This lab found out what's really in the Kardashians' favorite hair smoothie (2023)

Promoted on social media by celebrities including Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian, SugarBearHair vitamins include "largely inaccurate" nutrition claims on their labels, according to tests by a laboratory that analyzes nutritional products.

But the gummy bear vitamins stillreceived an overall grade of Aby the amount of vitamins and minerals a person needs to make up for nutrient deficiencies that impair hair growth, Labdoor said.

laboratory, a San Francisco-based laboratory that tests and evaluates dietary supplements,foundthat the listed amounts of 7 of the 11 nutrients listed in SugarBearHair were inaccurate by 20% or more. The vitamins were also found to have "relatively high" levels of lead compared to other hair supplements tested by the lab.

"We're definitely striving for more accurate label claims," ​​Dan Mark, Labdoor's head of research, told BuzzFeed News. "Any inaccuracy towards us will be punished."

Although it is still a relatively young company,registeredAs a Florida-based company as of May 2015, SugarBearHair and its little blue vitamin gummies have caught the eye of social media users, thanks in no small part to Instagram promotion by celebrities like Kylie Jenner, Kim Kardashian, and Khloe Kardashian. .

"These gummy vitamins are delicious and a favorite part of my hair care routine."

SugarBearHair, which makes the vitamin in California, told BuzzFeed News that the company has "more than 100 laboratory test results from accredited independent labs" that show the product is "well within" the Food and Drug Administration guidelines. Food and Drugs and the California FDA.

"We are committed to making safe and effective products," a company representative said. “Laboratory tests show that the safety and quality of our vitamin is above industry standards. The amount of each vitamin exceeds FDA CFR Part 111 dosing requirements to ensure SugarBearHair's label accuracy."

Labdoor tests found that bears contain 70% more biotin than the label says and about 75% the amount of vitamins B5 and B6 that have been linked to hair growth. Gummy bears also contain about 26% less vitamin E than indicated on the label.

Arthur Grollman, professor and director of the Chemical Biology Laboratory at Stony Brook University School of Medicine, told BuzzFeed News that the inaccuracy on the vitamin's label reflects "the lack of regulation" of the supplement industry. dietary supplements, which is not subject to the same stringent government standards. as a pharmaceutical company.

"I would expect complete labeling accuracy from all dietary supplement manufacturers," Grollman said. “Some of these things are toxic in excess and [consumers] need to know what they're putting in their mouths. If the label is not correct, it could be toxic to them."

Labdoor measured 8,497 micrograms of biotin in one serving of gummy bears, 70% more than the label says; 10.3 micrograms of B12, 72% more than the label; and 3.5 micrograms of B6, 73% more than the label.

All B vitamins, including biotin, are water soluble, meaning the body naturally excretes unused nutrients.National Institute of Health(NIH). That means an excess of B vitamins and biotin doesn't necessarily make the vitamin more effective or unsafe, since the body releases the amounts it doesn't use, Mark said.

Investigationpicked upThe NIH suggests that an adequate intake of biotin is 25 micrograms for adolescents ages 14 to 18 and 30 micrograms for adults 18 years and older.

These are the results of the LabDoor tests

Labdoor also found that the blue gummy bears had "relatively high" lead levels. Tests found 0.075 ppm lead in one serving of two vitaminslowthe federally recommended maximum level of 0.1 ppm in candy consumed by young children. But while the company recommends eating two of its chewable vitamins a day, Labdoor says its test results show that consuming just one more than the recommended dose would result in users exceeding the California dose.Maximum allowable dose levels.

These levels, which relate to single doses found in products, are well below the average total daily intake of lead, a naturally occurring element present in trace amounts in water and throughout the food system, estimated by the researchers. . HeThe FDA has estimatedadult females can tolerate a total intake of 75 micrograms of lead per day; for young children he estimates the limit to be less than a tenth of that.

California limits the single dose in a product to 0.5 micrograms, and Labdoor results found that two SugarBearHair gums contained 0.38 micrograms, and a third exceeded the California limit.

Mark cautioned that while some people may be tempted to eat more than two a day because the vitamins "taste like jelly beans," users "definitely should double check what's in a supplement before using it."

"The levels of heavy metals and other contaminants are not reported on the labels," he said.

Duffy MacKay, senior vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs at the Supplement Industry Group's Center for Responsible Nutrition, told BuzzFeed News that it's common to see discrepancies between a label and the actual content of a supplement.

"If you assume that all the vitamins hit the spot on all the tests, you might be surprised to see that variability," he said. “They are vitamins and minerals. They are natural compounds with natural variability. There is also humiliation."

"It's not uncommon for manufacturers to overdo it a bit," he said. Of course vitamins and minerals.degradedover time, and that process can be sped up by exposure to light and other nutrients, he said.

The FDA, which regulates dietary supplements, does not require companies to get agency approval for their product before marketing it, agency spokeswoman Lyndsay Meyer told BuzzFeed News.

However, companies dohas toregister as a manufacturer with the agency, adhere to good manufacturing practices, and comply with labeling requirements. They must also meet agency standards for nutritional information. But with a workforce of less than 24 people, the regulation is worth an industryAn estimateThe agency has focused its $36.7 billion resources on cracking down on unsafe products, Meyer said.

Grollman said the FDA had "so many bad actors and so many toxic dietary supplements" in the industry that they would "never review this."

"Lead is not safe at any level," Grollman said. “There is no way these pure vitamins could or should have lead. Just because California voters put a number on it doesn't mean it's safe. I wouldn't use anything that contains lead."

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