Deep Dive: Deep Dive Into Benzene Exposure Risks in Dry Shampoo Products

Multinational consumer goods company Unilever announced a voluntary product recall of various popular dry shampoo aerosol products—including those from brands such as Dove, Nexxus, Suave, TIGI and TRESemmé—due to risk of increased benzene levels, in mid-October. The announced recall, per the FDA, coincided with an internal investigation by the company into the cause of increased benzene exposure risk—identifying the products’ aerosol propellant, provided by an outside supplier, as the source. As the FDA noted, benzene is a human carcinogen that, through increased inhaled, oral or subcutaneous exposure, may increase risk of leukemia and other blood cancers or disorders. While benzene is prevalent in daily indoor and outdoor environments, recalled products generally carry a substantial risk of increased exposure, and the FDA recommends affected consumers stop using recalled products and report adverse reactions to their adverse event reporting program.