HeadOn, Brain Off

My daughter just showed me an ad from listoftheday.blogspot.com, a site she checks every day. It's for a product called HeadOn, and it's famous for the fact that all it says is "HeadOn -- apply directly to the forehead" three times, while showing a woman rubbing what looks like a roll-on deodorant on her forehead.



I know I'm generally out of if it (mostly because I don't watch much television), but I hadn't heard of this. However, the Wikipedia tells me that the ads are famous, having been riffed on by the advertiser and many others, as well as decried by famous skeptic James Randi.

So what is this product? As one would suspect of an ad that doesn't actually make any claims, it's total quackery. At this point I'll just quote the Wikipedia:

As of September 2008, there are two versions of HeadOn available in stores: "Extra Strength" and "Migraine". Chemical analysis of the Migraine formulation has shown that the product consists almost entirely of wax. The three active ingredients are Iris versicolor 12× (a flower), white bryony 12× (a type of vine [Bryonia dioica, botanical name added]), and potassium dichromate 6× (a known carcinogen). The "×" notation indicates that the three chemicals have been diluted to 1 part per trillion, 1 part per trillion, and 1 part per million respectively. This amount of dilution is so great that the product has been described as a placebo... The formula for the Extra Strength version of the product is the same as the Migraine except that it excludes the Iris versicolor.

Seymour Diamond, director of the Diamond Headache Clinic in Chicago and the inpatient headache unit at St. Joseph Hospital, was quoted as saying "I see nothing in this product that has any validity whatsoever." Consumer Reports states that no clinical-trial data involving HeadOn have been presented, and that "any apparent efficacy may be the result of the placebo effect."

Correspondence was published with a statement from HeadOn Customer Service that "It works through the nerves."

I don't know about you, but when I have a migraine, there's no placebo in the world that could touch it. Back in the 1980s, I tried using Tiger Balm (rubbing it on my forehead) when I had a headache. While it was mentally soothing, it didn't do anything for the pain.


Iris versicolor is a North American native wetland plant, while Bryonia is a European weed that's related to the cucumber. It sounds like it's not a plant you want to eat any time soon, though. The Plants for a Future website (a resource on plants of interest to herbalists) says about it: "All parts of the plant are poisonous. One report says it is very toxic, another [which concentrates mostly on effects on livestock] says it is of very low toxicity. The fresh root is a severe skin irritant."

According to the website of HeadOn's manufacturer, Miralus Healthcare:

Miralus Healthcare is dedicated to developing innovative and high-quality pharmaceutical, cosmetic and dietary supplement products. Our mission is to research, develop, and market exceptional healthcare solutions that help improve day-to-day living. We strive to go beyond the standards of excellence to bring you effective and reliable products aimed at enhancing your quality of life.

We also have the responsibility of ensuring that all our products meet all relevant regulations, and we give careful consideration to all related bioethical issues. Our stringent guidelines and principles ensure that we deliver solutions that are safe and dependable.

I wonder how much money they make each year by selling their worthless products, which are available at all the major drugstores and discount chains. They've probably even worked out a deal with the marketers of the Universal Health Card, which would be particularly appropriate.