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New study commissioned by the FDA about hair loss
Due to many complains about hair loss caused related to DevaCurl Low-Poo Delight Cleanser and WEN Sweet Almond Mint Cleansing Conditioner, the FDA commissioned a study which report is here: https://www.fda.gov/media/174193/download?attachment.
The study is actually very thorough as a preliminary examination; at the end, they even checked the effect of 20 individual ingredients used in cosmetics. What puzzles me are some results and theis interpretation. For instance, they found Pea extract to be cytotoxic in the conditions of the study, and that it also induced necrosis (as long as Rosemary and Calendula extract). Of course, this effect is less severe than with other ingredients tested like MCI/MI.
Nevertheless, there were several limitations to the study (which they address) like the purity of materials (in the case of botanicals, the majority is the solvent, being glycols the most commonly used) and the solubility of some of them, which will impact the results. I’d add the type of medium (they used water as medium, and in the case of oils, ethanol).
Also, they missed the allergens that were present in both products (geraniol, linalool and some other that I can’t recall by memory). Allergens are able to upregulate hair shedding through inflammation.
Nevertheless, very thorough study, but could use the help of a cosmetic scientist. I’d like to know your thoughts.
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4 Replies
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About what I’d expect from the government- a study that only asks for more studies.
It certainly lived up to its title - “Studies on…”. They report studies that answer nothing. Noting similarities and differences between mouse and human hair growth, they offer no final comment as to validity. “Overall Conclusion” is pretty useless - focused on cytology, the central question of in vivo cosmetic hair loss is kicked down the road to future studies.
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I was actually very disappointed on the study, or at least that they published it on their website being so preliminar (I recall now the UV filters endocrine disruptors study, so at the end, I’m not surprised at all!).
I agree, it doesn’t answer what it’s supposed to answer, and if you only read it on the surface (which media and regular consumers might do -if ever-), you’ll have the impression not only that both cleansers do cause hair loss, but that some botanical extracts are also part of the problem.
By the way, I still have nightmares with some of those cytotoxic studies results 😆
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So a mouse study shows a correlational effect of hair loss and using these products? No controls? No human subjects? Seems suspect.
The problem is that it would not be hard to add some proper controls and get some good information. That would be really interesting if these products actually caused hair loss while other products (that use pretty much the same ingredients) don’t.
The whole endeavor seems sketchy.
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I agree @Perry44 . Just reading the limitations Just make you wonder how they got to those conclusions. Waiting for the study in humans 🤓
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