The lawsuit that was filed against Wen haircare products creator Chaz Dean and marketer Guthy-Renker back in July is every beauty lovers’ worst nightmare. At this point, more than 200 customers have joined the class action suit alleging that the company’s cleansing conditioner led to hair loss, scalp irritation and balding. And today, that case just got its first ruling from a Los Angeles federal judge, and things are not looking good for the sulfate-free beauty brand.
According to a preliminary ruling by a Southern California federal judge, the proposed $26.25 million settlement has been approved, which means roughly six million people could be awarded up to $20,000 in individual settlements. Before that happens though, the case will go on to be reviewed by a U.S. District Court Judge who will pass a final ruling on the settlement.
Attorney Amy Davis explained the plaintiffs’ complaints via a statement to CBS Los Angeles when the initial suit was filed last year, “From what we understand about the product and how it causes hair loss is it contains virtually no cleanser. 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.”
Wen also released a statement, saying, “Wen by Chaz Dean is safe and we continue to provide our hundreds of thousands of customers with the Wen by Chaz Dean products that they know and love. Since the process of litigation is time consuming and costly, we made a business decision to pursue a settlement and put this behind us so that we can focus on delivering quality products.” Putting this behind them might be harder than it seems, however, as the Food and Drug Administration is now also doing their own investigation into the company and its products. All in all, it’s enough to make anyone want to stop washing their hair altogether.
