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The Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) has banned 435 brands of beauty products over alleged contamination with mercury and hydroquinone.
KEBS said the banned cosmetic products, which include soaps, skin-lightening creams, and lotions, have not been registered by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board for medical use and should only be applied under the directions of a medical doctor.
“The products contain harmful substances which are hydroquinone, mercury and its compounds,” KEBS said in a statement.
“The prohibition/ban is aimed at protecting unsuspecting consumers and discouraging dumping of these products in the Kenyan Market. Hydroquinone, Mercury, oxidizing agents and hormonal preparations are used for treating various medical conditions."
The agency noted that all skincare preparations like creams, lotions, gels, and soaps containing hydroquinone, steroids and hormonal preparations should be registered by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board for medical use.
It warned on the long-term effects of the products including rashes, swelling, redness or peeling, fatigue, weakness, bone pain, skin discoloration, kidney damage, digestive illnesses, and nervous diseases.
KEBS prohibited the sale of the listed brands and threatened to take legal action against any company found dealing in the products.
Below is the full list of the banned products.
Soaps containing mercury and its compounds
1. Movate
2. Mekako
3. Jaribu
4. Tura
5. Acura
6. Rico
7. Fair lady
8. Elegance
9. Miki
10. Jambo
Skin lightening creams containing mercury and its compounds
1. Pimplex medicated cream
2. Pimplex medicated cream
3. New shirley medicated cream
4. Cream preparations containing hydrogen peroxide(h2o2)
5. Hot movate gel
6. Tenovate
7. Soft and beautiful cream
8. Unic clear super cream
9. Peau claire gel plus
10. Peau claire cream
11. Jolen cream, skin preparations continting steroids
12. Movate cream, skin success gel
13. Amira –c
14. Neu clear gel
15. Body clear cream spot remover
16. Top gel plus
17. Lemonvate cream, secret gel
18. Tcb gel plus
19. Topifram cream
20. Skin balance lemon cream
21. Dermo -gel plus
22. Fashion fair gel plus
23. Visible difference gel
24. Sivoclair cream
25. Action demovate cream
26. Regge lemon gel
27. Ultimate lady gel
28. topifram gel plus
29. Age renewal cream
30. Fair & white gel plus
31. Peau clair gel plus
32. Fashion fair cream
33. First class lady cream
34. Skin success cream
35. Neu clear cream plus
36. Jaribu beta - β cream
37. Body treat cream spot remover
38. Clair & lovely gel, peau clair cream
39. Soft & beautiful gel
40. Action demovate gel plus
41. Prosone gel
42. Skin balance gel wrinkle remover
43. Ultra-gel plus
44. Pro-one gel mca
45. Betalemon cream
46. Skin balance cream wrinkle remover
Skin-lightening lotions, creams and gels containing hydroquinone
Lotions
1. Jaribu skin lightening lotion
2. A3 lemon skin lightening lotion Princess lotion
3. Amira skin lightening lotion
4. Kiss lotion
5. Peau Claire beauty body lotion
6. A3 clear touch complexion lotion
7. Rico skin lightening lotion
8. Clear touch lotion
9. Fair white body clearing milk
10. Sivoclair lightening body lotion
11. Extra clair lightening body lotion
12. Precieux treatment beauty lotion
13. Clear essence skin beautifying milk
Gels
1. Ultra clear
2. Topiclear
3. Body clear
Creams
1. Jaribu cream
2. Madonna medicated cream
3. Tura skin toning cream
4. Kiss -medicated beauty cream
5. Zarina medicated skin lightener cream
6. Lolane cream, nadinola cream
7. Mic skin lightener cream
8. Clere lemon cream
9. Butone cream
10. Miki beauty cream
11. Island beauty skin fade cream
12. Ikb medicated cream
13. Care plus fairness cream
14. A3 skin lightening cream, ambi american formula
15. Ambi extra complexion cream for men
16. A3 tripple action cream pearl light
17. Fairlady skin lightening cream
18. Clear touch cream
19. Rico skin tone crème
20. Princess medicated beauty cream
21. Immediat claire lighten
22. Mekako cream
23. Yesako medicated beauty cream
24. Mrembo medicated beauty cream
25. Uno21 cream
26. Envi skin toner, viva super lemon
27. Glotone complexion cream
28. Tonight night beauty cream
29. Clere extra cream
30. Malaika medicated beauty cream
31. Crusader skin toning cream
32. Malibu medicated cream
33. Opiclear cream, carekako medicated cream
34. Dream successful
35. Cleartone skin toning cream
36. Cleartone extra skin toning cream
37. Elegance skin lightening cream
38. Fade out cream
39. Crusader ultra-brand cream
40. Baraka skin lightening cream
41. Amira cream
42. Rico complexion cream
43. Shirley cream
44. Princess patra luxury complexion cream
45. Ambi special complexion cream
46. Nindola cream, claire creme
47. Fulani creme eclaircissante
48. Binti jambo cream
49. Dear heart with hydroquinone cream
50. Nish medicated cream
51. Palmer's skin success fade cream
52. Body clear cream
53. Symba creme skin lite 'n' smooth
54. Clear essence medicated fade cream
55. O'nyia skin crème
56. Mr. Clere cream
57. Top lemon plus cream
58. Ultime skin lightening cream
59. Peau claire crème eclaircissante
Comments
I had no idea there were that many skin lightening creams available. The names are unbelievable - fair and white? As for the frog, it will be still have Shrek's looks just lighter skinned.
