Healthy Skin is Beauty NOT the White Complexion

To look superior and acceptable in society, people from all over the world use various types of cosmetic products to enhance or alter their facial appearance and body texture. In recent times, an exponential surge in cosmetics use has been observed in Pakistan; hence spending lots of money on purchasing personal care grooming products for their fine-looking appearance. However, it is very unfortunate that there are many reported facts about the high load of lead, mercury, copper and other hazardous, cancerous elements in the local Pakistani cosmetic brands. In Pakistan, these products are easily available in local stores instead of only at pharmacies or at regular medical stores. Majority of manufacturing units are unauthorized and working illegally at large scale. According to reports by the joint effort of Ministry of Climate Change (MOCC) and Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) Islamabad, Pakistan 2018, upon assessing the quality of 59 local and international brand products; only three manufacturers were using standard quantity of mercury and remaining 56 loaded excessive amounts of mercury (0.74ppm to 44,292ppm) in their products as compared to permissible (1ppm) limit. Pakistan has been named among the countries with high level of mercury use (3rd most hazardous chemicals) in various cosmetic products: in which skin whitening creams come on the top of famous brands with highest sale out. There are 30 to 40 different henna (black Mehndi) brands in Pakistani markets on which the details of the contained ingredients are totally absent and loaded with toxic chemicals, textile dyes, carcinogenic (cancer causing) substances and other heavy metal including Paraphenylene diamine (PPD), lead, chromium and nickel which damage body organs. Similarly, Pakistani Kajal (Surma) brands have 0.03% to 81.37% lead and it is highly toxic for eyes and penetrates into blood vessels and accumulates in the liver thereby causing detrimental diseases including cancer. Local nail polish brands in Pakistan contain high quantities of toluene that can be adsorbed in the skin through nail bed resulting in dizziness, headache and fatigue. It has been found that many local cosmetics markets in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are selling cosmetics including those lipsticks which have high concentration of Iron, Zinc, Lead and Copper. Similarly, many other cosmetics items like topical steroids and bleaching creams, skin-whitening soaps, facial hair cosmetics and black stone (Kala Pathar) are full of toxic chemicals and there is no check and balance on their use by the concerned authorities.

Due to open availability of illegally manufactured cosmetic items at local stores, a large portion of Pakistani population including both men and women from urban and rural areas have been severely affected with facial skin damage and other clinical health issues. People have no knowledge about the ingredient’s association with skin rupture and carcinogenesis risk with multiple organs failure. They are getting toxic chemicals as a dose of beauty continuously and unknowingly. There is a dire need for a joint action by all relevant & responsible stakeholders to monitor and keep a strict check and balance on the manufacturers of local and imported cosmetic products in the country. Lethality of these toxic cosmetic products usage is a general public problem:  there must be awareness programs that would coax people to buy only recommended and legal brand cosmetics items. There must be rules for advertising: the only approved cosmetic products should be allowed to be promoted in the media. There should be strong decisions by the consumer courts to make sure the ingredients labelling on each product. People should avoid purchasing foreign brands unless the ingredient table is not printed in English. To improve the appearance of aged skin, use recommended products of good brand by dermatologists.