Last week, Health Canada issued a massive recall on several brands of dry shampoo after the national health agency discovered that certain batches from many of the most popular carriers of the products contained unhealthy amounts of benzene. Associated with increased risk of leukemia, benzene is an EPA classified carcinogen by all routes of exposure.
The Canadian government issued a statement urging consumers and owners of effected batches of Bed Head, TGI, Tresemmé and Dove dry shampoos to “immediately stop using the recalled product and dispose of it in accordance with the instructions for disposal on the packaging.” In total, 1,574,426 units have been recalled.
Exposure to benzene can occur either orally, through the skin or via inhalation, and high exposure to the chemical has been linked to leukemia and some forms of blood cancer. Luckily, the Canadian health agency stated that “daily exposure to benzene in the recalled products at the levels detected in testing would not be expected to cause adverse health consequences.” Now, despite having received no reports of injuries or illness in Canada in relationship to the recalled products, Unilever is also recalling the products out of “an abundance of caution.”
