Not Its Crowning Glory: Obstacles for FDA in Regulating Ingested Dietary Supplements Purporting to Prevent Hair Loss

    January 2005 in “ Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard (DASH) (Harvard University) ”
    Andrew Bradt
    TLDR The FDA struggles to regulate hair loss supplements due to a law allowing unproven claims.
    The article discussed the challenges faced by the FDA in regulating dietary supplements that claim to prevent hair loss, a market worth over $1 billion annually in the U.S. While FDA-approved treatments like Propecia and Rogaine exist, many herbal remedies lack proven effectiveness but remain on the market due to the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA). This act permits these products to make claims about hair regrowth or prevention without substantial evidence, potentially misleading consumers. The article explored how DSHEA enables this situation and proposed several solutions to address the issue.
    Discuss this study in the Community →