Neutrogena Invisible Daily defense aerosol sunscreenĪveeno Protect + Refresh aerosol sunscreen Neutrogena Cool Dry Sport aerosol sunscreen Neutrogena Beach Defense aerosol sunscreen If you happen to own any of the sunscreens listed in Johnson & Johnson’s recall, the company recommends tossing them and reaching out at 1-80 to ask questions or request a refund. (You can see the full list here.) Valisure recommends disposing of the affected batches-and you can even reach out to the lab to send it a sample of your SPF before tossing it. It’s understandable to throw away any of the sunscreens cited in the report. Valisure contends that benzene should not be allowed in any SPF products, and part of their petition asks the FDA to establish a concentration limit for products like sunscreens, on top of a daily exposure limit. “The true effects of the low levels of benzene detectable in the sunscreens on our health is yet to to be determined.”Ĭonsidering benzene’s link to cancer, it’s still probably best to avoid it whenever possible. “Many of the sunscreens found to contain benzene have been on the market for years,” Dr. The brands have pledged to reevaluate their testing and sourcing moving forward. Johnson & Johnson (the maker of Neutrogena sunscreen), Sun Bum, and CVS all denied including benzene in their products in statements to CBS News. Because of this gray area, we really don’t know how much benzene is unsafe to apply to our skin or how much is present in our favorite products-especially because the level can change from batch to batch, Valisure says. “Detection of benzene is not a commonly performed test on sunscreens as they are brought to the market,” Dr. There isn’t any measure of how much benzene is safe to include in sun-care products, though the FDA established a temporary 2 ppm limit on hand sanitizers during the pandemic, but there is no analogue for SPF. The FDA classifies benzene as a Class 1 solvent, meaning it should be avoided in the manufacturing of drugs and drug products unless absolutely necessary. How dangerous is benzene in sunscreen?įor now, we can’t be sure. Long-term exposure to benzene primarily impacts the blood, the CDC notes, potentially leading to leukemia and other blood disorders. It’s used in plastic production and appears in gasoline and cigarette smoke. (It shouldn’t be confused with avobenzone, which is a common chemical sunscreen filter you can find on many labels.)īenzene takes the form of a colorless or light yellow liquid at room temperature, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC). It’s not an ingredient in sunscreen the contamination is more likely a result of the manufacturing process. “Benzene is an organic compound known to be a carcinogen, which means it has been associated with the development of cancers,” explains Joshua Zeichner, M.D., director of cosmetic and clinical research in dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. ![]() Here’s what you need to know about benzene contamination in sunscreen, plus what you can do to stay safe (and shielded from the sun) this summer. “We are investigating the cause of this issue, which is limited to certain aerosol sunscreen products.”īut the report and the recall don’t mean you’re automatically exposing yourself to a carcinogen every time you lather up-or, worse yet, that you shouldn't wear SPF. “While benzene is not an ingredient in any of our sunscreen products, it was detected in some samples of the impacted aerosol sunscreen finished products,” Johnson & Johnson wrote in a July 14 press release following internal testing. ![]() Neutrogena’s UltraSheer Weightless Sunscreen Spray SPF 100, for example, contained the most benzene of the batches tested, with 6.26 ppm, or more than triple the FDA’s limit. ![]() Valisure petitioned the FDA for a recall of 40 affected batches of sunscreen, which includes all samples that had a benzene concentration of at least 0.1 ppm. Neutrogena, Sun Bum, CVS Health, and Fruit of the Earth were among the brands with the highest levels of the carcinogen, per the lab’s results.Īlthough these findings sound concerning, they don’t prove that every product from these brands are always chock-full of benzine: “There was significant variability from batch to batch, even within a single brand,” the report states. “Sprays, gels, and lotions with both chemical and mineral-based formulations contained benzene,” Valisure wrote.
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