Wen Hair Care, stylized as WEN Hair Care, is an American hair care brand founded by Chaz Dean.

History

Wen Hair Care was founded by celebrity hairstylist Chaz Dean. The company is most well known for producing cleansing conditioners marketed towards no-poo hair treatment methods, similar to the

Curly Girl Method The Curly Girl Method is an approach to hair care designed by author Lorraine Massey for natural hair (coils, waves and curls) that has not been chemically relaxed. This method discourages the daily use of sulfate shampoo, which is considered ...

. Wen products are sold by Dean and

Guthy-Renker Guthy-Renker ( ) is a California-based direct-response marketing company that sells health and beauty products directly to consumers through infomercials, television ads, direct mail, telemarketing, e-mail marketing, and the Internet. Many of i ...

. In January 2015, actress

Brooke Shields Brooke Christa Shields (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress and model. She was initially a child model and gained critical acclaim at age 12 for her leading role in Louis Malle's film ''Pretty Baby'' (1978). She continued to model into ...

became the official brand ambassador for Wen Hair Care.

Controversy

Wen was at the center of a class-action lawsuit which alleged that the product had caused damage to hair after use. In March 2016, the

FDA The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...

opened an investigation into complaints about Wen Hair Care products by consumers. In October 2016, Wen agreed to settle out of court for a total of $26 million without admitting any wrongdoing. The lawsuits and investigations prompted researchers to submit a letter to

JAMA ''The Journal of the American Medical Association'' (''JAMA'') is a peer-reviewed medical journal published 48 times a year by the American Medical Association. It publishes original research, reviews, and editorials covering all aspects of biom ...

, calling for a higher level of regulations in the personal care industry, including allowing the

to recall personal care products.{{Cite web, last=Mole, first=Beth, date=2017-06-28, title=WEN hair loss scandal exposed dirty underbelly of personal care products, url=https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/06/wen-hair-loss-scandal-cracked-open-dirty-underbelly-of-personal-care-products/, access-date=2020-06-20, website=Ars Technica, language=en-us

References

Shampoo brands Hair care products Personal care brands