FDA Warns Consumers About Potential Hair Loss from Wen Hair Conditioner
Wen hair conditioner is a hair care product made by Chaz Dean. The US FDA recently issued a warning about Wen hair conditioner after it received 127 complaints about the product.
What is Wen Hair Conditioner?
Wen Cleansing Conditioners is a lineup of hair care products made by Chaz Dean. The supplement makes most of the same claims as other hair conditioners: it claims to moisturize, strengthen, and protect your hair.
Unfortunately for consumers, Wen by Chaz Dean doesn’t appear to work as advertised in all patients. That’s led to a flurry of legal problems for the company, prompting the FDA to recently issue a warning about the products.
Wen Hair Conditioner & Shampoo Legal Problems
Wen has faced legal problems over complaints that its conditioner leads to hair loss, hair breakage, balding, itching, rash, and other problems.
Last year, mediation began for a class action lawsuit in California against Guthy-Renker, the company that markets and manufactures Wen.
Then, on July 7, 2016, the FDA issued a warning stating that it had received 127 complaints from consumers across America of “hair loss, hair breakage, balding, itching, and rash” after people used Wen’s hair conditioner. That’s more reports than the FDA has ever received for a cosmetic hair product.
In an interview with NPR, a dermatologist from California stated that problems like this are very rare:
“This kind of report is very rare. For the most part, shampoo products out there are all very safe.”
The FDA’s notice simply notified the public that it had received reports. The FDA says it has not yet determined why the conditioner leads to these problems.
The FDA goes on to explain that they’re investigating over 21,000 complaints lodged against Chaz Dean Inc. and Guthy-Renker, although Chaz Dean claims they did not receive this number of complaints.
What’s Causing the Conditioner Problems?
The reason shampoo and conditioner complaints are rare is because shampoos and conditions typically contain safe, non-irritating chemicals.
When shampoos and conditioners do contain irritants or allergens, they typically only affect a small number of the population. The most common allergens and irritants are surfactants (the things in shampoo and conditioner that give them suds), preservatives (which increase the shelf life) and fragrances (which help them smell nice).
It’s unclear which compound in Wen hair conditioner is causing hair loss, although not all people believe it’s the conditioner at all.
Wen’s Hair Conditioner is “Unlikely” Causing the Hair Loss Problems, According to One Dermatologist
The same dermatologist mentioned above, Paradi Mirmirani, says that many scalp problems have nothing to do with cosmetics. Patients could be experiencing hair loss for all sorts of different reasons – including common male pattern or female pattern baldness. Some people also suffer from alopecia areata, which is a disease where your immune system attacks hair follicles.
Stress, changes in diet, pregnancy, and disease can also cause hair loss and other hair quality problems.
For all of these reasons, Mirmirani believes it’s unlikely the consumers’ complaints are related to Wen’s conditioner.
Another dermatologist who works as a consultant to Chaz Dean states that there’s often a “herd effect” with lawsuits like this: if one person reads about a product that irritated someone’s scalp, and they start to feel a tingling sensation, then they may think “Me too”.
Which Products Are Affected by the Report?
The FDA doesn’t know what is causing the complaints or hair loss. However, they still need to report when they have received complaints about a specific product.
The specific products mentioned in the FDA’s warning include all of the following:
- Sweet Almond Mint Cleansing Conditioner: 5,689 complaints
- Lavender Cleansing Conditioner: 2537 complaints
- Pomegranate Cleansing Conditioner: 1542 complaints
There are a variety of cleansing conditioners in the Chaz Dean product lineup, although the Sweet Almond Mint variety is facing the most complaints (66% of complaints reported by the FDA).
Chaz Dean, meanwhile, continues to maintain that its products are safe. In a statement, the company argued that they have consistently cooperated with the FDA and “will continue to do so” in the future. Meanwhile, the Chaz Dean family “cares deeply about everyone’s hair health”. They’re encouraging those who are suffering from hair problems to seek medical assistance – including testing for common allergens.
We’ll keep you posted about Wen hair conditioner as these complaints progress.