Consumer product safety testing has confirmed that several dry shampoo products contain dangerously high levels of benzene, a known human carcinogen. This discovery has led to sweeping product recalls and the filing of multiple consumer class action lawsuits across the United States over the past 18 months.
Emerging evidence suggests that long-term use of benzene-contaminated dry shampoo products may increase the risk of leukemia, lymphoma, and other forms of blood cancer. Our national mass tort law firm is now reviewing claims for individuals who used aerosol dry shampoo products regularly and were later diagnosed with any blood-related cancer.
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 dry shampoo 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.
Dry Shampoo Lawsuit List of Products
The following dry shampoo products may contain unsafe levels of benzene. Long-term regular use of any of these products may increase the risk of blood cancers.
Brand | Product Name |
---|---|
Dove | Dry Shampoo Volume and Fullness |
Dry Shampoo Fresh Coconut | |
Dry Shampoo Fresh and Floral | |
Nexxus | Dry Shampoo Refreshing Mist |
Suave | Professionals Dry Shampoo (All Varieties) |
Tresemmé | Fresh & Clean Dry Shampoo |
Volumizing Dry Shampoo | |
Bed Head / Rockaholic | Oh Bee Hive! Dry Shampoo |
Dirty Secret Dry Shampoo | |
Not Your Mother’s | Clean Freak Original |
Clean Freak Unscented | |
Plump for Joy | |
Beach Babe | |
Pantene | Dry Shampoo No Water Refresh |
Cheat Day Dry Shampoo Foam | |
Never Tell Dry Shampoo | |
Herbal Essences | Blue Ginger Refresh |
White Grapefruit & Mint | |
Aussie | Clean Volume Dry Shampoo |
After Hours Dry Shampoo | |
Bounce Back Dry Shampoo | |
Old Spice | Fiji Dry Shampoo |
Pure Sport Dry Shampoo | |
Other Brands (Valisure) | Sebastian Dry Clean Only |
Paul Mitchell Invisiblewear | |
Kenra Volume Dry Shampoo | |
Kristin Ess Style Reviving | |
Redken Deep Clean | |
Sun Bum Beach Formula |
In addition to these, along with chemical dye and hair relaxer lawsuits, the list of hair care product lawsuits continues to grow.
The Problem with 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 a 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.
A recent peer-reviewed study in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology found that 34% of benzoyl peroxide acne treatments contained benzene levels above the FDA limit of 2 ppm. Benzene is a known carcinogen linked to blood cancers like leukemia and lymphoma. Long‑term use could pose serious risks. Could regular use of these products silently increase cancer risk later in life? You can read the full study directly here (Valisure, Yale University, LIU).
This finding isn’t isolated to acne treatments. It echoes earlier lab results showing benzene contamination in dry shampoos and sunscreens. Regulators are now testing a broad range of cosmetics and OTC products. The FDA’s latest sampling of acne creams—published in March 2025—also identified benzene in a few lots, triggering limited recalls at the retail level.
Given this emerging evidence, you may want to update your section on benzene contamination. Include the new acne study link. Highlight that the concern stretches beyond dry shampoo. And suggest readers monitor labels and FDA notices for recall updates.
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 consumers 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 lawsuits. 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.