Johnson & Johnson issued a voluntary recall of four Neutrogena and one Aveeno sunscreen products July 14 after internal testing detected low levels of benzene — a substance that could cause cancer with enough exposure.
All of the affected products are aerosol sunscreens and include: Neutrogena Beach Defense, Neutrogena Cool Dry Sport, Neutrogena Invisible Daily, Neutrogena Ultra Sheer and Aveeno Protect + Refresh.
"While benzene is not an ingredient in any of our sunscreen products, it was detected in some samples of the impacted aerosol sunscreen finished products," J&J said. "We are investigating the cause of the issue, which is limited to certain aerosol sunscreen products."
Benzene is formed through both natural processes and human activities. It's found in crude oil, gasoline and cigarette smoke, according to the CDC. Long-term exposure to high levels of the substance has been linked to leukemia.
The J&J recall said while "levels detected in our testing would not be expected to cause adverse health consequences," it issued the recall "out of an abundance of caution."