But please don't abandon sunscreen altogether. Still, if you have one of the recalled sunscreens, the recall notice says you should stop using it and discard it. In May 2021, Valisure notified the FDA of the 192 sunscreen and after-sun care samples with detectable levels of benzene (classified as a human carcinogen). These have been widely tested and are safe. But these findings and the recall should not be a cause for panic. No sunscreen should have benzene in it, but sunscreens contain other chemicals. So, yes, small exposures over a lifetime can add up to increase your risk for cancer and it's worth finding ways to reduce your exposure to the chemical. Common chemical sunscreen ingredients like avobenzone and oxybenzone are not secretly benzene even though they may sound similar, cosmetics chemist Stephen Alain Ko, explained on Instagram. But, to date, exposure to benzene in personal care products hasn't been linked to actual cancer cases.Īlso, know that the presence of benzene in these sunscreens doesn't have anything to do with whether or not the product is chemical- or mineral-based. There's not as much research about how much benzene is absorbed through the skin, Dr. It's also used in the manufacturing processes for plastics, nylon, and rubber. With the benzene-detected product batches ranging from gels, sprays, and lotions in both mineral and chemical formulations. The truth is that we are all probably getting exposed to small amounts of benzene on a daily basis through inhaling gasoline, car exhaust, or cigarette smoke, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) explains. In products like this, benzene is not purposely added but rather a trace contaminant, meaning it's an impurity in another ingredient, cosmetics chemist Michelle Wong, Ph.D., explains on her blog Lab Muffin. But the situation here is more complicated than it seems. In 2021 just before Memorial Day, online pharmacy and lab Valisure announced that its testing had found benzene, a known carcinogen, in batches of 78 widely. Of course, finding out that a carcinogen has been hanging out in a product you put on your skin is worrying-especially so when that product is something you normally count on for protection. ![]() So far only Neutrogena and Aveeno have recalled their products. But the issue of benzene in sunscreens first popped up in late May when Valisure, an independent online pharmacy and testing company, released a report showing the presence of the chemical in 78 batches of products from major brands, including Neutrogena, Banana Boat, CVS Health, Sun Bum, Walgreens, and more. If you or a loved one regularly used benzene-containing sunscreens and have been diagnosed with a blood or bone cancer like AML, MDS, non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (NHL), or multiple myeloma (MM), please call 1-800-BENZENE and speak to a lawyer today.This recall is a direct result of the company's own internal testing. Numerous other manufacturers have issued recalls as well, including Johnson & Johnson, the manufacturer of Neutrogena and Aveeno sunscreens. While the Valisure study did not indicate that Coppertone sunscreens contained benzene, Coppertone subsequently did its own testing and issued a recall of the following products:
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