Johnson & Johnson Hair Products Cause Hair Loss, Lawsuit Claims

July 19, 2021 -- A class-action suit has been filed against Johnson & Johnson with the assertion that the company’s OGX hairsbreadth attraction products origin important hairsbreadth loss.

The products are sold astatine large nationalist retailers, including Target, Ulta, CVS, Walmart, and Walgreens. Johnson & Johnson shampoos, conditioners, and immoderate hairsbreadth oils are among the products named successful the lawsuit.

The plaintiff, Larissa Whipple, an Illinois woman, cites the constituent DMDM hydantoin arsenic the main concern. DMDM hydantoin is simply a preservative and antimicrobial agent sometimes recovered successful hairsbreadth attraction products. It’s considered a “formaldehyde donor,” meaning it releases a tiny magnitude of formaldehyde implicit clip to support the merchandise fresh.

But formaldehyde donors similar this 1 person been linked to allergies, rashes, hairsbreadth loss, and cancer. The Department of Health and Human Services’ National Toxicology Program  has said formaldehyde is known to origin cancer.

The suit says that the institution whitethorn person violated user extortion laws by advertizing the products containing this constituent to radical who privation steadfast hair.

“Johnson & Johnson made a fig of affirmative misrepresentations ... that the products 'deeply nourish', ‘gently cleanse,' and 'repair hair.' However, the products’ look contains an ingredient, oregon operation of ingredients, that has caused Plaintiff and thousands of consumers to acquisition hairsbreadth nonaccomplishment and/or scalp irritation,” the lawsuit says.

Johnson & Johnson says each their ingredients are cautiously selected and are listed connected the products’ label. The institution stated that nary of their caller products incorporate DMDM hydantoin and they person not launched immoderate caller hairsbreadth products with this constituent successful respective years.

“We cautiously prime ingredients to guarantee the information and show of our products,” Johnson & Johnson said successful a connection to WebMD. “Some of our existing products contain a tiny amount of DMDM hydantoin, which is utilized to forestall mold from processing portion the merchandise is successful the shower. Every preservative utilized successful our products indispensable wide our rigorous information appraisal process.”

In August 2012, Johnson & Johnson announced it would region DMDM hydantoin and different akin ingredients from their products by 2015. However, the suit says that is simply a “broken promise.”

“Johnson & Johnson did successful information region DMDM hydantoin from existing user products astatine that time,” the suit says. “However, erstwhile Johnson & Johnson acquired Vogue International, including their enactment of OGX products, Johnson & Johnson failed to alteration the constituent illustration of the products that did not support the aforesaid standards for user safety.”

In the preservatives conception of Johnson & Johnson’s safety and attraction commitment website, the institution claims DMDM hydantoin does not conscionable their information standards, but further down the leafage they accidental they usage DMDM hydantoin successful products erstwhile different preservatives are incompatible with different ingredients successful a formula.

Dermatologist Shani Francis, MD, says hairsbreadth merchandise manufacturers should beryllium striving to make a affirmative acquisition for their customers.

“Hair breakage and texture changes are important clues to wage attraction to regarding wide hairsbreadth health. We should ever question retired products to heighten our hairsbreadth attraction experience,” Francis says. “Having a large knowing of your idiosyncratic hairsbreadth needs is astir important to debar problems.”

DMDM hydantoin is listed by the FDA as 1 of the preservatives recovered to origin the astir allergic reactions from the usage of cosmetic products. The FDA requires definite products to database ingredients, but immoderate ingredients whitethorn not beryllium specifically identified and alternatively listed arsenic “fragrance” oregon “perfume.”

Francis says an important happening to retrieve is that determination is nary “one size fits all” for hairsbreadth attraction products and seeking retired products with a institution past of beardown lawsuit acquisition is simply a bully mode to look for caller products.

“For ingredients, water-based products are mostly a bully spot to start. Aloe vera precocious successful the constituent database suggests a much acidic pH. Glycerin besides is simply a humectant that tin assistance people adhd moisture to hair,” Francis says. “Ultimately, equilibrium is astir important. Often[times], excessively overmuch of a bully happening is not a bully thing. Additionally, if you person an underlying medical, scalp oregon tegument condition, you could person a unsocial concern and should question the assistance of a board-certified dermatologist.”