are known as the “stabilization stage”. During this stage, your hair will continue to grow healthy, maintain the new shiny look and generally just stabilize. YYou’ll get more volume, better texture, and some people may even experience new hair growth.
The Hype
The biggest hype of Monat comes from people claiming that it really works. Not only people claim it makes their hair stronger, but they actually claim that Monat is able to regrow their hair. Obviously, that’s a very powerful statement because the only two products that are FDA approved for hair regrowth are Propecia and Minoxidil.
Here’s a typical YouTube review of Monat by a raving fan claiming that Monat really works.
Criticism & Complaints
You can find a number of criticisms about Monat online. Here are the most popular things that people don’t like about Monat.
- Monat is a multilevel marketing company. While there is nothing wrong with this kind of distribution model, very often the companies who adopt this kind of model focus way too much on marketing and not as much on the actual product. That’s why the products sold by multilevel marketing companies tend to be not as high quality and very expensive. In addition to that, there were claims of Monat’s “marketing partners” posting fake positive reviews about Monat so more people would buy the Monat products.
- Monat isn’t 100% natural. For example, Monate claims their products don’t contain sulfate, which is an artificial ingredient. Instead, Monat is using “natural” substitutes.
However, take a look at Monate’s ingredients:
Monate Renew Shampoo Ingredients:
Water (Aqua), Lauramidopropyl Betaine, Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Cinnamidopropyltrimonium Chloride, Stearyldimoniumhydroxypropyl Decylglucosides Chloride, Fragrance (Parfum), Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Pisum Sativum (Pea) Extract, Acetyl Tetrapeptide-3, Trifolium Pratense (Clover) Flower Extract, Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil, Crambe Abyssinica Seed Oil, Camellia Oleifera Seed Oil, Solanum Lycopersicum (Tomato) Seed Oil, Daucus Carota Sativa (Carrot) Seed Oil, Citrus Limon (Lemon) Peel Oil, Citrus Aurantifolia (Lime) Oil, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil, Adansonia Digitata Oil, Mauritia Flexuosa Fruit Oil, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Gardenia Tahitensis Flower Extract, Moringa Oleifera Seed Oil, Caryocar Brasiliense Fruit Oil, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Glycerin, Dextran, Citric Acid, Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Propanediol, Glycol Distearate, Sodium Hydroxypropylphosphate Decylglucoside Crosspolymer, Lauramide MIPA, Sodium Hydroxypropylphosphate Laurylglucoside Crosspolymer, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Butylene Glycol, Amodimethicone, Trideceth-12, Cetrimonium Chloride, Benzoic Acid, Caprylyl Glycol, Benzyl Alcohol.
That list of ingredients doesn’t look all that natural. To make the long story short, many of the ingredients in Monate’s products are “naturally derived” but they are not natural. But like many other companies, Monat is using a loophole in the law to imply that their naturally derived ingredients are “natural”.
3. Monate claims to “detox” the scalp. The only organs of the human body that are known to be able to detoxify a human body are the liver, kidneys, and lungs. The scalp isn’t one of those organs.
4. Monate claims to regrow hair. As we mentioned above, the only two products that are FDA approved for hair regrowth are Propecia and Minoxidil. So claiming a product can regrow hair without FDA approval is actually against the law.
5. Insanely high prices. Some Monet products are more expensive than many high-end professional salon brands. Unless Monet can truly regrow hair, their products are quite pricey relative to some other brands out there.
6. Monet can damage your scalp. There were a number of lawsuits against Monet were people claimed Monet caused their hair to fall out or damaged their scalp.
See the video below to learn more.
Consumer Reviews
We’ve put together the summary of consumer reviews from top review sites on the Internet.
| Review Site | Number of Reviews | Average Ratings |
|---|---|---|
The reviews for Monat are a mixed bag. As you can see from the reviews above, Monet has average customer reviews with an average score of 3 out of 5. Some people claim Monat has stopped and reversed their hair loss while others claim that Monat has caused hair breakage, hair loss, sores and changes to hormones.
If you are considering Monat, we highly recommend you read all of the product reviews carefully so you can make your own educated decision.
Conclusion & Verdict
Does Monat really work? The jury is currently undecided. It looks like Monat has worked magic for some people but had negative side effects when used by others. In this review, we’ve assembled enough evidence from both sides of the argument so you can make your own educated decision.
If we had to make a choice, we’d err on the side of caution and look for other products that aren’t as controversial as Monat.
Have you tried Monat? Please rate and share your experience in the comments below!
I have been using Monat for months now. My hair has gotten so thin, I thought it was my thyroid. Had that all checked out, my levels are perfect. I think it is the Monat now that I have seen the controversy remarks. I am stopping today using the products, hopping I can get my hair back to the way it was. I had beautiful thick hair. People were always talking about my hair. I am so sorry I started using this product. Wish there was something I could do about it. But if you are thinking about using this product, I would advise against it. Thank you. Pat Bearden.
Just because an ingredient list uses the scientific plant name doesn’t mean it isn’t “naturally based. That was a comment that made whomever wrote this appear particularly uninformed. Secondly… Capixyl isn’t an ingredient invented by Monat it is in a lot of products.
Thirdly… like most runaway success stories there will always be a herd of detractors screaming. Anyone who can read can look up these ingredients and realize .. wow. It’s just shampoo. That’s right. Hair soap. Shampoo doesn’t give you sores or make your hair fall out. I’d be curious if anyone can pin point the ingredient that would do that
People may have allergic reactions to ingredients in anything. Other than that… just negative hype of the perpetually unsuccessful.