African hair braider’s recent victory in Washington.

21 Jun 2015 ~ Joseph Kellner

In the current political climate where government agencies shut down small businesses for irrational reasons, an African hair braider’s recent victory in Washington state could signal a turning point for entrepreneurial freedom.

The mission of the Washington State Department of Licensing (DOL) is to advance public safety and consumer protection. So how did this agency get tangled up in a federal lawsuit about hair braiding?

In June 2014, hair braider Salamata Sylla filed a federal lawsuit against the Washington DOL, because the agency had ordered her to either get a cosmetology license, or shut down her business. Sylla was represented in her lawsuit by the Institute for Justice.

Defective Products May Cause Serious Personal Injury

21 Jun 2015 ~ Joseph Kellner

You can see the advertisements on television all the time—women running their fingers through their hair, happy because they have dyed their hair to a “brilliant” color. But what happens if the hair dye is a defective product? After all, hair dye contains chemicals that come in close contact not only with your scalp, but with your eyes, nose and mouth, creating the potential for a serious personal injury. Some women say they suffered severe burns after using hair products, including dyes and relaxers.

According to the FDA, some problems reported from hair dyes include hair loss, burning, redness, itchy or raw skin, swelling in the face and trouble breathing. Sometimes, the issue is an allergic reaction, and the FDA warns that such a reaction can occur even after years of using a hair dye product.

Some lawsuits have been filed against hair dye makers, alleging their product caused women to permanently lose their hair. In 2006, a lawsuit was filed against Procter & Gamble, alleging that Clairol “Nice ‘n Easy” hair dye left the plaintiff with chemical burns on her scalp and caused her hair to fall out.

Hair dye chemical burns do not just happen at home. In fact, lawsuits have been filed against salons alleging that clients suffered chemical burns during hair dye treatments. In 2014, a woman filed a $12,000 lawsuit, alleging she suffered a severe chemical burn to her scalp. Her lawsuit seeks expenses for medical care as well as damages for physical and mental pain and suffering. An article in the FDA’s Consumer magazine notes that hair straighteners and hair dyes are among the agency’s Office of Cosmetics and Colors top consumer complaint areas. Although some complaints are caused by misuse of the product, others may be related to the product itself, and reactions vary from hair breakage to emergency room visits. According to the FDA article, there have been cases where products were labeled as “chemical free” when they actually contained ingredients that most people would consider “chemicals.” In those cases, the products were eventually removed from the market or had their labels changed. Chemical burns can be incredibly painful and can have severe consequences for victims. They can take a long time to heal, putting patients at risk for infections. The recovery can be expensive, requiring various medicines, including steroids, to heal the burns and creams to stop the pain. Of course, there is also the emotional impact associated with such chemical burns. The scarring of the head and face can be emotionally traumatic for a person, leading to depression and anxiety.

In cases where a defective product has caused personal injury, it is possible to file a lawsuit to hold the company accountable for putting a defective product on the market.

Charity asks no questions!

24 Feb 201424 Feb 2014 ~ Joseph Kellner

A few weeks ago I came across a dossier in one of my Facebook’s friends profile. And on this profile there was a comments left about other hair dressers work. I have been in this industry for over 29 years and by no means am I a judge or critic of someone else’s work or craft. Especially when I have to keep up my own style of hair coloring, hair design or makeup. There is no way to me for anyone to call themselves a master in the art of hairdressing when it is consistently changing and evolving. Nor are we able to comment on anyone’s work when they are the artist. Do we know what is going through their minds, no we don’t. But on this profile the “Older generation had to put their two cents in”. Which I think you need to watch out for in this industry the older generation will sell their souls for a chance to get up on a stage to live off the names of dead men. While in the mean time they will offer you a technique on “Dry Haircutting” and a bottle of “SUDS” and tell you it’s the latest and greatest. “It’s going to change the industry”. Those words were spoken by a man who told me he did all of Vidal Sassoon’s haircuts back in the 50″s. These are your old used cars salesmen of the industry. They will say anything to just catch a fleeting moment of their past, the “Glory Days”, while they have not done anything in the past 30 years. Other than open their wallets to receive a few penny’s from a manufacture for speaking their script. And if you take a look at their work they are quick to “PAT” themselves on the back and tell you your shit sticks. They have a group and will only pay you a tribute if you do a “VS” hair style. They will paint a picture of how crappie the new generation work is not up to “THERE PAR”. They are quick to judge others. While their work still has not progressed since the 1980″s. A wise tongue and a giving heart goes along way in the beauty industry

I do a lot of photo-shoots every month and all year-long. When I am hired, I am told how to style the hair, how to do the makeup. That’s the story, and that is how I get paid. Kapish?

