Pull Charm sold a 'Nobel-class' hair tonic with fake before-and-afters — Tokyo banned it

Pull Charm, an ecommerce company in Tokyo's Meguro ward, sold the hair tonic Ikumo Nano Grow Rich through websites reached from Instagram ads. The campaign carried five superiority-misleading claims, including 'the state has approved its hair-growth effect' and 'over 90% felt results'. The substantiation the company submitted was not accepted as reasonable grounds.

The proof had been manufactured. Before-and-after images were composites built from photos of thinning heads, not results of the product. Testimonials styled as SNS user posts were written by the ad agency. 'Nobel-class' hair growth borrowed from a decades-old Nobel Prize for vitamin research. 'Order early or miss out' scarcity ran while stock was ample.

Two more violations were stealth marketing: the agency-built sites carried no 'Ad' or 'PR' label, and the 'hair diagnosis expert' on the sales site was the company's own employee, undisclosed as such. On 23 March 2026 Tokyo issued an action order under the Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations: publicise the violations to consumers, do not repeat them, and train staff on prevention.