L’Oréal, the French cosmetics giant and parent company of the skincare product CeraVe, is reportedly facing six class-action lawsuits.
The company, headquartered in Clichy, France, is facing multiple lawsuits over claims that some of its products contain benzene, a chemical linked to cancer.
The lawsuits followed findings from Valisure, a laboratory founded by former Yale students, which identified high concentrations of benzene in some of the company’s cosmetic products.
Checks by the Peoples Gazette showed that CeraVe’s overview of its over-the-counter skincare products confirmed the presence of benzoyl peroxide in concentrations ranging from 2.5 per cent to 10 per cent.
The company also acknowledged that its products, such as Acne Foaming Cream Wash, contain 10 per cent benzoyl peroxide, while Acne Foaming Cream Cleanser contains 4 per cent, stating that the substance treats acne.
A fact-checking platform, Snopes, listed the plaintiffs who initially filed separate lawsuits as follows: Jennifer Snow in Hawaii; Holly Grossenbacher in Louisiana; Ellen Painter and Robert Hightower in Missouri; Lucinda O’Dea in Illinois; and Latifah Abednego in New York.
The report stated that a panel of judges handling multidistrict litigation on February 7, 2025, reportedly denied a motion by the plaintiffs seeking to transfer their lawsuits to the federal district in Hawaii.
The case, which is yet to be adjudicated as of press time, was reportedly transferred to the Southern District of New York in May 2025 for a hearing.
