Cape Town - Toxic beauty products, which have been banned abroad for containing mercury, are being sold over the counter in Chinese shops across Cape Town for as little as the cost of two loaves of bread, a Weekend Argus investigation has established.
Other products containing hydroquinone, which is banned in the use of cosmetics in South Africa, are just as easily available in foreign-owned stores in the city.
Over the past two weeks,
Weekend Argus bought several of the skin-lightening products, and found that some had already expired.
The most popular Chinese brand was the Aichun Beauty range, which promises to “control melanin generation”. The products are described as “whitening” and “freckle-removing”.
Several products from the Aichun Beauty range were tested by Philippines watchdog group EcoWaste Coalition in August 2011. They were found to contain high levels of mercury, leading to a ban imposed by the Food and Drug Administration in that country.
But the Aichun Beauty brand was found on sale in Manila again two years later.
Now the brand has found its way on to shelves in South Africa, along with others marked as skin-lightening cosmetics imported from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which contain hydroquinone.
Hydroquinone was listed as an ingredient on the products Weekend Argus bought over the counter.
Sales assistants in the stores visited eagerly recommended a product known as Caro light to get rid of dark marks on the skin.
Hydroquinone and mercury inhibit melanin production, and have been banned for use in beauty products in many countries.
South African Medicines Control Council registrar Joey Gouws referred Weekend Argus to the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act, which prohibits the use of depigmenting ingredients, including mercury, in cosmetics.
The Act prohibits all cosmetics purporting to be a skin bleacher, skin lightener or skin whitener.
Gouws also referred to the Medicines and Related Substances Act, which prohibits the sale of any Schedule 2, Schedule 3, Schedule 4, Schedule 5 or Schedule 6 substances (which include hydroquinone and mercury) by people who are not pharmacists, a pharmacist intern, or a pharmacist’s assistant acting under the personal supervision of a pharmacist.
She said the long-term risks associated with using products containing hydroquinone or related substances included photosensitivity, allergic reactions, ochronosis (tissue discolouration), damage of pigment cells, and thinning of the skin.
In 2011 the World Health Organisation (WHO) issued a warning about skin lightening products, saying that inorganic mercury was often used in skin lightening soaps and creams, while organic mercury compounds were used as cosmetic preservatives in eye make-up, cleansing products and mascara.
The WHO also warned that even if skin lightening products did not contain mercury, they may contain other hazardous substances.
In the Chinese products Weekend Argus bought, ingredients and directions on the packaging or inserts were printed in poor English.
Manufacturers made use of of the word “etcetera” after printing some of the ingredients, leaving consumers guessing as to the remainder of the products’ composition.
The Medicines and Related Substances Act in South Africa clearly stipulates that the container of every medicine intended for administration to humans should have a label attached to it containing the approved name of each active ingredient of the medicine, the quality thereof contained in a dosage unit.
The head of dermatology at Groote Schuur Hospital and UCT, Professor Nonhlanhla Khumalo, said products which had been tested in South Africa during a study she conducted contained “not one, but combinations of illegal ingredients – hydroquinone, mercury and prescription strength steroids – all of which can have nasty complications”.
According to the WHO website, the side-effects of the use of mercury include kidney damage, skin rashes, skin discolouration and scarring.
Chronic use reduces the skin’s normal resistance against bacterial and fungal infections, and other effects include anxiety, depression, psychosis, and peripheral neuropathy.
Symptoms to look out for include gastroenteritis, burning mouth pain, salivation, abdominal pain, vomiting, colitis, nephrosis (degenerative kidney disease), anuria (urination problems) or uremia (complication of chronic kidney disease), the body says.
The WHO also warned that mercury can enter the environment when users bath, which means that even those who do not use the cosmetic products could be affected.
According to the US FDA, consumers should look out for the words mercurous chlorid, calomel, mercuric, mercurio or mercury when buying products. However, mercury is not always listed as an ingredient on skin lightening products.
It warned consumers against using any product if they had a suspicion that it contained mercury or other dangerous substances.
Groote Schuur Hospital spokesman Alaric Jacobs said a Hair and Skin Research Lab which would test the safety of cosmetics was expected to be launched at the hospital later this month. The laboratory will be housed on the top floor of the Old Main Building at the hospital. The laboratory renovation and equipment, which cost around R8.6million, was funded by the National Skills Fund.
Weekend Argus