Manic Panic

Manic Panic's Inter-Gel-Actic™ hair color kits, launched in February 2026, feature space-themed box art that customers identified as likely made by generative AI rather than a human illustrator. The accusation spread widely on social media, with critics calling it a betrayal of the brand's punk, DIY identity. Manic Panic's founders issued a public response, but the brand has not confirmed or denied using generative AI to create the artwork.

The Inter-Gel-Actic™ kits — five space-themed DIY hair color sets priced at $15.99 each — went on sale at Target, Walmart, Sally Beauty, Hot Topic, Amazon, and manicpanic.com in February 2026. Shortly after launch, consumers began identifying the packaging illustrations as bearing hallmarks of generative AI image tools, including visual artifacts and stylistic patterns associated with AI image generators. A Threads post calling the packaging "peak poser" gathered approximately 1,300 likes, 146 comments, and 122 reposts. Founders Tish and Snooky Bellomo posted a response titled "A message from Tish and Snooky" on Facebook, but the full text could not be independently retrieved. No mainstream press coverage has appeared; the controversy remains within the alternative beauty community.