Singaporeans warned not to buy five beauty creams with ‘harsh’ ingredients

Health Sciences Authority (HSA) of Singapore has provided a public warning not to patronise five cosmetic creams. These beauty products are believed to have a high content of mercury, a toxic substance, and hydroquinone, which provides a skin lightening effect.

HAS cited the five cosmetic creams such as Deeja Cosmetic Sun cream, Deeja Cosmetic Dream cream, Deeja Cosmetic Wrinkle cream, RDL Face Off Fade-Out Cream Day Cream 5 in 1, and RDL Babyface Whitening Cream Night Cream 5 in 1.

While being tested for public safety, Deeja Cosmetic Wrinkle cream, one of the creams, was seen to have a high content of mercury, which had over 40,000 times the allowed content limits.

Reportedly, mercury is a poisonous heavy metal. It is not allowed for use as an ingredient in cosmetic products. Exposure to mercury can have detrimental effects on the central and peripheral nervous systems. Prolonged exposure to this substance has harmful effects on the major organ systems such as nervous, digestive and immune, including the lungs and kidneys. In some cases, this can lead to death.

HSA added regular applying mercury-rich creams could cause the user’s skin to get rashes, skin discolourations, and potential blotchings while long-term exposure can cause serious health problems.

Deeja Cosmetic Dream cream was another beauty product that has high hydroquinone content, a prohibited ingredient for over-the-counter skincare cosmetic creams. Hydroquinone is a medicine that should be prescribed by a dermatologist and should be used with medical supervision.

HSA noted that the three Deeja cosmetic creams are sold in a ‘Deeja Cosmetic’ box set and available in online platforms. The Deeja cosmetic creams are labelled with false claims that the beauty products are specially formulated from 100% natural ingredients. In reality, they have prohibited chemicals.

The two other products, RDL Babyface Whitening Cream Night Cream 5 in 1 and RDL Face Off Fade-Out Cream Day Cream 5 in 1, were distributed by Arklife Distributors Pte Ltd and could be bought in retail stores.

HSA has directly instructed Arklife Distributors Pte Ltd to stop the selling of the RDL creams and recall immediately their products from different retail outlets.

If the consumers experience adverse effects, HSA told the public to visit a doctor right away and never again use these five harmful products.