You switch the TV on and there’s a brown girl with a lot of acne on her face. Apparently she is failing in her career due to the fact that she is not ‘fair enough’. Cut to her friends suggesting a skin whitening cream that would magically transform her into a fairy and boost her confidence and then she would go on to conquer the seas. Apart from this problematic messaging the skin cream companies sell to young girls with darker shades of skin, there’s another big problem with these creams. It is the use of harmful substances like mercury. So, how much should you be worried?
India To Ban Mercury Use In Beauty Products?
According to various media reports, the Government of India is mulling a ban on mercury use in skin whitening and anti-ageing creams in the country. The development comes after a committee raised concerns of the health risks of applying substances like mercury on your skin. The ban, if implemented, would gradually remove mercury-containing products from the Indian market, including well-known online skincare, makeup, and creams.
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Products that promise to give consumers a more even skin tone and a fairer complexion are widely available on the global cosmetics market. Even though many of them might work to a level, there are risks associated with using these products, which are occasionally concealed from customers and the retailers who sell them. In compliance with the International Minamata Convention, which aims to safeguard human health and the environment from the detrimental effects of mercury and its compounds, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) recommended that such formulations be prohibited.
Why Mercury Is Bad For Your Health?
Back in January, 2025, two cases of mercury poisoning came to light in China. A 33-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman, who had been using the same skin whitening cream developed serious health conditions including swelling, chest pain, insomnia, skin diseases among others. Both showed signs of elevated urinary mercury levels and were at the risk of serious infection, potentially cancer when they were admitted. These events of mercury poisoning didn’t happen in isolation. The skin lightning (also known as fairness) industry in India is valued at 50 thousand crore rupees. According to research these skin care products contain dangerous chemical compounds, including mercury. These drugs have the potential to negatively impact neurological, urinary, and circulatory systems and pose grave risks ranging from skin rashes, UTI, to serious neurological and kidney damage.
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How Can You Protect Yourself?
Here's what consumers who use beauty products should do:
- Examine the label.
- Avoid a product if it doesn't list its ingredients.
- Look out for terms like “mercurous chloride,” “calomel,” or “mercuric iodide” (these are mercury)
- If you have used anything dubious material, thoroughly wash your hands.
- Products should be disposed of safely rather than in the usual trash can.
Bottomline
For a very long time, beauty products in India and the world have been sold as magical substances that are capable of transforming your life. Although misleading advertising is a problem in itself, the ability of the companies to not come clean to their customers and not explain the harmful effects of the chemicals used in the production is a major cause of concern. And now that the government has taken on themselves to address the issue, it is to be seen whether things change for good or not.