Wen Your Hair Falls Out…

Industry executives who have tangled with FDA over the years often get so frustrated they want to tear their hair out. Now, the beauty industry is torn over legislation that could make the US Food and Drug Administration more powerful. An article in today's edition of The New York Times notes that hair care formulas created by stylist Chaz Dean and sold by Guthy-Renker have generated oohs and aahs from paid celebrities like Brooke Shields, as well as more than 21,000 complaints from consumers. The complaints ranged from burning and itching to severe hair loss.


And while Guthy-Renker maintains that it has “evidence and studies that we believe demonstrate Wen is safe and does not cause hair loss,” in June the company agreed to a $26.25 million settlement that will pay every consumer who purchased Wen products $25 for their troubles.


Now, the beauty industry is fighting over a bill that would arm the Feds with more muscle to take on companies. In one corner, the Personal Care Product Council is lobbying Congress to pass legislation that would amend the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act aimed at giving FDA the authority to test ingredients used in cosmetics and issue mandatory recalls for products found to be unsafe. The Council argues that tougher regulations found in the Personal Care Products Safety Act will help them gain the trust of an increasingly skeptical public.


Efforts to block the bill are coming from smaller players that have coalesced around the Indepedent Cosmetic Manufacturers and Distributors Association. That group insists that tougher regulations would pose an unnecessary burden on smaller companies.


As one might suspect, Congressional members are tripping over themselves to get some time in the spotlight. Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Susan Collins (R-ME) have crafted the new tougher legislation, dubbed the Feinstein-Collins bill. Meanwhile, Representative Pete Sessions (R-TX) is coming to the aid of his home-state company, Mary Kay, which joined ICMAD to fight the Feinstein-Collins legislation. Sessions has introduced competing legislation backed and largely drafted by Mary Kay and the independent companies.