The above hair style and hair design was done by a stylist, who I don’t know my friends. The comments said from fellow hairdressers were as follows.

Ian ‘Gav’ Gavet – We are allowing mediocrity to become a legitimate norm… not good.”

Jim Rondeau – That picture is beauty school. …… and the looser at that !

Cyrus Bulsara – Messy hair and disheveled hair…are not hairdressing!

Cyrus Bulsara Hmmmmmm. Licenses should be withdrawn like they do for doctors!

Cyrus Bulsara There’s a whole bunch of charlatans out there, especially in NY and LA who pat each other on the backs and promote this fugly work. If you had shown me some, of this work when I was at Redken, Clairol, Logics, or Wella, I would’ve laughed! No wonder the two top companies are losing share! And hundreds of managers are being sacked! They brought this on themselves!

Frank Fowden Amen! These so called stylists have to produce this rubbish and call it high fashion because it is a complete lack of personal skill they have to disguise.

Tony Dorso You know what I miss about the old days?…..the haircut was the be-all, end-all of all things…..you could conceivably put color in the same category as right along side of it…..dont get me wrong, of course there has to be fantasy work, up-styling, etc., it just seems to me that we studied and went after the haircutting collections that someone turned out FIRST, (as the foundation of all things), and if they happened to do great up styling, etc. too, then it was an added bonus….I hope what I said makes sense…I’m just thinking back here to the way things used to be……….so much nonsense today….

Cyrus Bulsara – Some of this hair is a disaster and even the company marketing people and trade magazine editors, who are all young and new, don’t know good from fugly! I think this is one of the things holding back the industry! I think we have to take back the industry. And some of you Sassoon and other top trained Hairdressers need to start hitting back. We don’t need to name names or hurt feelings just point out and critique. (I guess I will Cyrus, who by the way is a salesman and not a hairdresser everyone)

Now of course these wonderful gentlemen will say, “We didn’t mean that”. But you did mean that or you would have said it another way. Just as I write what I right I will stand behind it. But when the light is turned on in a darkened kitchen they will scatter like roach’s. But what is said is said my friends. And one day you will pay the price for what you said. Just as I. Have some compassion my friends. Learn to lead and to motivate my friends. Basically you just do for yourself and your friends. That’s it. But Charity asks no questions my friends, it just does. Real professionals would sit back and watch and offer a hint, or ideas to a stylist. Or wait for a question from that other professional. Notice I said other professional. When you produce a marketable product and you are successful at your craft you have no problem sharing your knowledge. People who feel they need to offer unkind words are normally the ones that are insecure of their work. Know it all’s I say! Being successful is sharing your knowledge with others gladly. We are the secure people. We are seasoned professionals, the helpful. We are the Charity of the profession. We walk the walk and talk the talk! We are the kind.

I would look at this photo and say to the stylist, “What a lovely red color”. But in my industry a kind word is far away from the present. Professionals take time in creating their own style and with that their is a lot of learning and practicing. But who is to say that if you don’t mimic a Vidal Sassoon style than that is not the way to go. You will find in my industry people will break their backs to do a style that is exactly like a “VS Haircut”. Big Deal, Big Fragging Deal. Do your own thing my friends. All that time should be spent I feel on perfecting your own techniques. Not reproducing copyright work. But if you don’t pay homage to the great ones especially the ones who have not done shit in over 30 years you are not going to be anointed by the senior citizens of the industry. People who live off a dead mans name, that’s what they are. Living on the bygone days. I had a gentlemen in my first film who would charge a total of $10,000 dollars for a dry haircutting class. 10,000 I say to you, for a class. And if you look at the finished work he does it looks like he came from a dog grooming school. His work had no rhythm or reason. Horrible. Another called me and asked if I would help him with a product website, “This product will change the industry Joe”. I had talked to his money man and he asked if I would send him some examples for a web site. “Sure I said” “But you have to pay me my fee for my time sir”. These guys wanted it all for free, the proceeds from the first film “The Real Hair Truth” went to people who needed help. Such as websites, books, class’s, blogs and we did them free of charge. But this guy wanted all his shit for free, even after my friend made him a trailer for his website and I even gave him a website for free. Be careful who you align yourself with in this industry! These people were scam artists. Like the used car salesman of the beauty industry. We are in an industry that has its own PHOTOSHOP AWARD. NAHA this is a contest who can send in the best Photo shopped pictures and people will get awarded a trophy and be named, “Hairdresser of the year”. And not even be judged in a setting where they do there work in front of a group of Judges. It’s all a scam. Who can out bullshit who. Take the road less travelled my friends. You will be better off. Big your fellow hairdressers up, you may not know how hard they are struggling. Have you walked a mile in there shoes?

