What has Mitchum said about deodorant scandal? Hundreds document ‘burnt’ skin after dodgy batch

Mitchum have found themselves at the centre of controversy this week as users came out in their hundreds online to report that their best-selling deodorant was leaving them with "burns" and "rashes".

In viral videos posted to TikTok and Instagram, women showed the impact of the Powder Fresh Roll-On, which included severe redness, and even blistering.

Some ignored the symptoms for weeks, assuming it was their clothing or chafing causing the issues - however, when women began sharing their stories online, it became clear it was something more serious.

"I’ve been suffering really bad with chafing marks under my arms, I thought it was from running and it isn’t", one content creator, Ellie, noted in a TikTok video.

“The marks have been awful, not only unbelievably painful but also embarrassing for people to see especially during holiday season.”

She added: “They’re like chemical burns, AVOID. I hope they go out of business for the pain and trauma they’ve caused me.”

Another woman noted her armpits had been "on fire" as she showed off the redness it had left behind.

It was initially assumed the reactions were prompted by an ingredient change; however, Mitchum have since confirm it was rather a manufacturing change, and that it only affects select batches of the deodorant.

Now, days later, they've released a statement confirming what had happened.

“Consumer wellbeing is always our priority, and we are truly sorry some of our customers have experienced temporary irritation. This is not the experience they expect from us", a spokesperson said.

“We take this kind of feedback extremely seriously and have worked hard to investigate the cause.

“We want to reassure there has been no change to the formula of our products, but we have identified a change in the manufacturing process affecting one of our raw materials.”

But for some lifelong users of the brand, the delay in taking action has breached their trust.

"Finally you’ve made a statement about it. This doesn’t take away from the fact that I’ve literally been left with scarring. I’m sure many others have too. 'Temporary irritation' is an absolute joke, irritation is not the word. Try burns, blisters, scabs, now scars. I’ll never buy another Mitchum product again", one user wrote.

"Are you going to be paying for my prescriptions that I’ve had to try and clear up a fungal infection when in fact it was your product??" another questioned.

A third added: "So why not inform us before the investigation that people were having side effects? why let people continue to use it while you investigated and come to the cause? is it only because tiktok’s now are discussing it and have received millions of views and thousands of comments?

"And also “temporary irritation” is ridiculous - people have had chemical burns, scabs, skin coming off. its been over a month and i still have discolouration that hasn’t faded."

How do I know if my Mitchum deodorant is affected?

Mitchum has shared which deodorant batches have been impacted by the manufacturing issue, and offered contact details for those who have experienced symptoms as a result of using them.

You can locate the batch number at the bottom of the roll on - which is currently the only product recalled.

In their Powder Fresh range, the affected batches are S25321A, S25322A, S25417A, and S25422A, while in their Shower Fresh edition, S25329A and S25417A are the numbers to look out for.

In the Unscented range, S25324A and S25329A are confirmed as impacted, in the Pure Fresh range it's S25324A and S25416A and in Flower Fresh, it's S25326A.

Three Mitchum men deodorants are also impacted.

If you believe you've been impacted, you can contact Mitchum via the 'contact us' section of their website.

Indy100 contacted Mitchum for comment, and received the following response: "“We are grateful to customers who have recently made us aware of an issue with select batches of Mitchum 48-hour 100ml Roll-On anti-perspirant and deodorant which has caused a temporary reaction to some customers' skin. Thanks to their feedback, we moved to investigate and were conducting a thorough investigation to ensure we understood what happened. We can confirm this issue has now been resolved and we are working to remove the small amount of product remaining on shelf.”

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