A federal judge in Los Angeles approved a $26.25 million WEN class action settlement that pays up to $20,000 cash to people who had hair loss.
Consumers who bought WEN could receive $25 cash refunds. The refunds are capped at $5 million, which means up to 200,000 people could be paid. An estimated 6 million consumers are eligible for refunds.
The settlement must still be approved by U.S. District Court Judge Otis Wright II.
WEN Cleansing Conditioner is a hair product that was sold on the TV shopping channel QVC by celebrity stylist Chaz Dean.
The first lawsuit was filed in 2014 by Amy Friedman, a woman who lost one-third of her hair after using WEN. Other horror stories include children who went completely bald after using WEN only three times.
In March 2015, a class action lawsuit was filed by over 200 angry consumers. In June 2016, Chaz Dean and the makers of WEN offered to settle the lawsuits.
The problem is WEN contains virtually no cleanser, according to an attorney who talked to CBS Los Angeles:
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.”
In July 2016, the FDA began investigating 127 complaints about hair loss, breakage, balding, itching, and skin rashes associated with WEN — the largest number of reports for any hair-cleansing product.
The FDA discovered more than 21,000 complaints reported directly to Chaz Dean Inc. and Guthy-Renker, LLC, the manufacturers of WEN.
Guthy-Renker issued the following statement: “There is no evidence that WEN products cause hair loss, and the ingredients and formulations meet or exceed all recommended safety and quality standards set by the industry.”
Source: LA Business Journal