Busted we win! Unilever for breach of warranty, violation of consumer fraud and deceptive trade practices pays up!

19 Feb 201422 Feb 2014 ~ Joseph Kellner

I love it, I love it. Busted for whatever the lawyers could get, they got in full from Unilever!. According to documents filed Friday in Illinois federal court, Unilever United States Inc. has agreed to pay $10.2 million to settle a class action lawsuit accusing it of marketing and selling a Suave-brand hair treatment that causes significant hair loss. The Suave Keratin class action lawsuit was initially filed in August 2012 on behalf of a class of consumers who purchased or used Suave Professionals Keratin Infusion 30-Day Smoothing Kit, a product that was recalled in May 2012. The plaintiffs alleged that the product included dangerous ingredients that caused injuries, and that Unilever failed to properly inform consumers about the proper way to use the product to avoid injury. During this time frame we at the “Real Hair Truth/Jotovi Designs Inc.” watched closely all the litigations that went forward with this class action lawsuit. And passed along any and all emails we received from consumers to the appropriate law firms representing the clients involved. Jotovi Designs Inc. was also used as a avenue for any and all complaints within the professional beauty industry, working hand in hand with consumers and professionals directing them to the proper law firms involved with the plaintiffs. Now trust me my friends that is just penny’s to them not even nickels or dimes at all. They are a large corporation will it hurt them, “NO” not at all. These large manufacturers are always in court. Look at L’Oreal, the mother of all lawsuits does it hurt them “No”. They always find a way to push the envelope, this is just a part of there corporate lives. No biggy to them. The consumer and professional are the ones who get hurt. And trust me the so-called professional beauty industry does not care to inform there industry of these deviate practices. They will actually support these company’s. Basically because they need there money to survive. They cannot do it on there own.

On the Unilever website the company claims that. “Our brands play a major part in helping us achieve our sustainable living aims of helping more than a billion people improve their health and well-being; halving the environmental footprint of our products and sourcing 100% of our agricultural raw materials sustainably”. Really?

Unilever is a major force in the beauty/cosmetics industry with household names as, Dove, Axe, Lux, Pond’s, Sunsilk, Tresemme, and who could also forget the beauty industry TONI&GUY that you can buy anywhere and beauty professionals will hail the product. Knowing full well they have no exclusive of the product what so ever. But they will sell it in there salons. And buy there tickets to there hair shows supporting TONI&GUY. But that’s another story in itself. The Suave Keratin class action lawsuit asserted claims against Unilever for breach of warranty, violation of consumer fraud and deceptive trade practices statutes and unjust enrichment arising from the manufacture, advertising and sale of the Suave Keratin Infusion smoothing kit. According to the plaintiffs’ motion supporting preliminary approval of the class action settlement, between 225,000 and 260,000 smoothing kits were sold.

Under the terms of the proposed Suave Keratin class action settlement, Unilever will pay $10 million to establish two settlement funds: a reimbursement fund and a personal injury fund. The $250,000 reimbursement fund will be available to Class Members who purchased a Suave Professionals Keratin Infusion 30-Day Smoothing Kit, providing a $10 refund for the past purchase of the product.

