Dr. Howard Smith Oncall

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/C5WpotMrR0E/ Ninety-five percent of benzoyl peroxide-containing cosmetics contain detectable levels of the human carcinogen benzene.  Even more worrisome: 89% of these products will harbor significantly toxic benzene concentrations if heated to levels considered safe by pharmaceutical standards. These findings prompted the independent testing lab Valisure to seek a mandatory FDA recall of all acne medications that contain benzoyl peroxide or BP for short.  The tested products include Equate Beauty 2.5% BP cleansers, Neutrogena 10% BP cleanser, CVS Health 10% BP face wash, Walgreens 10% BP cream, Clean & Clear 10% cleanser, Equate Beauty 10% BP acne wash, and Proactiv 2.5% BP cleanser. Predictably, some of the companies manufacturing BP-containing products as well their national trade association took issue with some of the test procedures.  Others groups have validated the reliability of these tests. While more investigations are ongoing, the best advice is to av