The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) urged the public to be vigilant when shopping for goods online, particularly on marketplaces.
It outlined three popular product types that carry major health risks for customers to avoid.
These include:
- Teeth whitening kits
- UV gel nail treatments
- Skin lightening creams
The banned ingredients to look out for on skin-lightening creams include hydroquinone, mercury and licensed medicines like corticosteroids.
Those can cause pregnancy complications, skin infections and osteoporosis – a condition that weakens your bones.
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Any goods sold with those ingredients are prohibited in the UK and Europe due to the damaging effects of their prolonged use.
However, the products are still available on the online marketplace OnBuy and, while the banned ingredients are not included on the website’s listing, they are declared on the product’s label.
UV gel nail treatments could lead to lifelong damage
Meanwhile, at-home UV gel nail treatments, with chemicals known as acrylates containing HEMA and Di-HEMA, can cause allergies to develop, leading to lifelong skin damage. These products, alongside teeth-whitening kits, are readily available on online retailers and marketplaces.
The nail treatments should only be applied by salon professionals who have access to the correct lamps, ensuring the treatments do not directly encounter your skin.
Another popular cosmetic product to avoid, with health dangers including burns and damage to your gums, is teeth whitening kits.
The illegal kits, designed to be used at home, are sold on online marketplaces and often contain over 300 times the legal levels of hydrogen peroxide.
Only professionals can administer the bleaching agent and Mick Amstrong, the chair of British Dental Association’s health and science committee, urged people to go to their dentist if they want to whiten their teeth.
Armstrong said: “Dentists are trained to consider a patient’s wider health and detect problems, such as gum disease, that impact on the suitability of an individual to have their teeth whitened. They also know what whitening products are effective to use, and safe for teeth and gums.”
Last year, 88% of the cosmetic products on UK ports and borders were found to be unsafe or non-compliant when checked by Suffolk Trading Standards.
‘Compliments, not complications’
Christine Heemskerk, lead officer for product safety at CTSI, called for online sellers to take responsibility for the goods available on their websites, particularly online marketplaces, which “can and must do much better.”
Heemskerk said that “turning a blind eye is not an option when dealing with people’s health.”
She added: “Cosmetic products should attract compliments, not complications. These dangerous goods can leave the public with serious lifelong side effects.”
The Trading Standards has asked customers to report items on sale in England or Wales that contain any of the listed banned ingredients.
Indeed, if you use any products and experience any adverse reactions, it has asked for you to call the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on:
- England and Wales – 0808 223 113
- Scotland – 0808 164 6000
- Northern Ireland – 0300 123 6262
