What Does the Benzene in Sunscreen Study Actually Mean?
Concerns about sunscreen safety, many entirely unfounded, continue to bubble up. The latest are stemming from a study by Valisure, an independent, for-profit pharmacy and research testing lab, that found benzene, a carcinogen, in 78 of nearly 300 sunscreen samples tested. For sure. But let's make one thing clear upfront: Benzene is not an ingredient in sunscreen and never has been. This is an issue of manufacturing contamination, not sunscreen formulations that pose health risks. (Earlier this year, the same lab that found benzene in many sunscreens found it in many hand sanitizers too. Over the last few decades, excessive levels of benzene have been found in soft drinks and other beverages.) right.) sunscreen routines. "We saw the first signals of there being an issue [with sunscreens] in late 2020," says David Light, founder and CEO of Valisure, noting that they analyzed 294 unique batches of sunscreen and after-sun care products from 69 different companies. "We followed up with a broad market sweep over the last few months to test products that we were able to source from major retailers." Light adds that "while 78 products contained detectable levels of benzene," there were also more than 200 batches of sunscreen that did not. And for total consumer transparency, they published a complete list of benzene-positive sunscreens and after-sun products  and their batch numbers  as well as a list of sun products that tested negative for benzene. As happens with any news that seems to call sunscreen's safety into question, the internet went into a bit of a spiral. And this study does raise concerning issues, says Mathew Avram, president of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery (ASDS), director at the Mass General Dermatology Laser & Cosmetic Center and associate professor of dermatology at Harvard Medical School. Benzene "is not an ingredient in sunscreens and never has been," he explains. In other words: Benzene is not supposed to be anywhere near the sunscreen manufacturing process. If you're not familiar with benzene, you're not alone. It's a chemical naturally found in volcanoes and forest fires, and "a natural part of crude oil, gasoline, and cigarette smoke," according to the CDC. As the CDC explains, it's a chemical most people are likely exposed to every day, as the air we breathe contains low levels of it from tobacco smoke, gas stations, motor vehicle exhaust, and industrial emissions. It's also used to make chemicals found in human-made products like plastics, dyes, and detergents, and is found in glue and paint.