Over 200 former users of WEN have filed a product liability class action lawsuit against celebrity hair stylist Chaz Dean and Guthy-Renker, the company responsible for advertising WEN products through celebrity-studded late night infomercials.

According to the WEN class action lawsuit, plaintiffs say that users of WEN products have lost one-quarter to one-third of their hair. This hair loss can continue for weeks even after the user stops using WEN products, the plaintiffs say.

Some claim to have suffered burns on their scalps as well. Plaintiffs say this hair loss and damage is inherently the mark of a manufacturing or design defect in WEN products.

The plaintiffs also accuse the defendants of failing to warn consumers at all about the risk of WEN hair loss. They cite marketing copy from the defendant’s website making assurances that WEN is gentle enough to use every day, or that using more WEN than one would use ordinary shampoo will only improve results.

Had the plaintiffs been properly warned, they say, they would never have chosen to use WEN products.

To the contrary, the plaintiffs claim, the defendants gave consumers no warning at all about the damage these products allegedly can cause. They also accuse the defendants of deleting negative product reviews from retail websites and social media, without ever having addressed the problems complained of.

Plaintiffs say that Guthy-Renker has received more than 17,000 complaints about hair loss related to use of WEN products.

Response by WEN

In a statement, representatives of WEN and Guthy-Renker dispute the complaints. They say there is no scientific evidence showing that WEN products caused anyone to lose hair. They claim that with over 10 million WEN products sold since 2008, customer response has been “overwhelmingly positive.” The company says it intends to contest the plaintiffs’ claims vigorously.

According to WEN’s website, WEN products are intended to be an alternative to several different hair care products – they’re intended to take the place of shampoo, conditioner, deep conditioner, detangler and leave-in conditioner. The products sell for about $30 per bottle.

Guthy-Renker promoted WEN products through a series of late-night infomercials featuring celebrities like Brooke Shields and Alyssa Milano. No celebrity spokespersons for WEN have made any public comment about the litigation or the alleged problems.

The WEN class action lawsuit was initiated in July 2014 by lead plaintiff Amy F. Amy says she bought her first bottle of WEN in January 2014. Within two weeks of starting to use it, she says, she started losing “substantial and abnormal amounts of hair.” Even after she stopped using WEN, the hair loss continued for three more weeks, she says.

Amy says her complaints to Guthy-Renker were met with a long list of over two dozen questions about her use of WEN products – suggesting the company knew something was wrong with their products and was ready to defend against complaints.

She says she also heard directly from Guthy-Renker’s apparent insurer Chubb, which she say shows an intent on the defendant’s part to pay off complaining consumers and sweep the issue under the rug.

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