Unilever issued a voluntary recall of 19 aerosol dry shampoo products over “potentially elevated levels of benzene.”

According to the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, benzene, which forms both naturally and through human activities, can cause your cells to not work properly. “For example, it can cause bone marrow not to produce enough red blood cells, which can lead to anemia,” the CDC wrote. “Also, it can damage the immune system by changing blood levels of antibodies and causing the loss of white blood cells.”

People can be exposed to benzene by breathing it in, consuming it, or through skin absorption — potentially resulting in leukemia, blood cancer of the bone marrow and other cancers.

All dry shampoos in the recall were produced before October 2021, and include Dove, Nexxus, Suave, TIGI (Rockaholic and Bed Head) and TRESemmé brands.

Retailers have been told to remove the products, which were distributed throughout the United States, from their shelves.

If you think you have an affected product, you can check the UPC codes here. Unilever said none of its other brands are included this recall.

You should stop using any affected products and visit UnileverRecall.com for instructions on how to get a refund. You can contact Unilever U.S. by calling 877-270-7412, 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday.

For more content like this, sign up for the Pulse newsletter here.

About the Author

Keep Reading