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Believe it or not, I had never heard of HeadOn until recently. If you’ve seen their ads on TV, you may count me lucky. NBC’s Brian Williams called it "the most annoying ad on television". Apparently, the repetitive "Apply directly to the forehead" line was designed to first create a need for the product and then offer a solution! 
Seriously, though, between 2005 and 2006, sales rose by 234%. After all, when you have a headache, you may be ready to try something new, and the HeadOn people are trying to ensure you see the ad when you need to.
But HeadOn has come under criticism. The so-called active ingredients are diluted. That’s normal, of course. But they’re very diluted. On their website, they explain how there’s very little of the active ingredients in the product, and then they add: The active ingredients in HeadOn are diluted much more than the minimum required dilution dictated by the monograph of the Homeopathic Pharmacopeia of the United States and therefore represent no health risk whatsoever.
Ok, so they’ve put even less of the active ingredients than required - "much" less! So that means it’s very safe. Because it’s almost 100% wax. But is there any benefit?
Dr. Seymour Diamond, founder of the Diamond Headache Clinic in Chicago, said simply: "I see nothing in this product that has any validity whatsoever." The Council of Better Business Bureaus tended to agree, asking the company to remove any claims that HeadOn cured headaches. There just isn’t any evidence. And they were caught without it.
The wax stick does apparently contain menthol, an ingredient is also in Tiger Balm (we’ve talked about Tiger Balm as a possible headache relief). But you can get a lot more menthol a lot cheaper, if that’s all that it’s got going for it.
Sorry, I don’t think I want to encourage these buys by giving them my money (they now also sell ActivOn for pain relief, FirstOn anti-itch, PreferOn for scars, and FREEdHem for hemorrhoids). Like you, I may be willing to try strange things when a migraine comes on. But maybe I should plan ahead a little more, instead of listening to too many commercials.
Popularity: 14% [?]
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October 10th, 2007 - 9:25 pm
I’ve been a fan of Headon, but it just takes the edge off. It seems to help my daughter with her headaches. I have to say, I like the ActiveOn as well (my neck pain is connected to my headaches).
It’s good to know though, and this is only one tool in my headache magic box.
January 23rd, 2008 - 5:44 pm
Thanks for the input, Angel! It’s good to hear from people who have used it. I still suspect you’ll be able to find something better for less $, but I’m open to being proved wrong.