The class action settlement injury fund will provide relief to Class Members who suffered bodily injuries to their hair or scalp as a result of using the Suave keratin treatment. Class Members who incurred expenses for hair treatment but who no longer have receipts for their expenditures will be eligible to receive up to $40 per claimant. Class Members who have receipts from their treatments will be eligible to receive up to $800 per claimant for their expenses. Class Members who suffered significant bodily injury to their hair or scalp will be eligible to receive up to $25,000 per claim.

During the filming of my next documentary “The Beautiful Lies”, I received numerous emails for consumers who used this product. Writing to me the causes, and health hazards they experienced with this product.

” Dear Mr. Kellner, I too used this product and fried my hair…4 haircuts later still having issues with dry hair and itchy scalp. Any ideas on what I need to do to promote good hair health?”

” Dear Joseph Kellner,I found this email when reading about the horrible suave keratin product. I haven’t developed any health issues that I know of but my hair continues to fall out. I have had at least 10-12 inches cut off in the last 5-6 months and my hair used to be thick and is now just so thin and horrible feeling. Anything that can be done?”

“I bought the treatment on 3/23/12 from Wal-Mart and I used it a week later. I have previously used Sally’s brand about 8 months prior so I knew what I was doing and I read the directions correctly. Not even a week after I used the Suave brand, my hair got considerably lighter, which has never happened and my hair started to fall out. Even now, every time I was my hair, more of it breaks and I am losing it by the handfuls. I only use the treatments because after I had my daughter, my hair got wavy and thicker only in the back and I wanted an easier way to maintain my hair. The treatment I used before worked wonders and seeing as Sauvé’s was a whole lot cheaper, I took a chance. I know it is not supposed to make it straight, but it is supposed to make it easier to straighten, and this did not do as it was supposed to. I saw the recall at my local CVS and wanted to know what I am supposed to do from here? Thanks for your time.”

“I used this kit twice the first time my tightly curled hair was soft shiny the second time at first I didn’t see any change in my then a couple of weeks after my hair started coming out by the handfuls it took me three years to get the growth I had now all Ivan do is cut it all off and do intensive conditioning treatments .something should be done to suave for the damage it has done to my hair.”

“I to had a bad experience with this product. My hairdresser called their 1800 # to let them know the damage that their product had done to my hair. It’s taken 6 months to get it back to almost normal. This has cost me a lot of money. Another dissatisfied customer”.

“I just used this product a few days ago and my hair is also fried. And when I went to the store to try to find a deep renewing conditioner the product was still on the shelf! I don’t know what to do with my hair at this point. I’ve been trying to nurse it back to life with coconut oil and mayonnaise but it still isn’t enough. Help?!”

“Help it has been 4 months for my hair and it continues to break off and is fried. It seems like it is getting worse not better. I have spent over $2000 and yet I am still struggling. No one is responding to my letters Unilever, Suave or Kroger. I tried to join a class action lawsuit with Wasserman, Comden, Casselman& Esensten but they have not contacted me back yet either. The $12 is not sufficient and my current professional stylist believes it will be at least another year before my hair is back to normal if ever. I can not afford this!! Is there any hope we will get some resolve from the company. Please someone help!! This is truly a nightmare and not only has it ruined my hair but my personal life, my professional life and my personal well-being have all been severely compromised. Any information that you might have regarding where I might go next would be greatly appreciated.”

The Suave Keratin settlement will also resolve several similar class action lawsuits that were filed in Kentucky and California.

The Suave Keratin class action settlement agreement was reached after nearly 18 months of litigation and lengthy mediation sessions with former U.S. District Judge Wayne Andersen. According to the court documents, the plaintiffs believe that the settlement agreement is “fair, reasonable, adequate and in the best interests of the Named Plaintiffs and the putative Settlement Class. Unilever, denying wrongdoing of any nature and without admitting liability, has agreed to the settlement terms in order to address claims brought by consumers of Unilever products, and in order to avoid the burdens of continuing discovery expenses and litigation.”

The plaintiffs are represented by Marvin A. Miller, Lori A. Fanning and Andrew Szot of Miller Law LLC; Peter Safirstein, Christopher S. Polaszek and Elizabeth S. Metcalf of Morgan & Morgan PC; and Jana Eisinger of Law Office of Jana Eisinger PLLC.

The Suave Keratin Infusion Class Action Lawsuit is Sidney Reid, et al. v. Unilever United States Inc., et al., Case No. 1:12-cv-06058, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Beware of Misleading Brand Names, Slogans and Logos!

