If you bought Dr. Squatch soap, deodorant, shampoo or anything else labeled natural, the Dr. Squatch settlement pays $0.50 per product. Five products need no receipt at all. Twenty more need one. The household maximum is $12.50, and claims close November 27, 2026.
Dr. Squatch, LLC is the men’s grooming brand known for bar soap, deodorant and body wash marketed as natural. A class action complaint was filed against it in Los Angeles Superior Court on February 10, 2025, alleging the word natural on the front of the package was misleading because the products contained ingredients the plaintiffs said were synthetic. Six named plaintiffs now represent the class.
Dr. Squatch denies all of it and maintains the products were properly labeled. The company agreed to pay $9,000,000 to end the case without admitting anything.
What the Dr. Squatch Settlement Pays
| Tier | Limit | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Products with no proof of purchase | 5 | $2.50 |
| Products with proof of purchase | 20 | $10.00 |
| Combined maximum per household | 25 | $12.50 |
That $0.50 is a starting figure, not a promise. If valid claims come in under the money available, the per-product benefit rises pro rata. If they come in over, it drops. The agreement sets no ceiling on the upward adjustment and no floor on the downward one.
The $9,000,000 is all-inclusive. Class counsel may seek up to one third of it in fees, which is $3,000,000, plus up to $50,000 in costs, up to $40,000 total in service awards, and roughly $475,000 in notice and administration. Subtract all of that and the money left for claimants is closer to $5.4 million. The pro rata calculation runs against that remainder, not against the headline number.
Who Qualifies
Anyone in the United States who bought a covered product between November 1, 2018 and August 29, 2026. No state residency requirement and no minimum purchase.
That end date is not arbitrary. The court’s order sets the class period to close 45 days after preliminary approval, and the preliminary approval motion was heard on July 15, 2026.
The class period has closed, so a purchase made today does not qualify.
Excluded are people who bought for resale, Dr. Squatch and its related parties, current and former employees, officers, directors, agents and legal representatives along with their immediate families, and the judges on the case.
A household means everyone at the same physical address, and each household gets exactly one claim form. Two roommates cannot each file.
Which Products Count
The test is the label, not the product line. Covered products are everything Dr. Squatch has manufactured, sold or distributed, now or in the past, carrying the statement natural on the labeling.
Exhibit C to the settlement agreement covers all sizes, scents and varieties within nineteen categories, each named as a men’s natural product: bar soap, beard oil, beard oil and cologne, lotion, body wash, cologne, cologne oil, conditioner, deodorant, face wash, hand sanitizer, hand soap, lip balm, lotion to powder, post shave, shampoo, shave butter, toothpaste, and wipes.
One thing the documents leave open is how a multipack counts. The claim form asks for the total number of products purchased, and Exhibit C covers all sizes and varieties, but nothing states whether a three-bar soap set is one product or three. If you are near the five-unit no-proof ceiling, the administrator’s answer matters, and the toll-free line is where to get it.
What Proof You Need
Nothing, for the first five. Those ride on a signed attestation under penalty of perjury that you bought the products during the class period. No receipt, no packaging, and no claim ID from a mailed notice. The claim form asks for your name, address, email, whether you bought at retail or online, confirmation the purchases were not for resale, and the number of products.
Above five, proof of purchase means a point-of-purchase receipt from a third-party retailer, physical or online, that reasonably establishes both the fact and the date of purchase during the class period.
Filing for more than five without attaching proof reduces the claim rather than voiding it. Submitting false information voids it entirely. Claims are subject to audit, verification and court review, and the administrator can request additional information.
Deadlines
November 27, 2026. Claim deadline. Online submissions by 11:59 p.m. Pacific, mailed forms postmarked by that date.
October 13, 2026. Opt-out deadline. The request must be signed by the class member personally and include full name, address and phone number. Missing any of that voids it. Nobody can opt out on behalf of anyone else.
October 13, 2026. Objection deadline. Objections go to the settlement administrator, not the court, and must carry six specific elements, one of which is a statement of class membership covering everything the claim form requires.
March 2, 2027. Final approval hearing, 10:00 a.m. Pacific, Department 11, Los Angeles Superior Court, 312 N. Spring Street. The date can move without further notice.
How and When You Get Paid
File online at PersonalCareProductsSettlement.com, or mail a paper form to the Dr. Squatch Settlement Administrator, P.O. Box 1389, Baton Rouge, LA 70821. Questions go to 1-855-706-1956.
Payments issue by check or digital methods including PayPal, Zelle and e-Mastercard, within sixty days of the funding date. The funding date is whenever Dr. Squatch deposits the balance of the settlement amount, which the agreement requires within twenty-one days of the effective date. The effective date itself only arrives once final approval is entered and every appeal window has closed.
Checks stay valid for 180 days. E-Mastercard payments do not expire. Other digital payments get reissued if you ignore them for thirty days. Anything still unclaimed after that gets redistributed pro rata to people who did cash, or sent to state unclaimed property offices if a second distribution costs more than it would pay out.
The settlement website states plainly that no money is available now and that there is no guarantee benefits will ever be distributed.
The Label Change
Dr. Squatch has determined its products are 98 to 100 percent natural or natural origin under ISO methodologies. Under the agreement it must change the front of the package to either state a specific range, using language like “Always 98-100% Natural” or “At Least 98% Natural,” or drop the word natural altogether. Which option applies to which product is entirely Dr. Squatch’s choice.
The clock runs from final judgment: twelve months for bar soap, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste and deodorant sticks, eighteen months for everything else. Nothing already manufactured, in distribution, in storage or on a shelf has to be relabeled or pulled. Existing stock sells through as is.
Since the final approval hearing is set for March 2027 and the clock starts only at judgment, the first relabeled products would not reach shelves before 2028, and later still if anyone appeals.
What You Give Up
Staying in the class releases every claim relating to Dr. Squatch’s use of the word natural on the products during the class period, whether alleged or merely capable of being alleged, known or unknown. You also give up the right to sue separately or arbitrate over those issues.
One carve-out survives. Claims for personal injury damages or product liability relating to the products are not released. Anyone with an actual injury should talk to a lawyer rather than rely on that sentence.
Doing nothing binds you to the release and pays you nothing. Opting out by October 13, 2026 is the only way to keep the right to sue.
If 2,000 or more class members opt out, Dr. Squatch can terminate the entire settlement, and the case reverts to where it started.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does an objection cost me my payment?
No. Objecting keeps you in the class, and the settlement documents state that an objector who also files a claim gets paid their pro rata share if the settlement is approved over the objection. Opting out is the choice that forfeits money.
Why does the settlement agreement say November 17 when the website says November 1?
The agreement’s definitions section and its exhibits use November 17, 2018, while the court’s preliminary approval order and the live settlement website use November 1, 2018. The court order and the administrator’s site control, so treat November 1 as the operative date. The earlier window is wider, so nobody loses eligibility either way.
Does this settlement end the other Dr. Squatch lawsuit?
The agreement identifies a separate federal case, Bruno et al v. Dr. Squatch, LLC, in the Central District of California. Perry Bruno is also a named plaintiff here. The release covers claims arising from the use of the word natural during the class period, so anyone bound by this settlement gives up those claims regardless of which case they were pending in.
Do I need to have been notified to file?
No. Notice went out by email to addresses in Dr. Squatch’s own records, supplemented by published notice, but the claim form has no claim ID or notice number field. Anyone who bought a covered product during the class period can file on the attestation alone.
About This Page
RecallRefunds.com is a consumer information site. We are not a claims administrator, a law firm, a government agency, or Dr. Squatch. This page summarizes a proposed class action settlement and is general information, not legal advice.