FACEBOOK has yanked the latest Oculus virtual reality headset from its stores amid mounting complaints of skin irritation.
Users are reporting that the foam face padding of the £299 Oculus Quest 2, which hit shelves last year, causes itchiness around the eyes and face.
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In a blog post on Tuesday, Facebook said it was recalling the removable lining following complaints from a “very small percentage” of customers.
“While the rate of reports is small and the majority of reported cases are minor, we’re committed to ensuring our products are safe and comfortable for everyone who uses them,” the company said.
Facebook added that the recall is “in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).”
As part of the recall, Facebook said it would provide Oculus Quest 2 owners with a new, silicon padding that fits over the current headset.
Quest 2 has been pulled from online and physical stores around the globe until August 23.
When it returns, all headsets will come with a silicone cover included in the box, Facebook said.
Oculus will also offer 128GB storage in the entry-level Quest 2 model – double the storage that was previously available.
Concerns surrounding the Quest 2’s impact on users’ skin has rumbled on for months.
In May, the headsets were pulled from Amazon stores across Europe following an EU investigation into the padding.
The EU commission report concluded that the foam component “contains substances which are skin and eye irritants”.
Despite taking seven months to pull the headset from stores, Facebook said it took complaints from customers “very seriously”.
“Beginning in December, we promptly conducted a thorough investigation including receiving advice from leading dermatologists and toxicologists,” the company wrote in its blog post.
“These experts have advised that skin irritation can occur in some segments of the population from many household items – even things like tomatoes or shampoo – and that the rates we’ve seen are in line with expectations.”
Facebook is betting big on the virtual reality (VR) space, buying up VR gaming firm Oculus for a reported $2billion (£1.5billion) in 2014.
Since then it has released a handful of VR headsets through Oculus. The wearable gear simulates an immersive, virtual world around you.
You can already chat or play games with mates using Oculus, but Facebook has plans to one day simulate entire worlds for users to play around in.
The Quest 2 is the company’s latest model, hitting shelves around the world last October.
Oculus is up against the likes of HTC, which is behind the Vive VR headsets, and PlayStation, which is expected to launch a new PSVR set next year.
