Anti-Baldness Products Face Ban by FDA

The government moved Monday to halt the marketing of non-prescription lotions and creams sold to prevent baldness or cause hair to grow, saying the advertising claims are false and misleading.

The Food and Drug Administration proposed regulations that would ban the products unless a manufacturer can prove that its product is safe and effective for the advertised purpose. Nothing on the market now has been shown to be effective, the agency said.

The regulation is being published in the Federal Register today and is subject to public comment for 120 days before taking effect.

Covers Drug Products The regulation covers only products sold as drugs, noted Dr. William E. Gilbertson, head of the FDA’s over-the-counter drug evaluation division. Advertisements for scalp massages to stimulate hair growth, for example, would not be covered.

The FDA first announced that it was considering such a ban in 1980, during the closing days of the Jimmy Carter Administration.

When President Reagan took office in January, 1981, however, he put a general hold on pending federal regulations until they could be reviewed. FDA spokesman Edward Nida said the hair-growth regulation was delayed by that review.

The agency noted that most baldness in men is inherited, just as hair color, texture and curliness is inherited.

The advisory committee said that nothing done to the hair shaft after it emerges from the scalp will influence hair growth. To demonstrate that an ingredient restores hair, the panel said, it must be shown that the active ingredient gets into the hair root and stimulates growth.