@ Mundumugo, what confounds me is that africans who lighten their skin would not want to be albinos.If there are the number is dismal.
Yes the names are unbelievable. I intend to extend this "unbelievability",by releasing my new" beauty" product right in time for the holidays.Look out for- 'de-b'lite coming to your beauty store just in time for valentine...
Comrade Maxiley,
We've been talking about mental enslavement for a long time. Now this is part of it. Folks believing that being black is ugly. But let's go back a little, how comes every associated with evil is always black and everything pure is associated with white ?
Like they say when a lie is repeated so often, folks tend to believe it.
Folks need to dig deeper and see which colors are more evil from history.
@ Comrade kora kanini, at the risk of offending religions people especially those that believe in Islam,and christianity, I say that these two religions have done great harm in promoting the notion that black is evil. Whether the offending verses were taken out of context or not, or being denied because they are a shaming,I dont know.
Granted religion has done alot of good for humanity,and continues to do so, we cannot deny that alot of atrocities have been committed in the name of religion.In case we have forgotten history, we are just about reminded daily by the chanting of Allah hu Akbar are terrorists butcher the innocent.Bwt, Koran says the devil is black.MMmmm angel is white,and one could be killed for suggesting that prophet Mohammad was black.
Blame it on religion. I have muslim friends who will not dare eat pork,but they will drink,and go for any woman that would drop her pants.I always have fun with them point out that it is haram to drink and chase women...But they tell me that the bible also says that one should not eat pork. And I tell them that Iam neither.Many have been told that black is evil. Mohammad said a black dog is the devil.And the person Allah hate most is a black man.
I knew bleaching was a West and central Africa pandemic. They use powerful creams. Now black want to be white at a time when Western fashion is turning white into color. I bet Africa hasn't got the tweet yet. Hollywood is about darkening white now
They now need to ban mitumba. Did anyone hear of a child in Korogocho slums who contacted syphilis from mitumba imported from France?
Thank you. Time to protect Kenyans.
It's time for Kenyans to produce our own products like every other country.
Thank you KEBS for putting breaks on making Kenya a dumping ground for expired product and for products that cannot be sold in foreign nations.
Continue the good work.
This will wake up the creativity in our people and curtail dependency on foreigners!!
Thank you again!!
Kenyans stop bleaching!!! Black is Beautiful!!!
I can remember using Pimplex when I was a teen for Acne.
The mindset change has to begin with men. Kama sio mapenzi ya "yellow-yellow" these women would be proud and comfortable in their skin. Lakini how many men leave their women to end up with a lighter skinned gachugwa? How many men tell their mothers/ sisters/ daughters that they are beautiful- deliberately not as a reward for doing or saying anything? Just each day purposely telling your dark skinned daughter, you're smart, you're beautiful and you're loved? - very few. How many matusis have been foemulated for dark skinned kids/ young adults that wreck their self esteem and the first thing they wanna do is change their appearance skin color? Ever heard matusi ya light skinned folks? Why do we introduce kiddos to lighter skinned dolls and toys instead of darker skinned one? Heaven's sake why do we introduce kiddos to a lighter skinned Jesus? Kukiwa na darker skinned sanamu ya Jesus in church would send people taking to their heals- happened to an auntie who thought the church people had lost their mind having a brown skinned Jesus and his family in a nativity set, took to her heals and never set foot in that Church again, saying ni mashetani, bless her heart. This is the reality we live in. Change people's mindsets before enforcing things that will mutate into worse scenarios. The women and MEN - NEED I SAY who are desperate to lighten their skin will STILL find a way. It's like closing abortion clinics and ending up with death coz folks find backdoor means and concoctions in their kitchen. Bleach for instance has been used in so many ways to lighten skin, some even make pills out of them. Put yourself in the shoes of a transgender man trying to lighten his skin and go to every extent to soften his features as far as injecting cement into his boobs and butt to achieve that and know you may be dealing with people who need more help than forcing them to abandon what they think makes them likable altogether.
This is a misnomer.Why are they called beauty products. Certainly they are not going to turn a frog in to a beauty.Anyway, Iam for using approved products for medicinal reasons.However, If one thinks that they are too dark and need to lighten their skin, that is psychological/mental problem,not a skin problem.
People should be made aware that these products are intended to take advantage of peoples' insecurities,under the guise o enhancing beauty.
It is very unfortunate that even religious people who should know better have fallen victim to this scam.People should be encouraged to feel comfortable in their own skin,and not mask the skin so as offer false image.