Skin whitening products yield toxic levels of mercury

An environmental group yesterday disclosed that various skin whitening products sold in 50 cities in the country contain high and dangerous levels of mercury.

EcoWaste Coalition said out of the 355 samples it bought from November to February 2 from various retail outlets including Chinese drug stores, herbal supplement and sidewalk vendors, 316 or 89 percent contained mercury above the 1 part per million allowed limit.

The products were tested using a portable X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer.

Of the 316 mercury- tainted samples, 287 had mercury above 1,000 ppm; 44 with 5,000 ppm and 19 with 25,000 including one sample with 96,100 ppm.

It said 41 of the more than 115 skin whitening cosmetics banned by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from 2010 to 2014 are still being sold in the market. EcoWaste said 26 new brands of mercury- containing skin whitening creams should be banned by the FDA.

The skin whitening products were bought in various provinces and cities including Batangas, Calamba, Urdaneta, Cebu and Davao, and 10 cities in Metro Manila.

The top 12 skin whitening product samples that contained the highest mercury content per brand based on EcoWaste’s tests are: Xuefujiaolan Herbal Whitening and Embellish Classic Set (3 small jars), 96,100 ppm; Beauty Girl 10 Days Double Whitening Speckles Removed Essence, 76,800 ppm; Yu Dan Tang Gingseng and Green Cucumber 10 Days Whitening Speckles Removed Essence, 63,100 ppm; BG Ginseng & Ganoderma Lucidum 6 Days Specific Eliminating Freckle Whitening Sun Block Cream, 59,500 ppm; BG Sea Pearl & Papaya Natural Essence 6 Days Specific Eliminating Freckle Whitening Sun Block Cream, 56,000 ppm; Beauty Girl Egg White and Tomato 6 Days Specific Eliminating Freckle Whitening Cream, 48,700 ppm; Yu Dan Tang Green Cucumber and Ginseng 6-Day Specific Eliminating Freckle Whitening Cream, 47,200 ppm; Feique Herbal Extract Chinese Formula Whitening Anti- Freckle Set, 32,000 ppm; Feique Cucumber Anti-Wrinkle Whitening Set, 25,800 ppm; Feique Rose Refining Nourishing Set, 19,500 ppm; Beauty Excellent Lamb Placenta Whitening and AntiAging, 12,900 ppm; and Erna Whitening Cream, 11, 900 ppm.

EcoWaste said mercury is a toxic chemical added in skin whitening products to inhibit the production of melanin pigment to have a “fairer” skin tone.

Health experts said users of mercury-containing skin whitening cosmetics may experience skin discoloration, rashes and scarring and reduced skin’s resistance to bacterial and fungal infections, while repeated applications can damage the brain, the nervous system and the kidneys.