Is Your Dry Shampoo Toxic?

Last month, Unilever - which includes many of the leading personal care brands like Herbal Essences, Pantene, Dove, Aussie, TRESemmé, and Suave - has recalled more than a dozen aerosol dry shampoos due to the potential presence of high levels of benzene, a known human carcinogen. If you’re worried you may be affected, you can find the full recall list here. According to the FDA, this was the sixth recall this year involving benzene - so this issue is not new.

What is benzene?

Benzene is a widely used industrial chemical, and can be found in crude oil, gasoline, and plastics - and has also become widespread in personal care products, especially aerosols. Benzene is not used as an ingredient in these products, but it can develop as a by-product in the bottle after formulation. In this most recent recall, Unilever cited the propellent in the spray can as the source of the benzene.

What are the health risks of benzene?

While the recall statements explain that exposure to benzene from the affected personal care products is unlikely to be at a high enough level to cause health issues, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) begs to differ, emphasizing that “there is no safe level of human exposure to benzene”.

Exposure to benzene, which can happen through inhalation, ingestion, or skin absorption, has been shown to decrease red blood cell count and disrupt the functionality of the immune system. Long-term exposure can cause leukemia, cancers of the blood cells and bone marrow, as well as some life-threatening blood disorders. According to a toxicity assessment by the CDC, benzene can also cause harm to the central nervous system and reproductive organs in women.

It’s been known for over a century that excessive exposure to benzene is harmful to our bone marrow and blood, and yet the FDA does not legally require companies to test for it. Since many major companies (and the FDA) are not making it a priority to keep the public safe from benzene, it’s up to you to be conscious of the products you’re using.

Avoiding Aerosols

Due to the serious health risks posed by benzene, we should limit our exposure as much as possible - especially in products we are using regularly. Dry shampoos are sprayed directly onto your scalp, and are also inhaled inadvertently when they’re sprayed into the air which could make them particularly risky. According to the EWG, your best bet is to avoid all aerosol-based cosmetics since these have the highest rates of benzene detection. These include spray-on deodorants, sunscreens, and dry shampoos - basically anything in an aerosol spray container.

While this may seem limiting, with a whole universe of brands now putting consumer wellness at the forefront, you have more alternative options than you may think.

Click here for my personal list of the Best Benzene-Free Dry Shampoos! All products are benzene-free, talc-free, and contain seven or less all-natural ingredients.