Henkel and Thriving Brands admit no wrongdoing, but have agreed to settle allegations in Connecticut federal court that they knowingly or negligently sold US consumers adulterated and misbranded antiperspirant products containing hazardous levels of benzene.

In comments to the US FDA, PCPC provides a “highly conservative” risk assessment of benzene impurity in a dry shampoo product, showing that “even a benzene concentration of 15 ppm in a hypothetical aerosol dry shampoo product would have an acceptable level of risk for a lifetime of daily use.” The exercise was undertaken in response to Valisure’s petition for FDA regulatory action on benzene-tainted dry shampoos.

Olaplex maintains the safety of its products and has posted HRIPT results on its website which it says demonstrate they do not have irritation or sensitization potential that could lead to hair loss. CEO JuE Wong says litigation against the company, filed by more than two dozen women who say they suffered injuries as a result of Olaplex use, reflects “sadly a fact of life in our industry.”