Celebrity Hairstylist Faces Lawsuit After Customers Blame Product For Balding

brooklyngal73

SteelyDan/DonaldFagenFan!
Uh-oh....

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2015...it-after-customers-blame-product-for-balding/

OLLYWOOD (CBSLA.com) — A celebrity hairstylist is at the center of a lawsuit involving people from all over the country who have come forward to claim that his hair-care products have caused them scalp irritation, hair loss and more.

Entrepreneur Tanya Norman, who also specializes in brand development for a creative agency, is one of these people. Six months after trying the WEN hair product, Norman says she was alarmed at what happened.

“I had started to get a bald spot, and then I found another one in the back, and that’s when I kind of started to get worried,” Norman said. “I started bawling. I couldn’t stop crying.”

An online searched revealed that she was not alone and that there were others who had similar experiences.

Now, attorney Amy Davis is representing nearly 200 plaintiffs from over 40 different states who are part of a mass-action lawsuit against WEN by Chaz Dean Inc. and marketer Guthy-Renker.

“Some of the men and women that we represented, looks like they had a weed whacker taken to their head,” Davis described. “Just hair breaking all over.”

Dean, who developed the WEN hair-product line, has a hair-care studio in Hollywood, and celebrities such as Brooke Shields, Angie Harmon and Alyssa Milano endorse WEN.

Davis, however, states that the product traps dirt, oil and debris in the hair follicle and causes scalp irritation.

“What we understand about the product and how it causes hair loss is it contains virtually no cleanser,” Davis said. “It’s like using lotion to wash your hair, so instead of removing the product, when you rinse it off, it just becomes impacted in your hair follicle.”

Davis went on to claim that the celebrity endorsements made women, men and even children believe in the product.

“Their testimonials and Chaz Dean saying that he is the stylist to the who’s-who in Hollywood really made these men and women believe they could trust the product,” Dean said. “Kiddos, kiddos that we represent, have lost nearly all of their hair.”

While Dean and Guthy-Renker declined to be interviewed on camera, they released a statement that reads:

“We take great pride in the quality of our products and believe every product meets our high standards. We want all of our customers to have positive experiences with our products. With well over 10 million WEN products shipped since 2008, our customers’ overwhelmingly positive response to WEN is a testament to the benefits it can deliver for its users. These benefits are reflected in consistently high rankings from independent consumer product sites as well. Importantly, there is no scientific evidence to support any claim that our hair care products caused anyone to lose their hair. There are many reasons why individuals may lose their hair, all unrelated to WEN hair products. We intend to vigorously contest the allegations made against our products. And, we encourage any customer with any questions to contact us.”

Norman, meanwhile, now applies a topical medicine and has received 14 cortizone injections in her bald spots. She says that despite her embarrassment, she believes going public with her experience may help others.

“The hair that’s regrowing is very, very fine and brittle. This is something that for me has been very, very embarrassing,” Norman said. “There are a lot of us out there that have been dealing with this issue. You’re not alone.”

The federal judge has issued a stay in the case, and the parties are proceeding to mediation.
 

Bunnyhaslonghair

Ebonics Queen
I was not expecting to know the brand when I clicked. This is odd. Hasn't Wen been out for many years? I've heard hardly anything but raves. Did they change the formula or something?
 

hothair

Well-Known Member
I used it with no problems admittedly I used to swap and shampoo my hair once in a while. I think the problem is that 1. the ingredients are not as natural as they intimate don't quote me but it may have cones.. 2. They don't suggest any other way of clarifying your hair same as if you only co-wash there must be some sort of clarifying treatment/ clay/ shampoo etc to remove buildup. Interested in reading more I have a bottle left
 

lilikoi

Well-Known Member
This sounds sooo bogus... It's just illogical. Unless there's some undeclared ingredient in the formulation I find it hard to believe that people are losing hair simply because the product doesn't "clean". If true, all the long term co-washers/no-poo people we know would be bald! Not to mention, we, on this board, would have figured it out first!

It sounds like someone's light bulb went on on how to make money from a class action suit. Yeah, I have my conspiracy theory hat on!

P.S. I am not a Wen stan. I used Wen once (Almond mint, from the trial kit) and I loved it! I stopped using it because it's simply too expensive, and when you subtract all the botanical extracts that are there to make the product sound more appealing, the ingredients are really common to the majority of commercial conditioners out there. It's simply more concentrated, and better formulated (such awesome slip!).
 
Last edited:

SlimPickinz

Summer where are you?
This sounds sooo bogus... It's just illogical. Unless there's some undeclared ingredient in the formulation I find it hard to believe that people are losing hair simply because the product doesn't "clean". If true, all the long term co-washers/no-poo people we know would be bald! Not to mention, we, on this board, would have figured it out first!

