Issue link: https://www.ahpindiestylist.com/i/1498691
24 indie stylist Volume 4 Issue 1 THE INGREDIENT Is Dry Shampoo Harming Your Clients? An investigation of the ingredient benzene by Ella Cressman WHAT IS BENZENE? Benzene is a ammable liquid that smells sweet but acts sour! While it is formed from natural processes like volcanoes and forest res, most benzene exposure comes from human intervention—it is one of the 20 most widely used chemicals in the US. It is mostly used as an industrial solvent to make other chemicals, including plastics, resins, rubbers, drugs, and pesticides, or as a gasoline additive. Current subject aside, you might deduce that since benzene is used in many consumer products, exposure could be hard to avoid. However, we've been aware of human toxicity since at least 1948. Over 75 years ago, a toxicological review done for the American Petroleum Institute concluded there is no safe exposure level to benzene. 3 According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), benzene exposure/toxicity If your clients are new to "oil training" their scalps, or they want to extend the life of a blowout, dry shampoo is a fantastic tool . . . or is it? In October 2022, personal-care product giant Unilever issued a voluntary recall of dry shampoo products from a range of lines that fall under their cover. 1 The corporation's reaction was based on an "abundance of caution" initiated by an independent health hazard evaluation by Valisure, an analytical laboratory. The recall came nearly a year after Valisure submitted a citizen's petition to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommending a recall based on their review that 70 percent of 148 batches from 34 brands were found to contain higher than allowable percentages of benzene. 2