Procter & Gamble faced a wave of class action lawsuits after independent testing found the cancer-causing chemical benzene in Old Spice and Secret aerosol sprays, leading to a nationwide product recall and a consolidated federal settlement.

The case affected millions of consumers who purchased the recalled products over a six-year window, and it resulted in a real, court-approved $8 million settlement fund — though that specific claims window has since closed.

This litigation is part of a broader wave of benzene-contamination cases that have also touched sunscreen and dry shampoo products sold by other major consumer brands.

Here’s a fact that surprised many shoppers: some tested batches of Old Spice and Secret sprays contained benzene levels of up to 17.1 parts per million, according to the independent lab that first flagged the contamination — far above what regulators consider an acceptable trace amount in a consumer product.

Quick Facts

Plaintiffs	Multiple named consumers (including Toporek and Bryski) representing a proposed nationwide class
Defendant	The Procter & Gamble Company
Court	U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio (MDL No. 2:22-md-03025)
Case Type	Consolidated multidistrict litigation and class action settlement (economic loss claims)
Core Allegation	P&G sold Old Spice and other aerosol products containing undisclosed benzene, a known human carcinogen
Filing Date	Lawsuits filed beginning November 2021; consolidated into MDL 3025 on April 8, 2022

What Is the Old Spice Lawsuit About?

The Old Spice lawsuit refers to a group of consumer class actions accusing Procter & Gamble of selling aerosol antiperspirant and deodorant sprays contaminated with benzene without disclosing the risk to buyers.

The allegations trace back to November 2021, when independent pharmacy and testing lab Valisure found benzene in numerous aerosol personal care products, including several Old Spice and Secret sprays. Plaintiffs argued P&G knew or should have known about the contamination risk and failed to warn consumers.

Key Takeaway: This wasn’t a case about deodorant simply not working — it was about an undisclosed carcinogen allegedly present in a product used daily by millions of people.

Old Spice Class Action Lawsuit: Legal Status Overview

The various Old Spice and Secret benzene lawsuits were consolidated into a single multidistrict litigation, MDL No. 2:22-md-03025, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, before Judge Michael H. Watson.

• Consolidation Order: Issued by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation on April 8, 2022.
• Products at Issue: Aerosol antiperspirants, deodorants, body sprays, dry shampoos, and dry conditioners sold under the Old Spice, Secret, Pantene, Waterless, Aussie, Herbal Essences, and Hair Food brands.
• Legal Theories: Failure to disclose a safety risk, breach of warranty, unjust enrichment, and violations of state consumer protection statutes.
• Resolution: A $8 million economic-loss class action settlement received final court approval on May 30, 2023.

Key Takeaway: The consumer economic-loss piece of this litigation has already been resolved — the settlement is no longer accepting new claims, which is an important distinction for anyone searching for this case today.

Latest Update 2026

As of mid-2026, the $8 million Old Spice/Secret aerosol settlement is closed. The claims deadline passed on January 26, 2023, and the settlement received final approval a few months later, in May 2023.

• Claimants who filed on time reported receiving payments, with reported payouts up to $10.50 per household without proof of purchase, by around September 2023.
• No new consumer economic-loss claims can be filed under this specific settlement today.
• Separate from the closed economic settlement, reports indicate that individual personal injury claims related to benzene exposure health effects may still be pursued outside this settlement, though no consolidated bellwether trial date or new settlement fund for injury claims has been publicly confirmed as of this writing.

Key Takeaway: If you’re searching for “Old Spice lawsuit” hoping to file a new claim in 2026, the original consumer settlement window has already closed — any current options would involve a separate, individual legal claim rather than this settlement.

Key Allegations Against Old Spice and Procter & Gamble

Plaintiffs in the consolidated litigation raised several consistent claims about P&G’s conduct.

