Non-Toxic Dry Shampoo: Fragrance, Benzene and What to Do

Dry shampoo was one of the lowest-scoring categories in our scans. It is a product you spray or shake onto your scalp and hair, often on top of the roots, and then leave in. Here is what we found, for anyone looking for a non-toxic dry shampoo.

We scanned 10 best-selling dry shampoos. They averaged 3.9 out of 10, and every one of them contained fragrance. That is the only hormone flag we found in the group, but it was on 10 out of 10 products.

How the 10 scored

Six landed in Mixed and four in Avoid. None was Clean. Scores ranged from 2 to 5.5.

These are best-sellers we chose to scan, not a random sample of everything on the shelf. Even so, not one of the ten was fragrance-free. For comparison, hair care overall (17 products) averaged 5.9, with 10 of 17 containing fragrance, and dry shampoo sat well below that.

Why fragrance is the flag

In the US, a brand can list a blend of many scent chemicals under the single word “fragrance” or “parfum.” Some fragrance ingredients, like the solvent diethyl phthalate, have been linked to hormone disruption, and the label does not tell you whether a given blend includes them. The app flags undisclosed fragrance as a precaution. A flag is a reason to look closer, not proof of harm. See What “fragrance” on a label can hide.

The benzene recalls

Fragrance is not the only story in this category. In December 2021, P&G recalled more than 30 aerosol products, including Pantene and Herbal Essences dry shampoos. In October 2022, Unilever recalled aerosol dry shampoos sold under Dove, TRESemmé, Bed Head, Nexxus, Suave and Rockaholic.

In both cases, the benzene came from the propellant, not from a listed ingredient. That matters for a practical reason: benzene never appears on the label, so no amount of ingredient reading can screen for it. A label cannot show you a contaminant that is not an ingredient.

We did not test for benzene, and we are not saying any particular product we scanned has it. The point is that the aerosol format carried a risk that a label could not reveal.

Why this category scored so low

Dry shampoo is a leave-on product, and every one we scanned carried a fragrance flag. A shampoo you rinse out is on your hair for a few minutes. A dry shampoo is meant to stay. In our data, leave-on categories with fragrance (dry shampoo at 3.9, lip products at 4.2, body care at 5.4) scored lower than rinse-off cleansers, which averaged 6.3.

The scores for the four Avoid products came in at 2, 2, 2 and 3.5. The highest-scoring dry shampoos reached 5.5, which is still only Mixed.

What the FDA is (and is not) doing about fragrance

MoCRA, passed in 2022, requires the FDA to make brands disclose fragrance allergens. The FDA missed the June 2024 deadline and now expects to propose the rule around November 2026. The rule concerns allergen disclosure. Until then, the practical filter is the one word on the label.

How to read a dry shampoo label

Start at the end of the ingredient list and work backward. Look for “fragrance,” “parfum” or “parfum/fragrance,” which is how the flag showed up across our ten products. Then look at the format on the front. A can with a propellant is the aerosol type the recalls involved. A shaker or loose powder is not.

Do not rely on marketing terms. “Clean” has no legal definition for cosmetics, since neither the FDA nor the FTC defines it, so a product can use the word without meeting any shared standard.

What to do if you want a non-toxic dry shampoo

• Choose fragrance-free. Check the ingredient list for “fragrance” or “parfum.” “Unscented” can mean a masking fragrance was added, while “fragrance-free” usually means none was.
• Try a non-aerosol format. Powder and other non-aerosol formats avoid the propellant question raised by the recalls.
• Use it less often. Because it sits on your scalp and hair, reducing how often you use it reduces how much you apply. Think of it as a bridge between washes, not a replacement.
• Check for recalls. If you keep an aerosol, look up the brand’s recall notices.
• Check the label on the bottle you buy. Formulas change, and retailer listings can be out of date. Our guide on how to check if a product is non-toxic walks through it.

If you are pregnant or managing a health condition, ask your doctor what is right for you.

Sources

• NBC News: Unilever recalls dry shampoos over potential benzene
• Cosmetic news: FDA fragrance allergen rule timeline (ChemLinked)
• ToxFree scans of 133 products, September 23 – October 5, 2026, re-scored October 6, 2026

Educational information, not medical advice. Formulas change, so check the label on the product you buy.