Category: Hair Products

Snippet from the article:

The latest in laser-based hair rejuvenation is the iGrow, a stylish new wearable device from Apira Science that packs 21 laser diodes and 30 LED lights. According to the company, that matches the output of most clinical hair lasers, and it should result in “thicker, fuller and healthier” hair in just a “few short months.” But that’s not all. The iGrow also includes a remote that has been programmed for both men and women, and it has a built-in set of headphones that you can use with your own iPod or MP3 player

Read the rest at Engadget — iGrow promises to regrow hair with lasers, accessorize any wardrobe

And it looks so classy! Any regular reader to this site knows how I feel about the laser hair therapies that make big claims with little to back it up, but this one goes a step further by including headphones and an Apple computer style iPhone/iPad/iPod naming convention.

CNet also points out that the maker of this product is covering their tracks by adding the fine print on the bottom of their site for their other laser product that states, “The REVAGE 670 has not been cleared by the FDA for medical use and any references are purely investigational.” I’m sure the iGrow falls into that same category.

Hi there,

I wanted to know what are the long-term risks and effects of user a mild chemical relaxer. Could it harm the follicles and cause balding? I am a white Jewish male in his mid-30s with very curly and frizzy hair. I have all my hair. My father lost all his hair in his twenties, but the men on my mother’s side seems to have all their hair.

Thanks for your help!

Relaxers require an experienced application. The risks for poor use can be a disaster. With a good professional applying these chemicals, you can get away with it for years.

In December 14 2005, someone wrote that he started losing hair soon after beginning to use Head & Shoulders shampoo. At the time, you advised that, to your knowledge, the shampoo did not contribute to hair loss. However, in 2008, you posted a fair amount of reader commentary, much of which linked the readers’ hair loss to that shampoo by their own account. Does your opinion remain unchanged from that of 2005?

Yes, my opinion on Head and Shoulders causing hair loss is unchanged. Maybe there’s an allergic reaction or something else entirely… but generally speaking, shampoos won’t cause hair loss.

I don’t shy away from posting reader comments on products, but it is their opinions and/or experiences.

Hi Dr. Rassman. You’ve talked about the FDA cracking down on “false advertising” in the past, specifically on labels. I was wondering why Head and Shoulders can put on the front of their bottle “Improves Hair and Scalp Health Guaranteed”. This is a loosely based statement lacking specifics; i.e. how it improves my hair or scalp health. I can understand it clearing up dandruff, hence improved scalp health, but hair?

People may associate improved hair health with thicker, stronger hair which I believe no magic shampoo has been factually proven to do so.

I asked FDA consultant Norman F. Estrin, PhD, Managing Partner at Estrin Consulting Group LLC, to answer this one. The following response was what he sent me –

“Improves Hair and Scalp Health” is a claim that the FDA would call “puffery”. Puffery is allowed for cosmetic claims. You correctly pointed out that it is a loosely based statement lacking in specifics”. This is characteristic of puffery. It just as easily could have said “livens up your hair” even though we all know hair outside the body is not alive.

Head and Shoulders is an OTC drug because it treats dandruff. It is also a cosmetic as well and its cosmetic claims are regulated by the FDA Office of Cosmetics and Color Additives, while the drug claims are regulated by the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER). The Federal Trade Commissions also monitors fraudulent claims, especially in advertising. Here are some other examples of puffery:

• Best shampoo ever!
• Energizes your hair
• Eye awakening
• The skin you want
• Safeguards your beauty
• Age Control
• Helps restore youthful zones
• New life for your hair

Since these claims are qualitative descriptions rather than hard facts, the FDA cannot regulate such claims because they are so hard to define. If, however, a cosmetic company claimed “Proven to increase collagen synthesis”, the cosmetic company would be in trouble because any product that does so would meet the FDA definition of a drug:

“(A) articles intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease
(B) articles (other than food) intended to affect the structure or any function of the body of man or other animals”

In this example, increasing collagen synthesis in the body would be an effect on the “structure or any function of the body of man”.

Hi,

I think I may have an allergic response to many shampoos. I’m getting a lingering burning sensation for about 30mins after washing it out.

Are there any other alternatives for washing hair? Or should I just not worry?

Thanks

I’d see a dermatologist to try to figure out what you’re allergic to. There’s probably some common ingredient amongst the shampoos you tried, but I’d have no way to know what that could be.