Consumer product safety testing recently found that dry shampoo products contain high levels of benzene, a known human carcinogen. This discovery has prompted a series of product safety recalls and several consumer class action lawsuits over the last year.
The latest evidence regarding benzene levels in dry shampoo products suggests that long-term use of these products may be connected to leukemia and other types of cancer. Our national mass tort law firm is now actively seeking cases from anyone who used dry shampoo products on a regular basis for a long time period and was subsequently diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma, or any other type of blood cancer.
September 2024 Update
While financial injury can create standing, Judge Coleman noted that the plaintiffs hadn’t shown that their dry shampoo purchase was from a lot containing benzene, as tested by the independent lab Valisure. As a result, the judge dismissed their claims but allowed the plaintiffs 14 days to amend their complaint if they could address the deficiencies.
Additionally, Judge Coleman ruled that the plaintiffs could not seek injunctive relief, as they are now aware of the alleged risk and cannot claim future harm. This actually makes a lot of sense.
Although Valisure’s testing found benzene in some batches of the product, the plaintiffs failed to show that their purchases came from those batches. Courts require strict proof. JPMS argued that the claims were based on unreliable testing and that benzene was not an ingredient in its product, thus not requiring a label warning under federal law.
Benzene Found in Dry Shampoos
Dry shampoo is a personal care product that is designed to clean and refresh the hair and scalp without washing with water. Dry shampoo products are generally sprayed from an aerosol can and made with a base of alcohol or starch. When applied, these products absorb grease and dirt in the hair making it cleaner.
Valisure is an online pharmacy company that operates an independent laboratory to perform safety analysis and testing on thousands of consumer products. In November 2021, Valisure announced that laboratory testing detected very high levels of benzene in numerous brands and batches of dry shampoo products.
The FDA has set the maximum safe level for benzene in cosmetic products such as shampoo at 2 parts per billion (ppb). The Valisure lab testing found benzene concentration levels well in excess of 2 ppb in numerous dry shampoo products that were tested. Benzene levels in some products were as high as 85 ppb. According to the Valisure report, however, the concentrations of benzene increased when the products were sprayed from the aerosol cans, reaching as high as 1,600 ppb.
Dry Shampoo Product Recalls
Valisure’s discovery of benzene in dry shampoo products last year led to a series of major product safety recalls. In December 2021, Procter & Gamble launched one of the first major recalls. P&R recalled 32 brands of dry shampoo products including Pantene, Old Spice, and Herbal Essences.
More recently, in October 2022, Unilever initiated a sweeping recall of numerous dry shampoos due to the potential presence of high levels of benzene. The brands covered by the Unilever recall included Dove, Nexxus, Suave, Bed Head, and TRESemme.
Shampoo Lawsuit List of Products
The following dry shampoo products have may contain unsafe levels of benzene. Long term regular use of any of these products may increase the risk of blood cancers.
| Dove Dry Shampoo | Pantene Dry Shampoo |
| Nexxus Dry Shampoo | Pantene Dry Conditioner |
| Suave Dry Shampoo | Aussie Dry Conditioner |
| Tresemme Dry Shampoo | Herbal Essences Dry Shampoo |
| Bed Head Dry Shampoo | Pantene Dry Shampoo |
| Rockaholic Dry Shampoo | Aussie Dry Shampoo |
| Not Your Mother’s Dry Shampoo | Old Spice Dry Shampoo |
About Benzene
Benzene is a chemical used as a solvent and for the synthesis of many other types of chemicals. Benzene is a natural component of crude oil. Benzene is known to be toxic to the human body, particularly the blood cells and blood producing organs.
Benzene is well known to be a human carcinogen. Both the World Health Organization and the International Agency for Research on Cancer classify benzene as Group 1 compound that is carcinogenic to humans. Chronic exposure to benzene has been definitively linked to increased risks of blood cancers such as leukemia, multiple myeloma, and aplastic anemia. Exposure to benzene has also been associated with lymphoma.
Dry Shampoo Recalls Lead to Consumer Class Action Lawsuits
The recalls of dry shampoo products due to the potential presence of benzene have prompted a number of consumer class action lawsuits across the country. Consumer class action cases allege that consumer who bought certain products were essentially defrauded into buying based on the assumption that they were safe. These cases seek economic damages in the form of purchase price refunds on behalf of all consumers.
When Procter & Gamble recalled dry shampoo products last year, it sparked a handful of consumer class action cases. More recently, the dry shampoo product recall launched by Unilever has prompted similar class action lawsuits. The first dry shampoo class action case against Unilever (Rullo v. Unilever United States, Inc.) was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey on November 2, 2022. The Complaint alleges that Unilever knew or should have known that its products were contaminated with benzene and failed to disclose that.
Dry Shampoo Cancer Lawsuits
Given the strength of evidence establishing that benzene can cause blood cancers and the fact that the dry shampoo products exposed users to high levels of benzene, product liability lawsuits alleging that users of dry shampoo developed leukemia and other blood cancers are expected. Our firm is currently seeking cases from individuals who used dry shampoo products regularly and were subsequently diagnosed with any of the following diseases:
- Leukemia
- Multiple myeloma
- Aplastic anemia
- Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
- Other types of blood cancer
If you meet these criteria, you may be able to bring a dry shampoo cancer lawsuit and get compensation for your injuries.
Potential Settlement Value of Dry Shampoo Cancer Lawsuits
It is obviously way too early for anyone to know how much dry shampoo cancer lawsuits could be worth in terms of settlement value. The first dry shampoo cases are still being filed. Whether these cases have any value at all will depend on whether the scientific evidence on causation will survive legal challenges and be admissible in court.
Assuming the causation evidence is admissible and otherwise holds up in court, our lawyers believe that dry shampoo cancer lawsuits could have a potential settlement payout value of around $250,000 to $500,000.
Our lawyers are not handling these lawsuits. We provide this to educate potential victims.