Drunk Elephant Issued a Voluntary Recall of 3 Best-Selling Skin-Care Products

Popular skin-care brand Drunk Elephant has issued a voluntary recall of several products due to “an isolated ingredient mix-up between preservatives and surfactants,” according to a FAQ page about the recall on the brand’s site. (Surfactants are commonly added to hair- and skin-care products to cleanse and make products emulsify and foam. Preservatives prevent microorganisms from contaminating or growing in a product throughout its shelf life.)

Certain batches of Beste No. 9 Jelly Cleanser, Protini Polypeptide Cream, and Lala Retro Whipped Cream are impacted by the recall, including sample packets of Lala Retro Whipped Cream that come free with the purchase of the brand’s O-Bloos Rosi Drops. (The Rosi Drops are not impacted by the recall.)

According to a spokesperson from the brand, the mix-up happened during production, and “the formulation of certain lots of these products were compromised.” For example, the ingredient Microkill COS, a patented combination of three different preservatives, was found in Beste No. 9 Jelly Cleanser, though it is not featured on the product’s ingredient list. “The ingredients phenoxyethanol and chlorphenesin [which are included in that combination] can be irritating to some people’s skin,” cosmetic chemist Perry Romanowski says.

Affected batches of the fan-favorite Lala Retro Whipped Cream and Protini Pepolypeptide Cream, on the other hand, mistakenly contained Mirataine CBS, a patented surfactant for hair and skin care. “This is a mild, non-ionic surfactant used in gentle cleansers,” Romanowski explains. “If it is included in a cream accidentally, it could possibly destabilize the formula so it might separate over time, or it could cause some irritation on the skin.” However, he adds that it’s likely not a problem in this situation.

Batches of Lala Retro Whipped Cream were also found to contain yeast, including Candida parapsilosis, which cosmetic chemist Perry Romanowski says is “a part of the normal human microbiota but can become pathogenic under certain conditions.” On the skin, this yeast can cause infections like cutaneous candidiasis, especially for immunocompromised people, and can also show up as red, irritated, or itchy skin or pustules, says board-certified dermatologist Mona Gohara, MD.

As for the Protini Polypeptide Cream, certain lots were found to contain species of bacteria closely related to Klebsiella and Enterobacter bacteria. But before you stress out, remember that bacteria are everywhere, including on our skin. “Our skin has a microbiome with millions of species of bacteria living in symbiosis with it every day,” says Dr. Gohara. “Most do nothing or are actually helpful.”