Spending 6,500 yuan a year to protect the hairline is equivalent to eating two or three hundred catties of sesame seeds
A family of anti-shedding pills for sesame pills under hair loss anxiety? Peace of mind?
"If Taishang Laojun goes down to earth, the elixir in his treasure gourd will probably look like sesame pills." This is the last sentence of Xiaoke (pseudonym) in the interview.
After speaking, her eyes looked out the window, as if she saw a distance that the reporter could not see.
Data shows that more than 250 million people in my country are experiencing hair loss, which means that on average, 1 in 6 people lose their hair.
The "2021 National Health Insight Report" also emphasizes the trend of rejuvenation of hair loss: the proportion of "post-95s" and "post-00s" people with hair loss problems has reached 33%.
Because the anxiety of hair loss has intensified in recent years, a small black sesame pill has become a "window": from snack brands, health food monopoly brands, to traditional Chinese medicine brands, major brands are scrambling to lay out their own "sesame pill universe" ".
According to the big data monitored by the Ministry of Commerce on key e-commerce platforms, the sales of black sesame pills will increase by 105.9% year-on-year in the 2022 Chinese New Year.
Opening various e-commerce platforms, there are also many stores with monthly sales exceeding 100,000 pieces.
Those who take "Pills" say
"There is no improvement in the hairline, but the fat is a pound or two."
The first time Xiaoke knew about black sesame pills was in Li Jiaqi's live broadcast room.
At that time, a black sesame pill sold by Li Jiaqi in the live broadcast room sold for more than 100 yuan, and more than 20,000 pieces were sold in just a few minutes.
"Girls who often stay up late and work overtime must eat!"
"All girls, buy it!"...
What really made Xiao Ke break the defense was the slogan from the merchant: "Two sesame pills a day save your hairline."
"My job is design, and staying up late and working overtime is a common occurrence." Xiaoke teased herself: "After three years of graduation, I haven't saved any money, and my hairline has regressed a lot."
On the night recommended by Li Jiaqi's live broadcast for the second time, Xiao Ke spent hundreds of yuan to buy sesame pills for 3 months.
"After taking it for 3 months, it seems that there is no improvement in the hairline, but the fat is a pound or two." But she still bought it tirelessly.
In her eyes, "after eating it, all the troubles and hardships in the life of contemporary migrant workers seem to have settled down."
It costs 6,500 yuan a year, and even taking it has a full sense of ritual
"Post-90s" Xiaolin is a self-media worker, "often staying up late to plan."
Her hairline has also moved back with the rising salary, and the hair loss has intensified.
In the worst cases, a lot of hair is lost every time I wash my hair.
She blames high-intensity work for her hair loss.
Four years ago, she kept bangs to hide her hairline.
At the same time, in the overwhelming advertisements on the subway and on TV, the solution is sought.
In order to grow hair, Kobayashi has taken traditional Chinese medicine, used laser hair growth caps, hair growth devices, changed all kinds of anti-hair loss shampoos, and visited some hair care centers for care.
But these are not as safe as a small sesame ball.
The first contact with sesame balls was about four years ago.
One day, a friend from the medical department gave her a kraft paper bag containing about 20 tin foil-wrapped pellets.
A friend told her that this was a sesame ball made by the school's research group in the study of "Nine Steamed and Nine Suns". "There are only 20 of them, so they are not for sale." And she told her about the efficacy of the balls vividly.
Since then, this black and bright pill has taken root in Xiao Lin's heart.
Xiaolin is a "perfectionist" and doesn't believe in the quality and quantity of commercially available products. There was a time when she asked for a recipe from a friend and made "nine steamed and nine dried" sesame balls at home.
In order to ensure the so-called "ancient method", I also purchased a 20-pound stone grinding disc to grind sesame seeds online.
Due to the fact that it was too time-consuming and labor-intensive, she finally chose the most expensive store for a long-term purchase.
For Xiaolin, every time he takes sesame pills, there is also a sense of ritual.
She takes 4 sesame pills a day.
In the morning, take two tablets on an empty stomach around 8:00 before breakfast, and another two tablets around 7:00 in the afternoon.
Even on a business trip, I will bring enough to take every day.
She pulls up the purchase record from her phone.
The reporter saw that the price of a sesame pill he purchased was about 4.5 yuan. In this way, just taking sesame pills would cost Xiaolin about 6,500 yuan a year.
From sesame to sesame balls
"Nine steaming and nine drying" is a gimmick and huge profit
The popularity of black sesame pills seems to be overnight.
In the summer of 2021, in the live broadcast room of a leading female anchor, 170,000 pieces of black sesame pills were sold in just one night, topping the list of dietary supplements.
