Mamavation | Healthy Living | Lifestyle | Detoxify Home | Product Recommendations

Mamavation » Blog » Beauty | Mamavation » Cancer-Causing Benzene Detected in Over 40+ Deodorants & Antiperspirants Sold to Americans
Attractive young woman in bathroom after shower is standing in front of mirror with deodorant in hands

//  by 

Google+0
LinkedIn0
Pinterest0

Cancer-causing benzene was recently detected in some of the most popular American deodorants & antiperspirants sold in American retail stores. With an abundance of caution, will the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) demand a recall of these products? You’ve trusted Mamavation to bring you topics like best air purifiers, safest cookware without PFAS, & safest green beauty makeup sans PFAS, now join us for a special report released detecting cancer-causing benzene in some of the most popular deodorants sold to Americans. Then stick around for the end where we will include a deodorant investigation of all the most popular brands available.

Disclosure: This post was medically reviewed by Sondra Strand, RN, BSN, PHN. This post also contains affiliate links. 

Woman checks out product in Target's clean beauty aisle

Cancer-Causing Benzene Discovered in American Deodorants & Antiperspirants

Benzene, a chemical known to cause cancer in humans, was found in over 40 different deodorant products sold to Americans in a new consumer study conducted by Valisure. Benzene is defined as a carcinogen and its main exposure routes into our bodies are through inhalation, skin absorption, ingestion, skin, and/or eye contact. The Food & Drug Administration has warned that no amount of benzene is safe for use in personal care products. Sadly, now that benzene has contaminated products, health issues & adverse health consequences may arise.

Some of the results were as follows:

  • Cancer-causing benzene was found in 44 out of 86 deodorant products
  • The products with detectable levels of benzene represented 30 brands available on American shelves
  • The deodorant products were all spray deodorants and antiperspirants (while a few were feminine deodorants)
  • Spray deodorants had the highest amount of benzene averaging between 2 ppm and 16 ppm

The researchers were not sure how benzene found its way into these products, but they surmised that it could be coming from the processing of ingredients like butane or propellants inside the sprays. We are also not sure how many batches of antiperspirant are contaminated with benzene.

Valisure is demanding that the FDA recall these products from the shelves and better define limits for brands to adhere to when producing deodorants.

“The detection of high levels of benzene in body sprays is cause for significant concern since these products are often used daily, by both adults and adolescents,” says David Light, Founder and CEO of Valisure. “These findings build upon our now validated discovery of benzene in sunscreens, after-sun care products, and hand sanitizers that have already been followed by national recalls earlier this year. With this latest development, we have identified a concerning trend of carcinogen contamination in consumer healthcare products.”

young woman, smelling, sniffing her wet armpit, something stinks, very bad foul odor situation isolated . Negative emotion facial expression reaction

Deodorants Brands Caught with Benzene

These products were tested at an ISO accredited laboratory for benzene and came up with detectable results. Some of these brands had several of the same products tested and if that was the case, we only mentioned each product once. Lots of these products were body spray products. Because this is a daily exposure, it’s recommended to no longer use this product.

Products with benzene between 2ppm and 16 ppm: 

  • Secret Powder Fresh, 24 HR Aerosol
  • Secret Cool Light & Airy Smooth Feel, Dry Spray, 48 Hour Freshness, Rose
  • Tag Midnight, Fine Fragrance Body Spray, Long Lasting Scent
  • Tag Sport, Dominate, Fine Fragrance, Body Spray, Long Lasting Scent
  • Old Spice Pure Sport
  • Old Spice Below Deck, Powder Spray, Feel Drier & Cleaner, Down Below, Fresh Air
  • Old Spice Sweet Defense, Stronger Swagger, Dry Spray, Sweat & Odor Protection
  • Equate Dry Spray, Cucumber
  • Sure Lasts All Day, Unscented, Aerosol
  • Suave 24 Hour Protection, Powder, Aerosol
  • Suave 24 Hour Protection, Fresh, Aerosol
  • Brut Classic, 24 HR Protection
  • Right Guard Sport, Fresh, Up to 48 HR Odor Protection

Products with benzene up to .01 ppm: 

  • Summer’s Eve Ultra Freshening Spray, 5in1
  • Soft & Dri Classic, Signature Soft Scent
  • Victorias’ Secret VS Him, Platinum
  • Victoria’s Secret VS Him, Sweet Water
  • Power Stick, Cool Blast

Products with benzene below 0.1 ppm: 

  • Arrid Extra Extra Dry, XX, Morning Clean
  • Arrid Extra Extra Dry, XX, Ultra Fresh
  • Bath & Body Works, Marble, Men’s Collection
  • Bath & Body Works, Teakwood, Men’s Collection
  • Calvin Klein Eternity For Men, Aqua, All Over Body Spray
  • Calvin Klein Euphoria Men, All Over Body Spray
  • Degree Motionsense, DrySpray, Sexy Intrigue
  • Dove Advanced Care, Moisturizer With Natural Oil, Dry Spray, Nourished Beauty
  • Dove Men+Care, Dry Spray, Stain Defense, Cool, 48 H+ Comfort
  • Dove Men+Care, Refreshing, Ecalyptus + Birch, Plant-Based Moisturizer, Dry Spray
  • Dove Men+Care, Invigorating, Lime + Sage, Plant-Based Moisturizer, 48 HR
  • Dove Advanced Care, Moisture With Natural Oil, Dry Spray, Original Clean
  • Land of the Free Great Smoky Mountains, Fresh & Woody, Notes of Birch & Bergamont
  • Nautica Blue
  • Nautica Midnight Voyage

Featured Deodorant: Primally Pure Deodorant

Primally Pure has been one of my favorite deodorants for many years now. The ingredients are pure, simple, and effective. It’s the kind of deodorant that can carry me into the next day if I forget to put it on in the morning too. (It does contain some baking soda, so if you are sensitive to that, there are plenty of the other deodorants we have recommended that do not contain baking soda inside our investigation.)

