Heavy Metal Traces Found in Face Masks

By Natallia Slimani, March 13, 2016

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The Shenzhen Consumer Council released a report last Monday claiming that six out of the 30 facial masks that had undergone testing contained trace amounts of heavy metals. While the metal amounts were reported to have been ‘within national standards’, the report advised consumers against reusing facial masks, according to Shenzhen Daily.

The testing was based on a survey in which 83 percent of the participants said they use face masks . Based on the brand preferences of those participating in the survey, 30 masks had been selected for testing from 25 brands, including  Chando, My Beauty Diary, Magic, Fancl, Laneige and Olay. 

The testing revealed that six of the tested masks contained trace amounts of heavy metals: lead, mercury and arsenic. These masks were produced by Inoherb, Proya, Chando, SK-II, Olay and My Beauty Diary.

The majority of the masks tested (28) contained up to five types of preservatives  - which also was reported to be within national limits. The only two brands that contained no preservatives were Fancl and Laneige.

There’s been a lot of concern regarding heavy metals being found in cosmetics and the natural materials that are widely used in producing them – especially when it comes to face masks. Black mud deposits around the world serve as base for a variety of masks that are applied directly to the skin – thus, their metal content is an important factor to consider before using the product.


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