CANADA – Are you guilty of skipping washing your hair and opting for a good dry shampoo? You’re not alone, but you may want to double-check your favourite hair products. Health Canada has issued a recall for nearly 1.6 million bottles of dry shampoo that were sold country-wide over the last two years.
The affected products were produced by Dove, TRESemmé, and TGIF Bedhead, and contain the chemical benzene which is classified as a human carcinogen.
“Exposure to benzene can occur by inhalation, orally, and through the skin and it can result in cancers including leukemia and blood cancer of the bone marrow and blood disorders which can be life-threatening,” reads the recall notice on the federal website.
“Based on exposure modeling and the cancer risk assessments published by the Environmental Protection Agency daily exposure to benzene in the recalled products at the levels detected in testing would not be expected to cause adverse health consequences,” it continues, adding that as of October 7th, 2022, there have been no reported incidents or injuries related to the use of these products in Canada.
The Recalled Products
The complete list of recalled items with the affected lot numbers can be found on the government website. The recalled products include:
- Bed Head Dirty Secret Dry Shampoo 6.2 oz/179g, 300mL
- Bed Head Mini Dirty Secret Dry Shampoo 2.1 oz/58g, 100mL
- Bed Head OH Bee Hive Dry Shampoo 5 oz/142g, 238mL
- Dove Care Between Washes Fresh Coconut Dry Shampoo, 142g
- Dove Care Between Washes Go Active Dry Shampoo, 142g
- Dove Care Between Washes Invigorating Dry Shampoo, 142g
- Dove Care Between Washes Invisible Dry Shampoo, 142g
- Dove Charcoal & Clarify Dry Shampoo, 142g
- Dove Refresh + Care Fresh & Floral Dry Shampoo, 142g
- Dove Refresh + Care Unscented Dry Shampoo, 142g
- Dove Refresh + Care Volume Dry Shampoo, 32g
- Dove Volume Dry Shampoo, 142g
- TRESemmé Fresh Clean Dry Shampoo, 206g
- TRESemmé Volume Clean Dry Shampoo, 121g
- TRESemmé Volume Clean, 206g
What to do with Recalled Products
If you have one of the cans that have been recalled, officials say you need to stop using it immediately and follow instructions for disposal on the packaging. Consumers may contact the company for reimbursement.
Consumers can visit UnileverRecall.com for more information on the affected products and receive reimbursement.
Health Canada is also reminding people to report “any health or safety incidents related to the use of this product or any other consumer product or cosmetic.
You can do so by filling out the Consumer Product Incident Report Form.
