I read that the FDA has issued a warning about the oral supplement Total Body Mega Formula being unsafe because of high selenium and chromium levels. So my question is why does the FDA not have control over the sale of these supplements, but they do have control over the recall of them?
I saw the official FDA warning and the Center for Disease Control advisory (PDF file). Apparently it took the Florida Department of Health to send reports to the FDA about the potential toxicity of Total Body Mega Formula and Total Body Formula before they were actually looked at by the FDA. The reason for this is because as dietary supplements, there isn’t a requirement of the FDA’s approval processes for safety or effectiveness. This is quite unfortunate, and just goes to show that you really don’t know what could possibly be in these supplements. So for these particular products the FDA found that, “In all cases, the reactions included significant hair loss, muscle cramps, diarrhea, joint pain and fatigue.” Yikes.
The FDA itself didn’t recall the product — after they issued their warning, the manufacturer voluntarily recalled the toxic products to avoid lawsuits and more bad press.
Bleaching can become permanent if it went down to the bulb of the hair follicles and impacted the granules of melanin that produce color. Bleaches can also damage the production mechanism of the hair-producing part of the hair follicle. That is why bleaching should be done by professionals who know how far to push it without going overboard. I would expect that the damage would occur quickly and not be delayed. See a good dermatologist and get your hair examined.
