A couple months ago, a company called VALISURE filed a petition to the FDA citing documented dangers to using benzoyl peroxide (BPO). They are requesting all BPO products to be removed from the US over-the-counter market.
Who is Valisure? They are an independent drug testing company.
So why are they saying BPO is bad? Valisure’s tests showed that on-market BPO products can form more than 800x the conditionally restricted FDA concentration limit of two parts per million (ppm) for benzene. What is the issue with this? Benzene is a carcinogen, meaning it is linked to cancer.
Side note: The EU/UK banned BPO in ALL over the counter products and is only available by prescription.
There are many reasons besides this that make BPO a poor skincare choice this however is significant and hopefully the FDA will look at the last 3 decades of reporting to show the dangers BPO poses when not regulated.
If you or your teens, pre-teens are using BPO, please consider this risk and reach out for better and SAFER options or toss all over-the-counter BPO items you have a seek a prescription if you really LOVE BPO.
I do not recommend BPO for acne. For occasional use as a face mask on inflamed acne, it can help but never to be kept on overnight or used on a regular basis as a primary means to manage acne.
You can read the full Valisure FDA document here: https://assets-global.website-