CityNews – The US-led Food and Drug Administration recently tested 21 Thai cosmetic brands for harmful chemicals and agents and found nine of them to contain chemicals unsuitable for humans.
A screenshot from the offensive Citra whitening cream advert.
The products, which are all either sold or manufactured in Thailand, are:
– Mellano Cream No. 1, Mellano Night Cream No. 2, Mellano Facial Nourishing Cream No. 3, all from Ornets Co. (Thai company);
– Polla Super Gold White Perfect Cream and Polla Anti-Melasma Cream (made in Thailand);
– Nineteen Nano 19 Whitening Cream and Nano Night Repair Cream, from Guangzhou Amarrie Cosmetics Co. (Chinese company);
– Baschi Day Cream and Baschi Night Cream, which also claim whitening effects, from Jiao Nuo (Hong-Kong-based company).
The FDA regards the above products as containing ingredients that are harmful and potentially dangerous to humans. In 2003, all ASEAN Economic Ministers signed an agreement known as the ASEAN Harmonized Cosmetic Regulatory Scheme, which aims to harmonise regulations across the region and do away with harmful chemicals in cosmetics.
Generally, whitening products are rejected and frowned upon by most Western markets due to their dangerous side-effects, which include possible carcinogenic effects as well as increased acne outbreaks, splotchy skin and blemishes, and the literal “bleaching” of skin. However, whitening products are still heavily marketed in countries such as Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and elsewhere, despite their racist undertones and harmful effects.