Wen's Woes Won't Go Away - Over 17,000 Complaints to the FDA

A few years back I wrote an honest and heartfelt letter about my opinion on the so called Cleansing Conditioners by WEN. I honestly care about every one of you getting the proper answers and advice to help you....and though I would just put out my warning. It was super mean or super strict by any such means......but, after purchasing & trying it myself.....the results were horrible in my opinion . So I wrote a whole Post about how I thought his whole idea was bullshit.  

 I said the only reason that the people on one side of a "BEFORE & AFTER" - had beautiful hair after they used the WEN product was that one had an excellent  BLOW DRY & the other one didn't. 

 
Well, he sent me a letter of warning ( from his attorney) to "Cease & Desist" with my Post regarding his product and him....So, instead of sticking up for myself - I caved and gave in and deleted it. I am so mad at myself, for that....if I was healthy I would have fought him tooth and nail......but I am just not that strong any longer.  Can you believe that? My little ole 10 year Blog............it was ridiculous.



Taking care of every one of you ... that has entrusted me with the care & color of your YOUR HAIR is VERY important to me. There are so many other more important stories and troubles in the world right now we should not be talking about hair so, something like this will not get the front-page press it normally would. I don't think gossip and unimportant Hollywood BS should be the most important stories we listen to on our new programs. Its why you will never see an article or photo of that famous "K" family that the youth of today find such a fascination with. They live in the town I was born and raised in and they have ruined it, so any little bit I can do to not promote them, I will.

This is what has been atop all the Cosmetic Chemistry trade publications, and I am thrilled -- because this man, who thought he was so 'above-the-rules' that he didn't have to follow the rules or standards put forth by a society - has been bitten in the ass.

Maybe you've been sucked into the infomercials featuring (out-of-work actors - paid lots of $$ are hosting). Maybe you have a friend who swears by it, or you've even given it a try yourself. Either way, chances are you've heard of WEN... the cleansing conditioner developed by celebrity hairstylist Chaz Dean - they call him that but between all my family members & hundreds of friends who all are Stunt people in the industry for over 50 years, not one celeb we know would dare let him touch his hair.

 It was the most recognizable brand name of the "no-poo" movement, where you cleanse your hair with what he refers to as as a "CLEANSING CONDITIONER". But, that MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE, if its a shampoo then it should be called a shampoo, because the definition of a Shampoo is: 

         a special liquid that is used for cleaning your hair


Well, everyone's favorite infomercial hair care brand is now facing a new class-action lawsuit brought forward by customers who say the products cause hair loss and scalp damage, among other issues. Let's check out whats known so far and what happened this week:
1. More than 200 women from 40 states are involved in the class-action lawsuit, which has been filed in California Federal Court against Wen by Chaz Dean and Gunthy Renker its marketer. According to in-depth coverage in THE DAILY BEAST - yesterday, the women claim "Wen products can cause severe and possibly permanent damage to hair, including significant hair loss to the point of visible bald spots, hair breakage, scalp irritation, and rash."2. These claims aren't new. Similar-but-smaller suits were filed in 2014 and last year, per quick Googling of the matter. (It's unclear exactly how they were resolved - $10 bucks says he paid them off!).) And Wen-related hair loss complaints on consumer websites date back over 5 years. More recently, complaints have been taken to Facebook & Twitter and they also pop up in product reviews on sites like Sephora & Amazon. Reviews can never be  accounted for as scientific facts as they are controlled by the webmaster.
3. AS the Daily BEAST states this might be a tough case to crack since there are so many potential reasons for hair loss. But, every day a few more hundred people report in their hair loss issues.
We'll wait and see what happens with the lawsuit before we make any kind of judgment either way. In the meantime, we're curious: How many of you have tried Wen? What was your experience like overall? Let me know in the comments below!
UPDATE March 10, 2016: There's been a surprising twist in the case—the government is now involved.
UPDATE July 22, 2016: And we have even more news: The FDA is now officially involved in the case.

 
UP DATE:
Looks like there might finally be some concrete answers about the safety of Wen hair care products. Wen by Chaz Dean has now received "the largest number of  reports ever associated with any cosmetic hair cleansing product." That's according to the FDA, which just launched an official investigation into the safety of Wen Cleansing Conditioners, following months of consumer complaints against the brand, a class-action lawsuit filed in December, and calls to action by government officials.

 Customers claim that Wen's popular scented cleansing conditioners, meant to be used in lieu of shampoo, can lead to serious skin and hair problems, including bald spots, hair breakage, irritation, and scalp rashes. As of July 7, 127 consumer-safety complaints against Wen had been registered directly with the FDA and more than 21,000 sent to the brand, according to the FDA, which discovered this during recent inspections of Wen's manufacturing and distribution facilities.

Now the FDA will begin investigating the claims against Wen, which has continued to maintain the safety of its products. "The FDA has not yet determined a possible cause for the adverse events that have been reported, and today has called on the company to provide any data that might help us to better understand the reports of hair loss associated with the use of Wen by Chaz Dean Cleansing Conditioner products," the agency states in a press release. "The FDA also has reached out to physicians and other health care providers asking them to notify their patients of hair loss and other complaints associated with the use of these products and to report adverse events to the agency."

What should Wen lovers do in the meantime? Here's what officials recommend: "While the FDA continues its investigation, consumers should be aware of reactions reported in association with the use of WEN by Chaz Dean Cleansing Conditioner products. Consumers who experience a reaction after using Wen by Chaz Dean Cleansing Conditioner products should stop using the product and consult with their dermatologist or other health care provider. The agency also urges consumers to:
REPORT your Results to the FDA PLEASE.

This isn't the first time the U.S. government should do more when it comes to ensuring that the ingredients used in beauty products are safe. A new national SURVEY released March 1 revealed that 87 percent of voting Americans want stricter regulation of personal care products, and since last spring, two senators have been actively working toward making that happen. Dianne Feinstein and Susan Collins (a California Democrat and Maine Republican) are pushing forward a bipartisan bill called the Personal Care Products Safety Act that would update the Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act—an 80-year-old law that's supposed to guarantee the safety of cosmetics but falls short of what's needed to wrangle what's now a $189 billion a year industry.  

 PLEASE-PLEASE-PLEASE vote for this, this is the bare minimum needed for your products to be safe for your hair.....Their law would require companies to ensure that products are safe before putting them on the market and give the FDA tools for enforcing this.

My Best As always,