In Li Jiaqi's live broadcast room, black sesame pills have also been promoted many times, and the copy is often "Girls who often stay up late and work overtime must eat them."
Major e-commerce platforms, Weibo, and Xiaohongshu’s leading anchors have also promoted black sesame pills to the “altar”, and even the well-known southern black sesame paste has also launched black sesame pills.
In the live broadcast room, black sesame pills were regarded as "self-help gods" by the anchors——
People who stay up late, bald people, postpartum mothers, as long as they are under pressure, can get the "redemption" of black sesame pills.
There was also an anchor who said that he stuffed two sesame balls in his child's small schoolbag every day.
In this regard, some netizens joked that "directly advance the age of health preservation to the primary school level".
The star also "deeply loves" the black sesame pills.
Since last year, a large group of female stars have posted their "health magic weapon" black sesame pills on social platforms.
Now, when the e-commerce platform is opened, the top-selling black sesame pills have monthly sales of more than 100,000 pieces.
Some stores have more than 500,000 reviews.
In the comment area, the rave reviews and the before-and-after comparison deeply captured the hearts of the hair loss family.
In fact, the price of black sesame balls is not cheap. The mainstream formula of black sesame balls on the market is mainly black sesame + honey, an average of 2 to 4 yuan, and a ball of about 10 grams.
The price of black sesame seeds is about 20-30 yuan per pound.
Judging from Xiaolin's annual consumption amount, the money he spends to buy black sesame pills a year can buy two or three hundred catties of black sesame seeds.
As for the selling point of "nine steaming and nine drying" for some brands, an industry insider who did not want to be named told reporters that "nine steaming and nine drying" is a traditional technique of traditional Chinese medicine processing, but it is generally used in the processing of Rehmannia glutinosa and other medicinal materials. The main purpose is to Correcting the medicinal properties of medicinal materials or increasing the medicinal components and reducing the toxic components are complicated and time-consuming and labor-intensive.
"The real 'nine steaming and nine drying' is too expensive to do everyday. Most businesses in the market now claim that they are 'nine steaming and nine drying' sesame pills, and you can judge for yourself how much moisture there is." The industry insider It is also revealed that many companies are now using foundry to avoid supervision, but the foundry model is more risky because companies cannot focus on every link of each foundry.
Can black sesame pills really prevent hair loss?
■ Lawyer: Ordinary food cannot claim to have health benefits and should be punished by the Food and Drug Administration
According to CCTV Finance and Economics, a variety of black sesame pills with the highest sales volume on the market currently have a production license number starting with SC, which is a food production license.
The product standard code name of some black sesame pills is "GB/T 20977", which is displayed on the national standard full-text disclosure system, which is the implementation standard of the general rules of pastry.
At present, in the current laws and regulations of our country, there is no concept and relevant provisions of functional food.
The "Implementation Regulations of the Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China" stipulates that "other foods other than health food shall not claim to have health care functions."
In this regard, Xu Bin, a lawyer from Sichuan Junyi Law Firm, said that ordinary foods that promote health functions, express or imply the health functions of the food by promoting certain ingredients, will be punished by the Food and Drug Administration.
■ Psychologist:
Advertisers amplify hair loss anxiety
Beware of the consumption trap
"Behind the hot sale of hair loss products such as black sesame pills, it reflects the appearance anxiety of this young generation." Liao Junlan, a psychological consultant at Chengdu Yixingu Psychological Consulting Studio, told reporters that from a physiological point of view, some young people have strong oil secretion. Furthermore, due to social pressure and excessive cortisol secretion, various factors lead to earlier hair loss.
From a psychological point of view, this is related to the fact that people are becoming more and more socialized nowadays.
"Some young people are studying for a Ph.D. or just entering the society, and they will feel that their life has just begun. If hair loss occurs at this time, they will project their anxiety about love, marriage, work, etc. to one point at once. This point is hair loss anxiety." Liao Junlan mentioned that in psychology, this psychological phenomenon is also called magnifying psychology.
"This is also an attribution effect." She said that in the eyes of these young people, because of too much anxiety, many realistic situations cannot be controlled, but the one that can be controlled is hair loss.
In this case, advertisers reuse and amplify the appearance anxiety of young people, and guide consumers to relieve this anxiety through continuous consumption.
"The popularity of black sesame pills is to provide a reassurance pill for people who are caught in appearance anxiety to regain control of their lives. But this method cannot solve anxiety. If we fall into the 'consumption trap', our appearance anxiety will be endless. Endless."
She suggested that you can accept appearance anxiety from a psychological level.
At the same time, put anxiety about external appearance on internal improvement, such as "charging" yourself frequently, improving self-cultivation and so on.
Chengdu Business Daily-Red Star News reporter Peng Xiangping