Herbal baldness product comes up short

Neetas Herbal had appeared on Zee TV in an advert featuring a graphic of a hair sprouting from a scalp and a woman in a white coat massaging a man’s head.

However, what aroused the interest of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) was the nature of the claims made and the evidence put forward to support them.

Unsubstantiated claims​

The ASA ruled that Neetas Hair Products had not substantiated the claim that its herbal hair treatment was a solution for thinning hair, alopecia and bald patches.

The invitation in the adverts to consumers to discover how their hair problems “might be overcome” and the stated aim of the company “to provide a herbal solution to all your hair problems” were considered to be unsubstantiated.

The information submitted in defense was judged not to “constitute evidence to substantiate the claims” and the ad was therefore considered misleading.

Medicinal claims​

The ASA also took issue with the nature of the claims made by Neetas Hair Products. It ruled that the company made medicinal claims and did not have the marketing authorisation to do so.

The products are not classified as medicines but the ASA considered that the advert implied that the products would result in hair re-growth and that it had therefore made medicinal claims for an unlicensed product.

Moving into action the ASA concluded that the ad must not be broadcast again in its present form and that the product should not be advertised without adequate substantiation for the claims made.