SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - The Food and Drug Administration is responding Friday to a Team 10 investigation launched after San Diego women complained about Monat Global hair care.
Dana Sohovich talked exclusively with 10News, saying the company’s hair products caused severe hair loss and bald spots. Sohovich has filed a class action lawsuit against the company, alleging it falsely promised her “longer, fuller, stronger” hair. Her suit accuses Monat of “false and deceptive advertising”.
Other women have shared pictures of scalp sores, breakage and clumps of fallen strands.
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Multiple women say they went to their doctors, and there was nothing pointing to a reason, other than product use. Many consumers who complained were told it was normal and part of a detox process that was documented in the company’s own sales literature. “We no longer do that. We don’t do it,” said Monat Spokesperson Gene Grabowski during a taped phone interview.
Grabowski said all the complaints don’t add up. “To have this happen in such a short period of time, statistically is impossible,” he added.
At the time of Team 10's original report, about 200 adverse event reports were filed with the FDA.
The FDA issued a new statement:
The FDA cannot confirm third-party reports about Monat, Inc. or its products. FDA generally does not comment on open inspections or ongoing investigations. If a cosmetic product appears to be causing a problem, FDA must determine the cause of the problem before taking any potential enforcement action.
Since late August 2017, the FDA has received and is assessing 199 adverse event reports related to Monat hair products. We urge consumers who have experienced problems with cosmetics to contact us. We provide phone numbers for consumer complaint coordinators for each state, and have a web-based reporting form that consumers can either complete online or print out and mail.
The FDA does not have legal authority to require that companies share consumer complaints with us. We rely on open source information, medical providers, and consumers themselves for information about potential problems with cosmetics.
The FDA does not approve cosmetics, nor does it have legal authority to require companies submit cosmetic products for approval. Additionally, companies are not legally required to provide safety data to the FDA for product formulations.
