List of Banned Skin Lightening Creams You Should Avoid

The list of banned skin lightening creams in Nigerian communities increased in recent years, this is due to the seeming immunity of eCommerce sites and stores.

The battle to enlighten and limit the activities of these commercial sites started in 2019, when the Zero Mercury Working Group (ZMWG) was able to detect illegal and harmful skin products on sale at about half of the famous local and international commerce sites. This NGO (ZMWG) was put in place for the eradication of these skin lightening creams with mercury content.

These skin-lightening creams are banned for obvious reasons such as containing mercury, high hydroquinone, cortisone lead, and arsenic.

These chemicals are dangerous when applied to the body, they remove the uppermost and most protective layer of the skin exposing it to intense UV rays from sunlight and other harmful chemicals.

Some of these creams end up burning up the surface of the skin. Wisdom Bassey calls these chemicals, ‘the biological paint removers’.

Of course, our work would all be nothing if we tell you all these and don’t give you a list of some of these banned lightening creams especially the ones here in Nigeria.

So listed below are some of the illegal brands you should look out for;

List of Banned Skin Lightening Creams you should Avoid

Banned Skin Lightening Creams due to Hydroquinone Content

• Extra Clear cream
• Mekako Cream
• Rico complexion Cream
• Butone Cream
• Fade-out Cream
• Fair and White active Lightening lotion
• Fair and White serum Body treatment
• Fair and White lightening Cream
• Fair and White Body Milk
• Viva super Lemon Cream
• Tura Lotion
• Maxi-tone Fade cream
• Nadinola Fade Cream
• Peau Claire Body Lotion
• Ikb Medicated Cream
• Tura Bright and Even Lotion
• Precieux treatment Beauty Lotion
• Miki Beauty Cream
• Sivoclair Lightening Body Lotion
• Immediate Claire Maxi
• Reine Clair Rico Super Body Lotion
• Princess Body Cream
• Mic Body Cream
• Ultra Skin Tone Cream
• Palmer’s Skin tone success Pack
• Fair and white active Bleaching treatment
• Crusader Skin Toning Cream
• Claire Cream

Banned Skin Lightening Creams due to Mercury Content

• CCM Q10 Extra whitening
• V Special Cream
• GCM Whitening Cream
• BB Cream
• CCM Classic
• Mild Cream
• Aghader Cream
• Rojzy Jiali
• Jiao Li
• Perfect 501 Cream
• Diana CTR cream
• Naomi 5-Day Special Cream
• Prime white
• BBC Lotions
• Be Be Special Cream
• Fasco Cream
• BB Health and Beauty
• Lemon Herbal Whitening Cream
• Seaweed extra whitening
• Doctor Luei Speckle Killer
• Fo Me Herbal Mask
• 12 plus whitening
• MSL Cream
• One Today
• KA White night serum
• Pearl peeling lotion
• Mclean apricot Scrub
• Hiso Diamond Extra
• Arche Pearl Cream
• Eighty Eight Dewy Face Glow
• Yoko yoghurt Milk
• Maiv Lis Red Flower
• Silky Cool extra
• Promina Ginseng Pearl Cream
• BT Cream
• Ok brand lotion
• Propeiu turmeric facial Cream
• Natural cream night care
• Polla Anti-acne cream
• Super Gold Caviar whitening Cream
• Miss Beauty Seven Days white
• Snow White Armpit Whitening
• Lovely Paris Extra Lightening
• Rice Milk Whitening Cream
• Hiyady Hyalulonic Filler and Ultra white Night Cream
• Cell repair Placenta Sheep Cream
• 88 Total white underarm Cream
• Polla Gold Super White perfects
• Madame organic set
• Avocado Night Cream
• Glutathione Cream White and Bright
• Monespa express peeling
• Anti-acne Melasma Cream
• Pomegranate whitening Lotion
• Meyyong Seaweed Super Whitening Cream
• Faiza Beauty Cream
• Goree Beauty Cream
• Face Fresh Cream
• Chadni Whitening Cream

Note: Most of these products also contain steroids and cortisone lead. These dangerous chemicals when in high content can lead to death.

Most of these hazardous products are being supplied by the black market at ridiculous prices. They keep it flowing into local markets in order to satiate the demand and further reduce it to lower prices.

Why were these Creams banned?

They contained dangerous chemicals that were very disastrous to people’s health. These skin-lightening creams were liable to cause skin cancer, rashes, blisters, burns, lesions, skin irritation, diabetes, hypertension, and other dread infections.

The number of people affected by these creams increased drastically in 2016. In Nigeria as of 2016, 77% of women made use of these skin-lightening products. They are better lightening products that can help the skin glow.

• The side effects of these products were becoming very obvious in the public and international sphere. The chemical safety and health unit of the WHO released a memorandum in 2019, analyzing and making a detailed announcement on the regulations and disposal of these dangerous products.

Why do people make use of skin-lightening creams?

• In Nigeria, the issue of dark skin was not a popular trend because, people learned during the years when the after-effects of colonialism were new, to respect their skin color and what it represents. Recently, there has been a waning of these effects, people now attach light skin to wealth and luxurious living. This is why so many people purchase these products, use them and damage their skin without minding the consequences.

• Low self-esteem has also been attached to the increased use of these products. The need for them to belong and follow the trend. Local psychologists have affirmed this fact, “Nigerians in diaspora, especially in Asian countries where racism is still heard of, tend to use these products in order to mingle with the Asian society”.

• The use of lightening creams is for curing dark ‘spots’, freckles, age spots, and other skin problems. But it has become a lightening tool for damaging naturally dark skin.

These creams contain melanin blockers that can lead to brain damage and severe skin diseases.

Conclusion

Some of these skin-lightening creams are still on the market due to the seeming immunity of E-commerce sites and the black markets’ illegal importation.

People are advised to stay clear of these lotions or use them as regulated by some governments. They are also skin lightening creams that do not contain hydroquinone or mercury.

These Banned Skin Lightening Creams contain harmful chemicals. They destroy the natural makeup of the skin. They can even lead to some critical situations in convalescents and pregnant women.

In Nigeria, The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) warned the public against the use of these skin lightening creams especially the ones containing more than 2% of any of these chemicals.