It sounds like someone's light bulb went on on how to make money from a class action suit. Yeah, I have my conspiracy theory hat on!

P.S. I am not a Wen stan. I used Wen once (Almond mint, from the trial kit) and I loved it! I stopped using it because it's simply too expensive, and when you subtract all the botanical extracts that are there to make the product sound more appealing, the ingredients are really common to the majority of commercial conditioners out there. It's simply more concentrated, and better formulated (such awesome slip!).
But there's a thread here already stating that wen was making some posters hair thinner. So yea, we did know about it here first.
 
Oh wow...I was going to purchase the 613 version but decided not to after reading reviews about hairless. I had it on my Sephora VIB list and everything.
 

sunnieb

Well-Known Member
WEN still works wonders for my hair. I use it once a week like clockwork. However, I also still use my clarifying shampoo and moisturizing shampoo weekly as well.

That's the issue, I think. They should not advertise to only use this product and NO shampoo. I've been on LHCF too long to think I can get away with never clarifying/shampooing my hair on a regular basis.

I haven't bought anymore since the lawsuits became public, but I have a ton of it left that'll probably last me another year or so.
 

ForestRose

Well-Known Member
Not surprised. A lot of people don't understand how the cosmetics or the industry works.
People forget that your hair actually grows out of skin that needs to be clean regularly. That's why I don't completely go sulphate free with shampoo. Occasionally when my scalp is really dirty I use sulphates because they are there to clean your hair.
When you strictly co wash its like only adding a lotion to your arm for months without washing or wiping it.
 

julzinha

Well-Known Member
Not surprised. A lot of people don't understand how the cosmetics or the industry works.
People forget that your hair actually grows out of skin that needs to be clean regularly. That's why I don't completely go sulphate free with shampoo. Occasionally when my scalp is really dirty I use sulphates because they are there to clean your hair.
When you strictly co wash its like only adding a lotion to your arm for months without washing or wiping it.

I usually use a tea tree based shampoo mixed with t/sal shampoo exclusively on my scalp and massage and leave it in for a few minutes, then sulfate free moisture poo on the rest of my hair. A clean scalp makes a huge difference, products like WEN only focus on the hair and not the base.
 

LStreeter

Well-Known Member
The claims are not bogus. I shed like crazy the 1st time I used WEN 613 or whatever it's called. I can use it on my ends like a conditioner, but there's definitely an ingredient in it that causes shedding/balding for some.
 

ForestRose

Well-Known Member
I usually use a tea tree based shampoo mixed with t/sal shampoo exclusively on my scalp and massage and leave it in for a few minutes, then sulfate free moisture poo on the rest of my hair. A clean scalp makes a huge difference, products like WEN only focus on the hair and not the base.
That's good. I need something like that tbh. Because my sulfate free kera care hydrating shampoo is expensive. I accidentally bought the sulfate one of the same thing instead and was gonna make a thread asking about it. But I might try something similar to your method and use the sulfate free on my ends. Probably wash a little less regularly to see if my hair stays moisturised still.
 

BlackHairDiva

Well-Known Member
I had to give my 2 cents. I was also a wen girl for years and then I stopped purchasing because of the price. I had products that I felt I could get at a much lower price and easier to access in my area.

For those of you who are curious, I was getting aussi 3 min moisture & the Neutrogena Triple moisture line. They seem to cover all that Wen could offer and where way more easier to get in my area.

I was curious to know what it was about. Because I never had any issues. With all the negative rumors I became reluctant of jumping back into the WEN wagon. I did some research to see what had happened. Apparently, the WEN recipe/ ingredients list has changed.

I found this clip:


I might be dreaming but the ingredient list has way way more alcohol ingredients at the beginning of the list than before. Which could explain that hair become extremely dry. Now there might be something else going on as well. I apologize in advance if I offended anyone.

One thing I learned from this Wen controversy is that I should always read the ingredients. Even when I purchase a product that I have used for years, I need to read the ingredients and make sure that nothing has changed.

Those of you who wish to research some more, do research online and look up old posts, dated 2009 and prior. Look for the ingredients list on those reviews/blogs/posts and compare it to the ingredient list on the sites that are currently selling the product( ex: QVC, amazon, etc).

I hope this helps someone.

BlackHairDiva






 

overtherainbow

Well-Known Member
I had to convince my mother that WEN would eventually damage her hair follicles a few years back. She was using it exclusively and when I went to color her hair, I found a ton of build up. It probably would have been only a matter of time before she noticed shedding. I got her on a clarifying reggie ASAP. Cleansing conditioners like WEN do not clean my scalp as well as just plain ole cheapie conditioners. They have too many ingredients.
 
Top