• P&G allegedly sold aerosol Old Spice and Secret products containing benzene despite the company’s own public statements that its products did not contain the chemical.
• Independent testing by Valisure reportedly found benzene at levels as high as 16.1 to 17.1 parts per million in some tested batches.
• Benzene was not listed as an ingredient on affected product labels, according to the complaints.
• Plaintiffs alleged P&G knew or should have known about contamination risk given how the aerosol propellant and other ingredients were sourced and manufactured.

Key Takeaway: The core legal claim wasn’t that the deodorant caused instant harm to every user — it was that consumers were denied the information needed to decide whether they wanted to be exposed to a known carcinogen at all.

Benzene Health Risks Explained

Benzene is classified as a known human carcinogen by health authorities, including the CDC and the National Cancer Institute.

• Long-term benzene exposure has been linked to leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and aplastic anemia.
• The CDC notes that benzene exposure can harm bone marrow and reduce red blood cell production over time.
• Regulatory and public health guidance generally treats benzene as unsafe at any level in products applied directly to skin, given its carcinogenic classification.

Key Takeaway: The health risk connected to this lawsuit isn’t about short-term skin irritation — it’s about long-term cancer and blood-disorder risk tied to repeated exposure to a chemical that shouldn’t have been present at all.

Is Old Spice Deodorant Actually Dangerous to Use Today?

Current Old Spice products on store shelves today are not the same recalled aerosol formulas that triggered this litigation. P&G issued a voluntary recall of the affected aerosol sprays in November 2021, specifically targeting the batches identified in Valisure’s testing.

There is no indication in available reporting that P&G’s current product lineup contains benzene contamination at the levels alleged in the original lawsuits. Consumers concerned about a specific product can check it against the original November 2021 recall list.

Key Takeaway: This lawsuit involved a defined set of aerosol products recalled years ago — it does not mean all Old Spice products, including current non-aerosol formats, are unsafe.

Procter & Gamble Background and How the Issue Started

Procter & Gamble is one of the world’s largest consumer goods companies, and Old Spice has been one of its flagship personal care brands for decades.

The contamination issue came to light in November 2021, when Valisure, an independent testing pharmacy known for flagging contamination in consumer products, published findings of benzene in numerous aerosol antiperspirants, deodorants, and body sprays across multiple brands, including Old Spice and Secret. P&G issued a voluntary recall of roughly twenty affected aerosol products on November 23, 2021, shortly after the findings became public.

Key Takeaway: P&G’s relatively fast recall response came directly in reaction to third-party lab findings, not from its own internal detection — a detail plaintiffs’ attorneys highlighted in arguing the company should have caught the issue sooner.

Consumer Complaints and Recall Records

The benzene contamination findings prompted significant public concern once the recall and lawsuits became widely reported.

• Consumers raised concerns about long-term exposure risk from daily-use products they had trusted for years.
• The recall covered specific aerosol product lines across seven P&G brands, not the company’s full product catalog.
• News coverage at the time, including from major outlets, amplified public awareness of the contamination findings and the resulting litigation.

Key Takeaway: The scale of public concern reflected how routine and trusted these products were — daily personal care items aren’t typically expected to carry an undisclosed carcinogen risk.

Who Qualified for the Old Spice Settlement? Eligibility Criteria

The now-closed $8 million settlement covered a specific, defined group of consumers. Eligibility required:

• Purchasing an eligible Secret, Old Spice, Pantene, Waterless, Aussie, Herbal Essences, or Hair Food aerosol antiperspirant, deodorant, body spray, dry shampoo, or dry conditioner product.
• Making that purchase between November 4, 2015, and December 31, 2021.
• Submitting a claim before the January 26, 2023 deadline.

Important: This settlement is closed, and these eligibility criteria describe who qualified for the original claims window — they do not represent an active, ongoing opportunity to file today.

Old Spice Settlement Amount: Payouts That Were Issued

The settlement made available up to $8 million total for eligible claimants.

• Without proof of purchase: Claimants could receive $3.50 cash per product, or brand-specific vouchers valued between $5 and $10, for up to three products — a maximum of $10.50 in cash or up to three vouchers per household.
• With proof of purchase: Claimants could be compensated for each eligible product purchased, without the three-product cap that applied to unverified claims.
• Reported payouts: By around September 2023, claimants reported receiving payments up to $10.50, consistent with the no-proof-of-purchase cash tier.

