White can’t be fair always, warns Haad

“Lots of people, especially women, use skin whitening cosmetics to get rid of spots or freckles. Such products are available in the local market and many of these come from China and Thailand. Most of these products either don’t have the ingredients mentioned on their labels or they are written in a foreign language not understood by local consumers,” explained Dr Mohammed Abu Elkhair, head of Drug and Medical Products Regulation at Haad.

“In the last few years, many skin whitening products were analysed by several health authorities, and most of these contained mercury at a higher rate than the accepted international standard (1 part of a million parts) and were banned,” Dr Abu Elkhair said.

After the discovery of the dangerous effects of mercury, the use of such products was banned in Europe in 1976 and years later in the US and the UAE.

The banned whitening/lightening products include Mui Lee Hiang, Natural 99 yellow cream – day cream, Natural 99 white cream – night cream, Rose Super White Whitening Essence, Jin Sheng Mei, Crème Diana CTR, Lemon Herbal Whiting Cream, Lulanjina – yellow cream, Lulanjina – white cream, Qian Mei – white cream, Fasco, Milk Cream, Jiao Li, Cream Aghader, Savon pour L’acné Diana soap, Crema Aguamary, Stillmann’s Freckle Cream, Whitening Sunblock Cream - day cream, Emel Skin Care Co No 8 and Stillman’s Skin Bleach Cream.

The HongKong government, in 2008, had banned the use of Rose Super Whitening Essence after a 35-year-old woman developed generalised swelling and foamy urine after using the product for six months. Examination showed that she had a high level of mercury in her blood and urine.

Laboratory tests found that the level of mercury in the cream was 1.6 and 10,000 times that of the acceptable level.

A chemical element, mercury is the only metal that exists in liquid form at normal temperatures and is used in thermometers and lights. The use of Mercury in cosmetics was banned after it was discovered that the body absorbs mercury through the skin and remains present in the blood, urine, saliva and in milk and even after death in fossil bones like the skull.

This is not only harmful to the person using these products but also to others in close contact, like children and could lead to the destruction of the nervous system and result in delay in mental development.

Haad advises the public to read posters or information on any whitening, or anti-aging product packaging thoroughly and to stop the use of any product that may contain the word ‘mercurouschloride’, calomel, mercuric, mercurio or mercury.

It also urged the public to avoid using any product that has no proper labelling, if the label is written in a foreign language or if the product is suspected of containing mercury.

Symptoms of mercury poisoning include sore mouth and gums, fatigue and memory loss. Mercury poisoning leads to problems in the kidneys and the nervous system.

olivia@khaleejtimes.com