Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr., of New Jersey, the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, is seeking answers for why more than 17,000 Americans have complained of hair loss and other health problems after using WEN Cleansing Conditioner by Chaz Dean.
On Tuesday (March 9), Pallone wrote U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf and Georg Richter, president and CEO of Guthy-Renker LLC, makers of the product branded and promoted by Hollywood celebrity hair stylist Dean. Pallone said thousands of complaints detail “significant hair loss, visible bald spots, hair breakage, scalp irritation, rash, and burning of the scalps and eyes” after using the product.
In his letter to Richter, Pallone requested a briefing from company officials to discuss the complaints, and asked for all relevant internal documents, including safety tests and customer complaints the company holds but has not yet made public. In his letter to Califf, Pallone asked FDA to provide further information about what the agency has done to address any safety issues.
In a news release, Pallone said:
Consumers deserve to know that they are making safe choices when they purchase cosmetics. Unfortunately, since popular cosmetics and personal care products are largely unregulated before they reach the marketplace, these products can contain harmful chemicals that have the potential to put consumers at risk. We must reform our nation’s outdated cosmetics law and ensure that FDA has the resources necessary to review the chemicals used in household products when they are sold to consumers.
The letters come on the heels of a nationwide survey released last week by the Mellman Group and American Viewpoint showing that voters overwhelmingly support stricter regulation of the chemicals in personal care products. The poll showed that almost two-thirds of likely voters want their cosmetics to be safe. And 94 percent of likely voters believe companies should be required to notify the government when their products injure consumers.
The thousands of complaints about WEN Cleaning Conditioner by Chaz Dean underscore the urgent need to update the nation’s archaic laws on safety of personal care products. Pallone has pledged to work on bipartisan legislation in the House that would ensure everyday personal care products are not harmful to consumers.
On the Senate side, Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) have introduced bipartisan legislation, the Personal Care Products Safety Act that would set common-sense safety standards for an industry that has operated for decades with virtually no oversight from federal agencies.
The bill would strengthen federal regulations that have remained largely unchanged since the late 1930s. It would require companies to ensure their products are safe before putting them on the market and give FDA the tools it needs to protect the public. In particular, the legislation would require FDA to review five potentially harmful cosmetics ingredients a year and give the agency authority to ban or restrict ingredients based on these assessments.
Pallone’s letter to Guthy-Renker is available here and his letter to FDA is available here.
