If you’re an avid dry shampoo user, you’ll want to take a close look at your product before spraying it in your hair. Unilever recently announced a voluntary recall of 19 popular dry shampoo aerosol products sold in the United States due to concerns about benzene, a chemical known to cause cancer.
Exposure to benzene, which is classified as a human carcinogen, can occur through inhalation, ingestion, or through skin contact and can result in cancers including leukemia and blood cancers, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
What Is Benzene?
Benzene is formed from both natural and man-made processes. “Natural sources of benzene include volcanoes and forest fires. Benzene is also a natural part of crude oil, gasoline, and cigarette smoke,” according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Humans are exposed to benzene daily through things like tobacco smoke and detergents, but exposure can be considered dangerous depending on the dose and duration of contact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Unilever said that it is pulling the products “out of an abundance of caution” and that the company has not yet received any reports of an adverse event relating to the recall to date.
The recalled products were distributed nationwide in the United States. Retailers have been notified to remove recalled products from shelves.
“Benzene is ubiquitous in the environment,” per a release by the FDA. “Humans around the world have daily exposures to it indoors and outdoors from multiple sources.”
A complete list of the affected products and consumer codes can be found here. The company stated in a press release that no other products from Unilever or its brands are impacted by this recall.
Some of the products that were recalled include dry shampoo aerosol sprays produced prior to 2021 by brands such as Dove, Nexxus, Suave, TIGI (Rockaholic and BedHead) and TRESemmé.
Those who purchased any of the products with the affected UPC and lot codes are advised to stop using them. Consumers with affected products will receive a refund or reimbursement, the company stated. For multiple products, proof of purchase will be required in the form of a receipt or photo of the lot code on the bottom of the products.
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