Batiste Dry Shampoo Settles Lawsuit for $2.5 Million Over Traces of Carcinogen

The owner of Batiste dry shampoo, Church & Dwight, has agreed to pay $2.5 million to settle a class action lawsuit claiming the popular dry shampoos contain concerning benzene, a known carcinogen. The settlement says customers who purchased Batiste dry shampoo products before May 30, 2023, may receive a refund or small compensation.

Batiste is one of many dry shampoos to be called out for harmful levels of benzene, with other major brands pulling products off the shelves in 2022.

Here are the details of the Batiste dry shampoo lawsuit.

Batiste, along with other dry shampoo products, was revealed to contain benzene in a report released in October 2022. The findings were made by Valisure, an independent lab that tests healthcare products to ensure transparency for consumers.

According to CBS News, of the 148 batches of dry shampoo Valisure tested, 70 percent had traces of benzene. After publicizing the research, Valisure called on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to recall dry shampoo products containing benzene.

The report found that a spray from a bottle of Batiste Dry Shampoo contained 15 parts per million (ppm) of benzene, well above the FDA limit of 2 ppm for drugs.

In November 2022, the owner of Batiste products, Church & Dwight, was sued in a class action lawsuit for failing to reveal that its products contained benzene, per Bloomberg Law. In August 2023, Church & Dwight agreed to pay $2.5 million to settle the lawsuit, although the company still has not admitted it did anything wrong, per Top Class Action.

Although exposure to carcinogens like benzene is unsafe, the FDA warns that long-term exposure and inhalation can result in cancer and blood disorders.

According to the Washington Post, products like dry shampoo and spray deodorant are cause for concern because they are often sprayed inside, meaning there is limited airflow, leading to an increased risk of inhaling benzene.

Chris Cappa, environmental engineering professor at the University of California at Davis, explained to the Washington Post that aerosol products require the petroleum-based propellant butane to spray and can contain benzene when not processed well.

In 2021, Valisure found harmful levels of benzene in spray sunscreens and antiperspirants, leading to the recall of major brands such as Neutrogena sunscreens and Secret deodorants.

You could receive compensation if you or someone you know bought Batiste Bare or Clean or Batiste Light Bare dry shampoo before May 30, 2023. Here's how:

Submit a claim by Nov. 15, 2023. If you can provide proof of purchase for Batiste Bare or Clean or Batiste Light Bare dry shampoo before May 30, 2023, you may receive a full refund for each product.

If you bought Batiste Bare or Clean or Batiste Light Bare dry shampoo but cannot provide proof of purchase, you can still file a claim and receive a maximum of $2 compensation per product for up to five products.

If you bought a Batiste product other than the dry shampoos, you could submit a claim to be compensated with a $2 voucher per product for up to five products per USA Today.