Key Takeaway: This was a relatively modest per-person payout typical of consumer economic-loss settlements — the larger financial exposure for P&G, if any, would come from separate personal injury claims rather than this settlement.

How the Old Spice Payout Was Calculated

The settlement used a tiered structure common in consumer class action settlements involving low-cost household products.

1. Claimants without a receipt were capped at a fixed per-product cash or voucher amount, up to three products.
2. Claimants who provided documentation, such as a dated receipt, could claim compensation for additional eligible products beyond the three-item cap.
3. The $8 million total fund was distributed based on the volume and type of valid claims submitted before the deadline, with administrative costs handled separately by the claims administrator.

Key Takeaway: The proof-of-purchase requirement primarily affected how much a claimant could recover, not whether they were eligible to file a claim at all.

How the Now-Closed Claims Process Worked

For reference, claimants during the active claims period followed this process, administered by Kroll Settlement Administration LLC:

• Confirm the specific product and brand purchased matched the eligible list.
• Visit the official settlement website to submit a claim online, or file by mail.
• Provide a receipt or other proof of purchase if claiming more than three products or seeking uncapped reimbursement.
• Await processing and payment following the May 30, 2023 final approval.

Key Takeaway: This process is historical information only — the official claims portal is no longer accepting new submissions for this settlement.

Filing Deadline: Why the Old Spice Claim Window Is Closed

The claims deadline for the $8 million settlement was January 26, 2023, and the settlement received final court approval on May 30, 2023. Both dates have long since passed.

Anyone encountering an offer today claiming they can still “file a new claim” for this specific settlement should treat it with skepticism, since the official claims window is closed and payments have already been distributed to timely claimants.

Key Takeaway: There is no current deadline to track for this settlement because the filing period has already ended — the only relevant deadlines now would apply to separate, individual legal claims.

Are Personal Injury Claims Against Old Spice Still Possible?

The closed $8 million settlement addressed economic-loss claims — essentially, reimbursing consumers for money spent on a product they wouldn’t have purchased had they known about the benzene contamination. It did not resolve claims from anyone who developed a serious health condition, such as leukemia or another blood disorder, potentially linked to benzene exposure from these products.

Reports indicate that individual personal injury lawsuits related to benzene exposure remain a separate, ongoing legal avenue, generally requiring documented regular use of the affected products alongside medical records connecting a diagnosis to that exposure. As of this writing, no consolidated bellwether trial date or new class-wide injury settlement has been publicly confirmed for this specific litigation, and any personal injury statute of limitations would depend on the laws of the individual’s state.

Key Takeaway: If you believe you developed a serious illness connected to long-term use of the recalled products, that would likely need to be pursued as a separate, individual legal claim rather than through the now-closed economic settlement — consulting an attorney directly is the appropriate next step, not this article.

Other Related Aerosol Benzene Lawsuits for Context

The Old Spice and Secret litigation is part of a broader pattern of benzene-contamination cases affecting aerosol personal care products across the industry, following Valisure’s 2021 testing that also flagged other brands like Suave and Tag.

Separately, benzene contamination concerns have also driven litigation and recalls involving other aerosol product categories, including sunscreen sprays and dry shampoo products from other manufacturers, following similar independent lab findings in subsequent years.

Key Takeaway: If you used multiple recalled aerosol brands during the relevant period, it’s worth checking whether you were eligible for more than one settlement, since these cases were generally handled as separate, brand-specific claims processes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Old Spice lawsuit about?

The Old Spice lawsuit refers to consumer class actions alleging Procter & Gamble sold Old Spice and Secret aerosol antiperspirants, deodorants, and body sprays contaminated with benzene, a known human carcinogen, without disclosing the risk. The claims were consolidated into MDL No. 2:22-md-03025 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio and resulted in an $8 million economic-loss settlement, which received final court approval in May 2023 and is now closed to new claims.

