Unilever Recalls Dove, Tresemmé Dry Shampoos Over Cancer Risk: How Safe Are They

The dry shampoos have been recalled only in the US and Canada.

Consumer goods giant Unilever has issued a voluntary recall of certain aerosol dry shampoo products in the United States and in Canada, on the grounds that they may contain unsafe levels of benzene – type of carcinogen – a substance that can cause cancer.

The recalled products include select lot codes of dry shampoos from popular brands like Dove, TRESemmé, and TIGI.

In a statement released by the company on 18 October, Unilever has said that while they have had no reports of adverse effects from the products so far, and that the move to recall them is merely 'out of an abundance of caution.'

They also added that the affected products were all produced before October 2021.

Which Dry Shampoos Have Been Recalled?

Before we get into why the company decided to recall these products, here's a quick run through of the products that are on the list:

• Dove Dry Shampoo (multiple varieties)

• Nexxus Dry Shampoo Refreshing Mist

• Nexxus Inergy Foam Shampoo

• Tresemme Dry Shampoo Volumizing

• Tresemme Dry Shampoo Fresh and Clean

• Tresemme Pro Pure Dry Shampoo

• Bed Head Oh Bee Hive Dry Shampoo

• Bed Head Oh Bee Hive Volumizing Dry Shampoo

• Bed Head Dirty Secret Dry Shampoo

• Bed Head Rockaholic Dirty Secret Dry Shampoo

How Much Benzene Is Too Much Benzene?

Benzene is a type of chemical compound often found in petroleum products, solvents, and motor fuels, and tobacco products. Traces of Benzene can be found around us and slight exposure is considered harmless.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), exposure to high levels of benzene can lead to a slew of life threatening health issues, including the risk of cancers including leukaemia, blood cancer of the bone marrow, blood disorders.

Exposure to benzene most commonly occurs through inhalation, the risk of which is high when one uses aerosole cans of dry shampoo that may contain high levels of benzene.

An internal investigation by Unilever reportedly found that certain products identified by their production codes had high levels of benzene, likely via the propellant, the company said, in a statement.

These specific units were reportedly distributed all over the US and in some parts of Canada – with suppliers who have stocked these specific units asked to take them off the shelf.

What About Items Sold in India?

After the news of the recall broke, many have asked, 'what about the products being sold in India?'

For instance, some of the specific products on the list by Unilever are available for purchase in India as well.

It must be noted, however, that in their statement, the company has claimed that only specific units of the products, identified by their production codes were affected, all of them were traced to have been distributed in the US and in Canada.

In their statement, Unilever has further claimed that no other product by the company except the ones listed by them were affected.