This is what I mean by simple ingredients.  Primally Pure Lavender Deodorant Ingredients: Organic Arrowroot Powder, Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, Tallow from Grass-Fed Cows, Organic Beeswax, Baking Soda, Non-nano Zinc Oxide, White Kaolin Clay, Organic Lavender Essential Oil

If you would like to try Primally Pure, they are offering Mamavation community members 10% off by using coupon code “MAMAVATION” at checkout. Discover all the different Primally Pure Deodorants and here they are linked individually below.

Red hair woman buying deodorant in a cosmetics department

Mamavation’s Investigation of Deodorants

Mamavation released our deodorant investigation earlier this year and looked at over 100+ deodorant products available to you today. We divided the products into 3 categories based on the presence of hormone-disrupting chemicals. We’ve also added the results from this investigation from Valisure. Products with benzene and having benzene contamination will be found in the “not our favorite” category along with other deodorants that have other ingredients that are problematic.

Not Our Favorite Deodorants

These have high amounts of chemical fragrances, possible carcinogens, aluminum, petroleum, polyethylene glycol compounds (PEGs), and allergenic ingredients that will affect sensitive skin. Mamavation doesn’t recommend brands from this list, but please note that as we have updated this post over the years brands and products have shifted around due to changing their ingredients. Benzene levels are high here. We recommend you request a full refund of your products if you have any of these.

  • Alvera All Natural Roll-on Deodorant Aloe and Almonds
  • Arbonne Deodorant #4112
  • Arm & Hammer Essentials Unscented
  • Arrid
  • Axe
  • Ban Purely Gentle Roll-On Unscented Deodorant
  • Ban Unscented Solid Deodorant
  • Bee Maternal Clean Bergamot Deodorant
  • Corpus Three Roses
  • Degree Dial Anti-Perspirant Deodorant, Crystal Breeze
  • Deonat Mineral Deodorant Roll-On (Natural, Aloe, or Papaya)
  • Deonat Mineral Deodorant Spray (Natural, Aloe, or Papaya)
  • Dove
  • Equate Beauty Deodorant, Aluminum-free, Lavender
  • Gillette
  • Harry’s Odor Control Deodorant Stone
  • Kiss My Face Active Life Fragrance-Free Stick Deodorant
  • Kiss My Face Sport Stick Deodorant
  • Kopari Fragrance-Free Deodorant
  • Kopari Deodorant Beach Scent
  • Lady Speed Stick
  • Lume Lavender Sage
  • Melaleuca Sheer Confidence Antiperspirant & Deodorant perfect powder
  • Mitchum Clinical Powder Fresh Solid
  • Mitchum Unscented Gel
  • Modere Deodorant
  • Myro
  • Right Guard
  • Oars and Alps Natural Deodorant
  • Old Spice
  • Public Goods Deodorant
  • Salt & Stone Eucalyptus Sensitive Skin
  • Secret
  • Secret Clinical Strength Clear Gel Deodorant
  • Soft & Dri
  • Suave
  • Teen Spirit
  • Tom’s Of Maine Creamy Coconut Plastic Free Deodorant
  • Tom’s of Maine Original Care Deodorant Unscented

african american woman putting on deodorant

Better Deodorants

This section is lightyears better than the “not our favorite” category, but it still has some issues. These brands may have some of the following issues: undisclosed “natural” fragrances, undisclosed probiotic strains, too many preservatives, nano-based zinc oxide, or just too much junk. Lots of brands have shifted around since our last update and some may have products in different categories. Note: may need to do an armpit cleanse if they do not work for you.

african american female holding non-toxic deodorant

Best Deodorants

The vast majority of our products here contain mostly simple ingredients, antibacterials like coconut oil, baking soda, and/or and salts to control odor, essential oils, and more. These products use 100% fragrance transparency and do not rely heavily on preservatives. Lots of brands have shifted around since our last update and some may have products in different categories. Note: may need to do an armpit cleanse if they do not work on you. These are the best brands to support Monday through Friday and every day.

Recent Product Investigations

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. N.Y.B

    So all the “bad” deodorants
    (“the cheap one’s”) $7+ are STILL in the Walmart shelf’s and local pharmacies. Mind you, prices tripled and no change in size or amounts. But the “safe one’s” cost 3 times as much more expensive $11+ And not all available in our local stores. The same thing happened with toothpaste a few yrs back but Colgate, crest and others loaded with very bad chemicals are still on shelves.
    Also a few yrs back all deodorants aerosols sprays were banned for the same and for destroying the ozone layer and then came back to the shelves and now here we go again. GOOD OR BAD, LOOKS like a huge SCAM no matter how you look at it. Also sounds like both sides are working together. The the way this world is turning these days, it’s not surprising.
    ADVICE?
    I Don’t trust FDA nor CDC BIG PHARMA OR ANY GOVERNMENT CRAP. BUNCH OF LIES. OH YEA STILL GOING ON TODAY. WAKE UP PEOPLE.
    Learn to make your own deodorant. Organic and Very very easy to make with just a few things in you kitchen. Do it once, and see that you’ll never have to buy deodorants again.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.