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IMPORTED skin-lightening creams laced with dangerous and illegal ingredients are readily available among informal traders in Cape Town, says a new study that raises tough questions about the government’s capacity to protect consumers from dodgy cosmetics.
Among the ingredients the study found in the skin lighteners were mercury, hydroquinone and topical steroids.
"The biggest problem lies with the port authorities who are supposed to ensure (imported cosmetics) comply with the law," said the study’s lead author Nonhlanhla Khumalo, head of dermatology at the University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital.
"Some products listed illegal ingredients on the label. Someone should have stopped them," she said on Tuesday.
The team tested two products purchased in pharmacies and 27 from informal vendors. All 22 of the problem products came from the informal sector. A third of the problem products were from Europe, despite a European Union ban on skin lighteners. "It makes one wonder whether we are the dumping ground for illegal products," said Prof Khumalo.
The study, which was published last month in the journal of Clinical and Experimental Dermatology, provides a detailed breakdown of the products tested. In an unusual step for the local scientific community, Prof Khumalo and her team named and shamed the dodgy brands they identified, revealing their perilous ingredients. Many products contained a combination of banned substances.
Skin-lightening products were deceptive, because the damage they caused was not immediately apparent, Prof Khumalo said.
Mercury causes kidney and nerve damage, and can lead to psychiatric problems. It is banned in cosmetics in SA. Hydroquinone is permitted only in prescribed medicines, and then only in concentrations below 2%, because it can cause permanent damage to the skin. The two topical steroids identified were betamethasone and clobetasol propionate, which are classed as medicines and are, therefore, illegal in products marketed as cosmetics. They thin the skin and make it prone to infection.
The Cosmetics Toiletries and Fragrances Association’s executive director Sally Gnodde said the association supported Prof Khumalo’s research and was helping to train port health authorities.
The Medicines Control Council, responsible for overseeing the cosmetics sector, had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.
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