Looking good matters a lot to most women, to the point where it can become an obsession. In order to look good, women indulge in following the latest trends in clothing, shoes, hair and – most importantly –makeup.
However not everyone can afford buying high-end brands so many resort to cheap imitations instead – all for the sake of beauty.
Unfortunately, research has found that these cheap cosmetics carry a lot of risk due to the health hazards they bring.
International news outlet News Strait Times created a team to delve into and probe the issues surrounding Asia’s billion-dollar cosmetics industry.
What they discovered to be the main problem in ASEAN regions is the lack of regulation and light policies among countries with mutual trade agreements. The ASEAN Cosmetics directive of 2008 paved way for a downfall in the product's quality due to a lack of toxicity and safety laboratory tests.
Furthermore, they discovered that the common source of these cheap cosmetics are from China, Malaysia, Thailand and Philippines.
After conducting proper testing on the components of various products such as face masks, moisturizers, night creams, foundation, contact powders, mascara, lipstick and many more, they discovered harmful substances that were not mentioned in the list of ingredients.
A few of these substances include hydroquinone and mercury – which are used for skin-whitening but may also lead to facial paralysis – and cadium, chromium, lead and arsenic – which are poisonous heavy metals.
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