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FDA issues safety alert for Wen hair products after reports of hair loss

More details are emerging since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration began investigating Wen hair products in late July.

CBS News reported that the FDA has issued a safety alert following complaints against Wen Hair care products creator Chaz Dean and Guthy Renker, LLC.

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The FDA said in a statement it received 127 reports from consumers about Wen as of July 7. According to the statement, it was "the largest number of reports ever associated with any cosmetic hair cleansing product, including cleansing conditioners."

The FDA said it has received reports of balding, hair loss, hair breakage, rash and itching tied to the company's varieties of sweet almond mint, lavender and pomegranate cleansing conditioners.

Those same reports have led in part to a class action lawsuit against Chaz Dean and Guthy Renker.

The FDA said it sent separate letters to officials at the company about the products in January 2014 asking for information, including quality control procedures for ingredients and reports on hair loss and breakage.

Following a response in February 2014, the FDA said the companies "did not address the association between WEN by Chaz Dean Cleansing Conditioners and hair loss. We do not know if the company has other safety data, and we do not have the legal authority to require a cosmetics firm to provide product safety information."

However, Environmental Working Group attorney Tina Sigurdson told CBS news the FDA doesn't have much power to regulate the cosmetic industry that Wen hair products is a part of.

"There’s no legal requirement that a company makes sure a product is safe before they sell it," Sigurdson said.