6 Oct 2013 ~ Joseph Kellner

One important topic in my next film, “The Beautiful LieS” is labeling of hair care products. Advertising is key to success for a business in the beauty industry and a manufacturer or entrepreneur will say and do whatever is in the parameters legality. Stretch it, twist it and they the manufacturer will also go outside of what the government guidelines and use the printed information on the product container to their benefit until the government catch’s them. Manufacturers often use misleading brand names, logos and slogans in an effort to dupe health conscious consumers into buying their products. Constant vigilance is necessary when making purchases of personal care products.

(Keratin Complex has aldehydes that when used with the Flat Iron form formaldehyde. Pure and simple fact. Read there MSDS sheet if you can get one. I don’t think that the manufacturers are the ones who are going to “set the record straight.” There is bit of conflict of interest here. I would tend to trust third party (A Chemist) more than someone who has something to lose if we stop buying their products. Also on the container it is read as, “OSHA COMPLIANT”. OSHA does not endorse and or all beauty products. See how a manufacturer can stretch there usage of words. By the way OSHA did send Keratin Complex a letter to change there wording on the product label.)

These products are used for your home use and also for services that are given to you in a professional salon. Take it from me everyone, so called professionals in my industry are the sheep of all sheep. They will take the word of a sales person coming in there salon front door. And listen to the advertising SPEAL from them and the next thing they will ask the salesperson is “How much is a whole line? Do you have a intro deal?, Do you take payments?”. Not bothering to ask for the MSDS sheet for the product. A MSDS sheet is required by law from a manufacturer to the person using, purchasing or selling the product to see the listed ingredients in any and all chemical or hair and skin products used on a consumer in a so called licensed professional beauty salon.

In this day and age the FDA is your GOVERNMENT watch dog for you. According to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), its responsibilities include “[protecting the public health by assuring that foods are safe, wholesome, sanitary and properly labeled.” This responsibility entails regulating a large number of companies producing this nation’s food, making appointments to the high-level positions within the agency very important. And anything and everything they say you should take there (FDA) word on if it is healthy, toxic, or illegal.

But in this day and age would you take the governments word!

A good example is the 1976 slogan in which a soft drink manufacturer claimed that their product “Adds Life”, thus giving consumers the impression that the product was not only refreshing, but also somehow added to their well-being. The slogan should have read something to the effect that the product “is addictive, will rot teeth and will contribute to obesity and diabetes”. Tobacco companies have typically used beautiful, young, wealthy-looking models with perfect teeth to advertise their products, when the “grim reaper” would be more appropriate.

Don’t Read Slogans – Read Labels
Take the time to read labels on packaging to find out what exactly it is you are buying. Packaged cereal such as muesli is considered by many to be an excellent breakfast choice. However, a closer look at the ingredient list will reveal that many muesli products are packed with refined sugar, fat and preservatives. Don’t be fooled by slogans such as “Nature`s Choice”, “Nature`s Best” or “Happy and Healthy”. These slogans imply that the contents are nutritious and wholesome when they are often far from it.

Manufacturers will also try to get around legislation regarding honest labeling. For example, in Australia and New Zealand, the word “light” can only be used if the ingredients it refers to meets the criteria for low fat and sugar content. However, companies increasingly use the word “lite” to get past this requirement.

When Organic Doesn’t mean Organic
Shampoo manufacturers are notorious for dishonest labeling. “Organic” is a favorite word they use, suggesting of course, that their product is a healthy pure organic product to use to wash your hair. Careful scrutiny of the ingredient list will reveal that many shampoos with this slogan are as far from being organic as the next cheap, toxic shampoo on the shelf.

Golden Syrup is not Honey
Golden syrup is a pale treacle made during the process of refining sugar cane juice into sugar; or by treatment of a sugar solution with acid. While it may have an appearance similar to honey and is often used as a substitute for honey, it is a pure cane sugar product. Slogans on the can may lead the consumer to believe that syrup is the same as honey.

Don’t be fooled by misleading Brand Names beauty products. slogans and pictures. Be informed about the products you use. Research the product if you can, or at the very least, read the ingredients listed on the packaging.

IT’S ALL ABOUT PERCEPTION!!!

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