Milberg Dry Shampoo Benzene Lawsuits Target Sol de Janeiro, dpHue

Class action attorneys for Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman (“Milberg”) have filed two additional class action lawsuits against dry shampoo manufacturers based on laboratory results showing their products contain the human carcinogen benzene. Milberg’s latest dry shampoo benzene lawsuits, against defendants Sol de Janeiro USA, Inc. and DMP Color, LLC, or dpHUE, contain similar claims to our Not Your Mother’s, Paul Mitchell, and Klorane dry shampoo class actions.

If you purchased dry shampoo products from any of these brands, you may be eligible to join a Milberg lawsuit and receive compensation. You do not have to hire a lawyer. We are representing all class members on a contingency basis.

Valisure Testing Finds Benzene in Popular Dry Shampoo Products

Dry shampoo is designed to remove dirt, oil, and grease from the hair and scalp without water. Often used between showers to keep hair looking clean and fresh, dry shampoo uses drying agents delivered through an aerosol spray or powder.

Dry shampoo is not meant as a substitute for wet-washing hair. Long-term use can cause scalp irritation, hair breakage, and other issues. But the detection of benzene—a chemical found in oil, gasoline, cigarette smoke, adhesives, and paint strippers—in dry shampoo products poses more serious health risks.

Valisure, an FDA-accredited independent analytical laboratory, detected high benzene levels in some batches of certain dry shampoo products that it tested. The Department of Health and Human Services, the World Health Organization, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer have determined that benzene can cause cancer in humans. Benzene is associated with leukemia and other blood cancers.

Plaintiff and other Class Members would not have purchased the Products, or would have paid substantially less for the Products, had Defendant disclosed that the Products contained or risked containing benzene, or otherwise not misrepresented that the Products did not contain or were not at risk of containing benzene.

The FDA classifies benzene as a Class I solvent that “should not be employed in the manufacture of drug substances, excipients, and drug products because of [its] unacceptable toxicity.” When benzene use is necessary to produce a drug product with a “significant therapeutic advance,” FDA limits benzene levels to 2 parts per million (ppm).

However, according to Valisure, any amount of benzene in the dry shampoos tested could be considered unacceptable because they are not drugs and “contain no active pharmaceutical ingredient for therapeutic purpose.”

Moreover, many of the dry shampoo products that Valisure tested were found to have benzene levels far higher than the FDA’s 2 ppm restriction. These products include dry shampoos made by Sol de Janeiro and dpHUE.

Sol de Janeiro Dry Shampoo Lawsuit

Milberg’s Sol de Janeiro dry shampoo lawsuit centers on test results from Valisure showing that Brazilian Joia Dry Shampoo (4 oz) contained as much as 3.15 ppm of benzene.

The lead plaintiffs in the case have filed a class action complaint and seek to represent the following consumer class and subclasses:

• All persons in the United States who purchased Sol de Janerio dry shampoo products for personal or household use
• All consumers who purchased the products for personal or household use in Illinois
• All consumers who purchased the products for personal or household use in California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, or Washington

dpHue Dry Shampoo Lawsuit

Valisure tested two types of dpHUE dry shampoo—Apple Cider Vinegar Dry Shampoo (1 oz) and Apple Cider Vinegary Dry Shampoo (5 oz). They contained benzene concentrations of 7.11 and 6.2, respectively. These were among the highest benzene levels of any dry shampoos that Valisure analyzed.

Milberg’s dpHUE dry shampoo lawsuit looks to establish the same three classes/subclasses as the Sol de Janeiro class action (i.e., a U.S. consumer class, an Illinois subclass, and a subclass of California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, and Washington consumers).

Both lawsuits seek monetary damages for product purchase prices, statutory and punitive damages, injunctive relief, and attorneys’ fees and costs. They were filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and cite violations of state consumer fraud acts. Milberg attorneys Gary Klinger, Nick Suciu III, and Erin J. Ruben are representing the plaintiffs.

Milberg: The Firm That Pioneered Class Action Litigation

Milberg ushered in a new era of corporate accountability as one of the first law firms to file federal class action lawsuits on behalf of consumers and investors. Today, we continue to build on our legacy as one of the country’s preeminent consumer protection firms. We have the strength, the resources, and the reach to hold large companies accountable for failing to protect their customers’ rights. Since 1965, Milberg has recovered over $50 billion in verdicts and settlements.