Mercury Content in Skin-Lightening Creams and Potential Hazards to the Health of Saudi Women

Al‐Saleh, Iman; Al-Doush, Inaam

doi:10.1080/00984109708984016

Cited by 84 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…So it can be concluded that, although occupational exposure and fish consumption (as an effective factors on mercury concentrations) were omitted from the study and all of the participants had the same fish consumption patterns, the mercury level in hair is as a result of other mercury sources like using cosmetic materials or chemical shampoos which potentially effect on Hg levels in hair. In fact, these days cosmetic products (with mercury in their structure) are widely available and frequently used as bleaching agents, skin-lightening cream or other beauty products by women throughout the world [39] and despite the well-known hazards of mercury exposure and the ban against the sale of creams containing mercury in some countries like the United States, these products are widely available in pharmacies, beauty aid stores and cosmetic markets around the world [40].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scalp hair and saliva as biomarkers in determination of mercury levels in Iranian women: Amalgam as a determinant of exposure

Fakour

Esmaili-Sari

Zayeri

2010

Journal of Hazardous Materials

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scalp hair and saliva as biomarkers in determination of mercury levels in Iranian women: Amalgam as a determinant of exposure

Fakour

Esmaili-Sari

Zayeri

2010

Journal of Hazardous Materials

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“…Interestingly, mercury is rarely listed as a component of commercially available cosmetics. Al-Saleh and Al-Doush [22] after analyzing 38 commercially available skin lightening creams in 1997 noted that 45% of the tested samples contained mercury at levels far surpassing 1 ppm (the maximum permitted limit by FDA). More recently in 2005, they also analyzed “Fair & Lovely” fairness cream and found traces of mercury that was otherwise not its listed component [23].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cosmetic Contact Sensitivity in Patients with Melasma: Results of a Pilot Study

Prabha¹,

Mahajan²,

Mehta³

et al. 2014

Dermatology Research and Practice

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Background. Some of the patients with melasma perhaps have pigmented cosmetic dermatitis. However, cosmetic contact sensitivity in melasma remains poorly studied particularly in the Indian context. Objectives. To study cosmetic contact sensitivity in patients with melasma. Materials and Methods. 67 (F : M = 55 : 12) consecutive patients with melasma between 19 and 49 years of age were patch tested sequentially during January–December, 2012, with Indian Cosmetic and Fragrance Series, Indian Sunscreen Series, p-phenylenediamine, and patient's own cosmetic products. Results. 52 (78%) patients were in the age group of 20–40 years. The duration of melasma varied from 1 month to 20 years. Centrofacial, malar, and mandibular patterns were observed in 48 (72%), 18 (27%), and 1 (1%) patients, respectively. Indian Cosmetics and Fragrance Series elicited positive reactions in 29 (43.3%) patients. Cetrimide was the most common contact sensitizers eliciting positivity in 15 (52%) patients, followed by gallate mix in 9 (31%) patients and thiomersal in 7 (24%) patients. Only 2 of the 42 patients showed positive reaction from their own cosmetics while the other 5 patients had irritant reaction. Indian Sunscreen Series did not elicit any positive reaction. Conclusion. Cosmetics contact sensitivity appears as an important cause of melasma not associated with pregnancy, lactation, or hormone therapy.

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“…Mercury content was determined using the ICP-701 inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometer equipped with the hydride generation system (ATI UNICAM, Cambridge, UK) and 221 XL Gilson autosampler (Gilson, 95400 Villiers le Bel, France) as described previously [51]. Based on the results, two skin-lightening creams were chosen according to their mercury contents.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Highest mercury concentrations were found in 21 skin-lightening samples of the commonly used creams in Saudi Arabia with a mercury range from 1.18 to 77,513 µg/g [51]. This is well above the US Food and Drug Administration limits of 1 µg/g [52].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Accumulation of Mercury in Ovaries of Mice After the Application of Skin-lightening Creams

Al‐Saleh

Shinwari

Al-Amodi

2009

Biol Trace Elem Res

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Skin-lightening creams are being increasingly used by women in particular, worldwide in an attempt to whiten their skin. Men and older people use these creams to remove age spots or other pigmentation disorders. Several studies have reported the presence of high mercury levels in skin-lightening cream. Women, especially pregnant and nursing mothers, who use these creams are at risk of mercury toxicity because long-term exposure can cause permanent neurological damage, nephrological disorders, fertility problems, and birth defects. Early exposure usually has no clinical symptoms. Mercury levels were measured in a total of 49 ovary tissue samples. The mean mercury contents in the ovaries of non-treated mice (11.70 +/- 13.38 ng/g) were compared to mice treated with Rose skin-lightening cream samples (2,471.92 +/- 1,336.31 ng/g) and those treated with Fair & Lovely skin-lightening creams (58.47 +/- 39.51 ng/g). The mercury content in the ovary tissues increased with number of cream applications and were highest in the ovaries of mice treated twice a day with Fair & Lovely (87.79 +/- 26.20 ng/g) and once a day with Rose (3,515.61 +/- 1,099.78 ng/g). Our data indicate that dermal exposure to mercury can result in a significant accumulation in the ovaries of mice following the application of skin-lightening cream. This may cause alterations in reproductive behavior and contribute to infertility or ovarian failure. Of course, these results need to be confirmed by further research. Imported or locally made skin-lightening creams are widely available in Saudi market. It would be ideal to ban the sale of these creams but unfortunately, advertisements in the mass media presenting celebrities and beauty specialists make these products more popular. Alternatively, public health authorities should encourage more reliance on prescribed creams for the treatment of skin pigmentation problems.

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Mercury Content in Skin-Lightening Creams and Potential Hazards to the Health of Saudi Women

Cited by 84 publications

References 29 publications

Scalp hair and saliva as biomarkers in determination of mercury levels in Iranian women: Amalgam as a determinant of exposure

Scalp hair and saliva as biomarkers in determination of mercury levels in Iranian women: Amalgam as a determinant of exposure

Cosmetic Contact Sensitivity in Patients with Melasma: Results of a Pilot Study

Accumulation of Mercury in Ovaries of Mice After the Application of Skin-lightening Creams

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