Cetaphil Baby Wash & Shampoo contains fragrance allergens, a new class action alleges.

Tiffany Headley and Russel Lloyd Regal filed a class action lawsuit against Galderma Laboratories LP in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on Oct. 27, 2026.

The lawsuit claims Galderma markets its Cetaphil Baby Wash & Shampoo as hypoallergenic and made for sensitive skin when it contains three fragrance allergens.

The product label

The front label of Cetaphil Baby Wash & Shampoo reportedly includes a dermatologist-recommended seal for sensitive skin. Its back label references the wash as hypoallergenic twice, the proposed class action alleges. On the ingredient list, only the word "fragrance" appears with no names for the chemicals in it, according to the lawsuit.

Headley and Regal claim they relied on those claims and believed the wash suited their babies' sensitive skin because it contained no fragrance allergens. They say that had they known about the allergens, they would not have bought it or would have bought it on different terms, the lawsuit contends.

Galderma's chemical report

Galderma allegedly reported linalyl acetate, dimethylbenzyl carbinyl acetate and tetramethyl acetyloctahydronaphthalenes in the wash to the California Safe Cosmetics Program, a state database, in December 2024, the proposed class action claims. The report listed each chemical's function as fragrance, the same word that appears on the wash's ingredient list, the lawsuit alleges.

A 2020 California law requires companies to report those allergens in a rinse-off product like this one only when they make up at least 0.01% of it. The complaint alleges the report confirms each allergen at or above that level.

The hypoallergenic claim

The Food and Drug Administration does not have a federal definition for hypoallergenic. It describes such products as ones that manufacturers claim cause fewer allergic reactions than others.

The lawsuit cites FDA guidance that lists fragrance allergens among the main causes of allergic reactions to cosmetics and dermatologists' advice to use fragrance-free products on sensitive skin. A baby wash with enough of those allergens to require state reporting cannot fairly carry a hypoallergenic or sensitive skin label, the class action asserts.

The legal claims

The lawsuit brings six claims:


  • Breach of express warranty, which treats the label claims as promises the product failed to keep

  • California Unfair Competition Law (three claims), which bars unlawful, unfair and fraudulent business practices

  • California False Advertising Law, which bans ads a company knows or should know are untrue or misleading

  • California Consumers Legal Remedies Act, which prohibits deceptive practices in consumer sales

The lawsuit seeks refunds of what buyers paid, compensation for their losses, punitive damages, penalties set by statute, a court order stopping the challenged labeling and attorneys' fees.

What the lawsuit means for Cetaphil baby wash buyers

The proposed class covers anyone who bought Cetaphil Baby Wash & Shampoo in California. There is no settlement, no claims process and no money available at this time.