Acne creams may contain high levels of carcinogens: study

Another blemish on their record?

A new analysis has once again found that dozens of popular acne creams and cleansers contain “unacceptably high levels” of a cancer-causing chemical.

Professors from Yale and Long Island universities and a team from Valisure, a Connecticut-based lab, tested 111 acne products with benzoyl peroxide (BPO), including Proactiv and Clearasil.

They determined that roughly one-third contained benzene, a known carcinogen that has been linked to leukemia and blood disorders.

BPO is a topical antiseptic found in creams and face washes designed to fight acne.

The findings, published last week in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, reported that CVS brand face wash contained 13 times the amount of benzene considered safe by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), while Proactiv contained 18 times more. than the acceptable limit.

CVS Health Corp . told Time it is committed to ensuring its products are safe. A spokesperson for Proactiv did not immediately return a mailed request for comment.

“The discovery of benzene formation in benzoyl peroxide acne treatments poses a potentially serious public health risk,” said Valisure co-founder and president David Light. “Our research indicates that these products, widely used by consumers of all ages, may contain or generate extremely high levels of benzene, particularly under common environmental conditions.”

Earlier this year, Valisure filed a recall petition with the FDA after testing 66 products with BPO as the main ingredient and finding up to 12 times the allowed amount.

Valisure said over-the-counter and over-the-counter products containing BPO can create levels of benzene that are more than 800 times the FDA’s concentration limit.

Light said at the time, “The benzene we found in sunscreens and other consumer products were impurities that came from contaminated ingredients; however, the benzene in benzoyl peroxide products comes from the benzoyl peroxide itself.

Valisure was criticized for the initial study, with critics noting that the samples were kept at high temperatures and the analysis was not subject to peer review. In the latest analysis, which was peer-reviewed, the researchers kept the products at room temperature.

The researchers said many of the same products tested in the original analysis, when kept at room temperature, contained benzene levels within the acceptable limit of 2 parts per million.

However, some still register well above that mark, and researchers note that benzene levels can increase when exposed to ultraviolet light, indicating that consumers may face increased risk while in the sun.

Dr. Christopher Bunick, an associate professor of dermatology at Yale and a co-author of the study, hopes his team’s findings will lead to change.

“Our research shows that BPO products can generate gasoline at typical room and warehouse shelf temperatures, while cold storage significantly reduces this formation,” he said. “These findings suggest the need to recommend refrigeration of BPO products throughout the supply chain—from production to patient use—to limit benzene exposure.”

Recently, levels of benzene have been detected in a variety of products.

In 2021, CVS recalled two store-brand products after Johnson & Johnson said it voluntarily recalled five sunscreen products due to trace amounts of benzene.

Consumers filed a class-action lawsuit against J&J for recalling affected products, including Aveeno and Neutrogena aerosol sunscreens.

In the summer of 2022, Banana Boat recalled three batches of its “hair and scalp” sunscreen spray after tests revealed it contained traces of benzene.

Weeks later, more than two dozen popular dry shampoo aerosol products sold by multinational giant Unilever were recalled due to “potentially elevated levels of benzene.”