Who qualified for the Old Spice settlement?

The now-closed settlement covered consumers who purchased an eligible Old Spice, Secret, Pantene, Waterless, Aussie, Herbal Essences, or Hair Food aerosol product between November 4, 2015, and December 31, 2021, and who submitted a claim before the January 26, 2023 deadline. Because the claims window has passed, these criteria now describe historical eligibility rather than a currently open opportunity to file.

How much did the Old Spice settlement pay out?

Claimants without proof of purchase could receive up to $3.50 cash per product or $5 to $10 brand-specific vouchers, capped at three products per household (a maximum of $10.50 in cash). Claimants with proof of purchase could be reimbursed for additional eligible products without that cap. Reports indicate typical payouts landed around $10.50 for claimants relying on the no-proof-of-purchase option.

Can I still sue over a benzene-related illness from Old Spice products?

The closed $8 million settlement did not cover personal injury claims, such as a leukemia or blood disorder diagnosis allegedly linked to benzene exposure. Reports indicate individual personal injury lawsuits may still be a viable, separate legal path for people who developed a serious illness after regular use of the recalled products, though this would depend on medical documentation and your state’s statute of limitations, and no consolidated injury settlement has been publicly confirmed as of this writing.

Is there still time to file an Old Spice lawsuit claim?

No, the claims deadline for the $8 million economic-loss settlement was January 26, 2023, and that settlement is now closed to new filings. Anyone who believes they suffered a serious health injury connected to benzene exposure from these products, separate from the economic settlement, should consult an attorney directly about individual legal options and applicable deadlines, since general settlement filing dates no longer apply.

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What to Know Now About the Old Spice Lawsuit

The Old Spice lawsuit resulted in a real, court-approved $8 million settlement for consumers who purchased contaminated aerosol products, but that specific claims process has already closed, with payments distributed to timely filers by 2023.

For most consumers, there’s no remaining action to take regarding this particular settlement. The relevant deadlines have passed, and the fund has already been allocated among those who filed on time.

If you believe you developed a serious health condition connected to long-term exposure to the recalled products, your best next steps are different from the settlement process described here:

• Gather medical records documenting any relevant diagnosis.
• Locate proof of regular use of the specific recalled Old Spice or Secret aerosol products, such as receipts or purchase history.
• Consult a personal injury attorney about whether an individual claim may still be viable under your state’s laws.

Readers researching this case for general awareness should treat the economic settlement as historical, resolved litigation, while recognizing that benzene-related personal injury claims remain a separate and evolving legal area.

• Top Class Actions, “Procter & Gamble benzene aerosol products $8M class action settlement”
• ClassAction.org, “Procter & Gamble Settles Aerosol Benzene Class Actions: Here’s How to Get Some Cash”
• AboutLawsuits.com, “Secret and Old Spice Lawsuits Over Benzene in Aerosol Deodorant Sprays Consolidated For Pretrial Proceedings”
• ClassAction.org, “Old Spice, Secret Body Sprays Contain Known Carcinogen Benzene, Class Action Alleges”
• Top Class Actions, “Procter & Gamble Sold Old Spice, Secret Antiperspirant Sprays Containing Benzene, New Class Action Claims”
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, MDL No. 2:22-md-03025 case information page

Sources

• Top Class Actions, “Procter & Gamble benzene aerosol products $8M class action settlement”
• ClassAction.org, “Procter & Gamble Settles Aerosol Benzene Class Actions: Here’s How to Get Some Cash”
• AboutLawsuits.com, “Secret and Old Spice Lawsuits Over Benzene in Aerosol Deodorant Sprays Consolidated For Pretrial Proceedings”
• ClassAction.org, “Old Spice, Secret Body Sprays Contain Known Carcinogen Benzene, Class Action Alleges”
• Top Class Actions, “Procter & Gamble Sold Old Spice, Secret Antiperspirant Sprays Containing Benzene, New Class Action Claims”
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, MDL No. 2:22-md-03025 case information page