Another day, another beauty lawsuit. Following a string of major brands coming under fire for adverse side effects—including Wen by Chaz Dean (claims of hair loss), EOS Lip Balm (claims of serious skin irritation), and even the seemingly innocent Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder (claims that it contains cancer-causing ingredients)—Old Spice is now being hit with a lawsuit for allegedly causing burns and rashes. Phew. Talk about a busy year, and it's only March.
This latest case was brought forth by a Virginia man who is suing Procter & Gamble, Old Spice's parent company and also the makers of Secret deodorant, for $25,000 in damages. The man alleges the deodorant causes rashes, irritation, and burning, and the suit name-checks 12 different scents as possible culprits, reports WWD: After Hours, Champion, Pure Sport High Endurance, Arctic Force High Endurance, Bearglove, Lion Pride, Swagger, Fresh High Endurance, Aqua Reef, Classic Fresh, Fiji, and Wolfthorn. (Gotta love how different those names are from women's deodorant...) The man also shared photos of his irritated underarms on Instagram.
In response to the suit, P&G issued the following statement: "The safety of the men who use Old Spice is the foundation of everything we do. We go to great lengths to ensure our products are safe to use, and tens of millions of men use this product with confidence and without incident every year. A small number of men may experience irritation due to alcohol sensitivity, a common ingredient across virtually all deodorant products. For men who have experienced a reaction to a deodorant, an antiperspirant may be a better option because they have a different formulation."
But hold up, what does this mean for those of us who prefer using men's deodorant over women's? We know plenty of women—including Glamour staffers and readers—who find they offer better coverage and enjoy the cleaner scents over the powdery and floral fragrances most women's products have. And I've definitely been known to swipe my boyfriend's stick (he's an avid Old Spice user) whenever I'm in pinch and can't make to the drugstore in time to buy more deodorant. Hey, sometimes a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do.
