Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I started using Toppik about 3 weeks ago and about 1 1/2 week ago switched to X-fusion, which has the exact same ingredients & is made by the same company. Let me start off by saying that the product works great, filled in my sparse hair (female) wonderfully, and made me look 10 years younger. I would have kept using it forever except... The last 2 weeks (and probably before that but I just didn't pay attention) I started feeling a little under the weather--no big deal, I thought. I kept having what felt like tension headaches which made it hard to focus; I started falling behind on my work. I thought it was just something transient. However, it steadily got worse until a little over 1 week ago. I stayed in bed almost all weekend because I had no energy. By Monday I could barely focus my eyes on anything, including the computer screen at work. I had to take one day off because my head hurt so bad I could hardly see and my eyes wouldn't focus. The last 4 days it ramped up so severely that I had a horrible headache which lasted day and night: my scalp and jaws (radiating down to my shoulder muscles) felt tight like a vice clamp was on my head, as though it were a VERY severe tension headache, but no matter how I sat or lay it kept hurting without relief. The pain was so bad I felt nauseous most of the time, and still, weirdly, could barely focus my eyes to read. Ibuprofen and Aleve didn't help at all. I even started feeling muscle cramps in my face muscles and behind my eyes, which at first I also associated with computer vision headaches, except they kept getting more severe, and none of the usual remedies (yoga, lying down, stretching, going outside) helped at ALL. I was starting to feel like I was getting really, severely ill. I've had tension headaches before from excessive computer work, and they have NEVER grown this severe, and they always stopped after a few hours off the computer or lying down. They never lasted overnight. To conclude, I finally realized what was causing this: the only thing I had changed, namely 3 weeks use of topical products containing AMMONIUM CHLORIDE. Toppik and X-Fusion. I have long hair and I don't wash it every day, so the stuff was staying on my scalp pretty much 24-7. After reading other reviewers with the same problem, I did a little research and found that you aren't supposed to get ammonium chloride on your skin or in your eyes or lungs, much less stay in contact with it throughout the day. I washed my hair twice, thoroughly, and did not reapply the hair fibers. Over the next few hours the pain began to recede, rapidly and dramatically, until finally the muscle pain and headaches went away and I stopped feeling ill at all. I now realize how very sick I had been feeling. I can't believe how much better I feel just from washing that stuff off my head! This may not happen to everyone but I want you to be aware in case it does happen to you. Therer are other hair fiber products that do not have ammonium chloride in them. Beyond just the headaches, I found out it's hazardous to inhale this stuff (it can cause an asthma-like reaction over time, nose bleeds,) which is nearly impossible to avoid when applying because it gets EVERYwhere. It would be safer just to use something else, even if you feel fine. Here are some other facts about Ammonium Chloride from the New Jersey government's hazardous substance fact sheet. ([...], last revised June 2007, accessed 6/23/12) Ammonium Chloride is on the Right to Know Hazardous Substance List because it is cited by ACGIH, DOT, NIOSH, and EPA. The following acute (short-term) health effects may occur immediately or shortly after exposure to Ammonium Chloride: - contact can severely irritate the skin & eyes with possible eye damage - inhaling Ammonium Chloride can irritate the nose, throat and lungs - exposure may cause headache, nausea, vomiting, drowsiness and confusion CHRONIC health effects: the following chronic (long-term) health effects can occur at some time after exposure to Ammonium Chloride and can last for months or years: - there is limited evidence that Ammonium Chloride may damage the developing fetus. - Ammonium Chloride may cause an asthma-like allergy. Future exposure can cause asthma attacks with shortness of breath, wheezing, cough, and/or chest tightness. - exposure may affect the kidneys. *****I'm adding this about a week later. I looked up the other ingredients and found that: * the 3rd ingredient, DMDM Hydantoin, is a chemical which releases formaldehyde (to kill bacteria) and has a very high rate of contact allergy which increases over use and should not be inhaled as it is a known human immune system toxicant which, according to the CIR--Cosmetics Industry Review--is not to be used on the skin or around the eyes. * the 4th, "Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate," is another product which is acutely toxic by inhalation and should not be used in products that can be inhaled, according to the CIR. Anyone who's used it knows those little fibers wind up all over the bathroom sink. That makes 3 out of 5 ingredients toxic. Yikes. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UPDATE: I checked out Nanogen Nanofibres but not only was disappointed when I received it to find that it has a lot of chemical ingredients not mentioned on their website, where they do not tell you what's ACTUALLY in it and just assure you that it's "all natural" (of course), but also it simply refused to stick to my hair, even with a lot of hairspray. It clumped together and fell out at the slightest provocation. Next I tried Caboki, and to my GREAT relief it works!! It works exactly like Toppik/xfusion as far as how well it covers up and stays put, which is to say, very nicely. Instead of loading their formula with a bunch of chemical anti-caking agents, they had the excellent foresight to put a little packet of silica inside the bottle to absorb moisture. The product has only 2 ingredients: the plant fiber it's made from and iron oxide mineral colorants. I was nervous to see what the box would say under "ingredients" when I got it, after the evasive advertising Nanogen did, but those really are the only ingredients listed on the product box and bottle when I opened it up. I will be sticking with Caboki from now on.