Harmful ingredients
Studies show Fairness Cream In India Contains Mercury I Dermatocare
Mercury, a notorious troublemaker, is not just a heavy metal; it’s the culprit behind a laundry list of issues, from wreaking havoc on your nervous system to stirring up trouble in your reproductive, immune, and respiratory systems. What’s more, it’s like a sneaky infiltrator, often found masquerading in thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative, which your skin, ever so obliging, eagerly absorbs.
In a jaw-dropping revelation, a prominent NGO took center stage with a groundbreaking study that pulled back the curtain on fairness creams. Much to our astonishment, the lineup featured some of the most popular fairness creams in India.
The Study
Bearing the torch of truth, the Center for Science and Environment, India’s foremost NGO, unveiled their investigation that sent shockwaves through the industry back in 2014. Their findings exposed the presence of mercury in a staggering 44% of the leading fairness cream brands in India. This revelation left us scratching our heads, considering that the Cosmetic and Drug Act expressly prohibits the use of mercury in skincare products.
Fast forward to the year 2025, it’s worth noting that we remain cautiously optimistic that renowned companies may well have taken significant steps to purge mercury from their products since then.
Here are the results as mentioned in the study:
Name | Total Mercury (ppm) | Percentage of Average Daily Intake if you use 2g/day of cream |
Aroma Magic Fair Lotion | 1.97 | 36.4 |
Olay Natural White | 1.79 | 33.1 |
Ponds White Beauty | 1.36 | 25.2 |
Lotus Cocofair Cream | 0.81 | 15 |
Fair & Lovely Anti Marks | 0.73 | 13.5 |
L’Oreal Pearl Effect | 0.7 | 12.9 |
Revlon Touch and Glow | 0.25 | 4.6 |
Biotique Bio Coconut | 0.24 | 4.4 |
Garnier Men Power Light | 0.24 | 4.4 |
Vivel Active Fair | 0.23 | 4.3 |
Emami Malai Kesar Cold Cream | 0.22 | 4.1 |
Lakme Perfect Radiance | 0.19 | 3.5 |
VLCC Enbrighten (Sun Defence) | 0.11 | 2 |
Fair & Lovely Ayurvedic Care | 0.1 | 1.8 |
Fair & Lovely Multi Vitamin daily fairness cream | Not Detected | 0 |
Fairever | Not Detected | 0 |
Garnier Skin Naturals, Light | Not Detected | 0 |
Fair & Lovely Winter Fairness | Not Detected | 0 |
Fair One Shahnaz Husain | Not Detected | 0 |
Neutrogena Fine Fairness | Not Detected | 0 |
Lotus White Glow | Not Detected | 0 |
Nivea Sparkling Glow | Not Detected | 0 |
Lakme | Not Detected | 0 |
Lotus Microemulsion | Not Detected | 0 |
Lotus Fair Gel | Not Detected | 0 |
Himalaya Herbals Fairness Cream | Not Detected | 0 |
Jovees Pearl Whitening Face Cream | Not Detected | 0 |
Fair & Lovely Max Fairness | Not Detected | 0 |
Emami Fair and Handsome | Not Detected | 0 |
L’Oreal Men Expert | Not Detected | 0 |
Vaseline Men Face | Not Detected | 0 |
Calculation of Average Daily Intake is based on USEPA oral Reference Dose (RfD) of 0.0003 mg/kg-day of HgCl2, which translates into an ADI for a 50 kg person as 0.015 mg.
In 2020, Norway banned the sale of Fair and lovely cream because it contained mercury and hydroquinone.
Mercury is not mentioned in the ingredients list. Thus, scanning the list would be futile.