Toxics watchdog group EcoWaste Coalition has warned the public against buying and using skin whitening products currently sold on the market that use false, misleading or deceptive claims regarding their benefits as they may actually pose health risk to their users.
The group made the call Thursday after finding that at least 10 products that contain excessive amounts of mercury are being sold online and in beauty product shops and Chinese drug stores in Manila.
“Consumers should be on guard against skin cosmetics with hidden mercury additives that deceivingly promise to lighten the skin and treat various skin conditions with no side effects,” Thony Dizon, the group's chemical safety campaigner, said in a statement.
According to the group, exposure to mercury through direct and repeated application of mercury-laden skin whitening cosmetics can cause adverse health effects, including to brain, nerve and kidney damage, as well as to skin.
Based on the chemical screening conducted by the group using an X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) device, all the 10 analyzed samples were found to contain levels of mercury higher than the trace amount limit of one part per million (ppm).
One of them is a Yu Dan Tang cream, which flaunts its “gentle formula” with ginseng and green cucumber essence that assures a “baby skin” registered with the highest amount of mercury at 77,700 ppm. The product is manufactured by a company in Taiwan.
Also found concerning was a Goree “total fairness” cream that claims “no side effects” had 36,600 ppm of mercury, while a Goree beauty cream with lycopene that describes itself as “the best skin lightener” had 31,500 ppm. Both products are from Pakistan.
Another product with outrageous mercury content was Feique whitening and anti-freckle day cream made from “traditional herbs” with 33,300 ppm of mercury. The product is produced in China.
Also found positive for mercury were Collagen Plus Vit E Day & Night Cream reportedly from Indonesia with 3,609 ppm and Erna whitening cream allegedly from Malaysia with 1,757 ppm of mercury.
Yang Qian “Care Skin" whitening cream, S’Zitang whitening cream and two variants of Jiaoli whitening cream, which are said to be made from China, were likewise found laden with up to 2,288 ppm, 1,513 ppm and 1,366 ppm of mercury, respectively.
The above products are among those already banned by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for lacking certificates of product notification and for containing mercury, EcoWaste said.