Hair cream with high lead content banned

Dubai has banned a popular US-made hair colour cream due to extremely high levels of lead content that can cause cancer. The product Youthair Crème that claims to restore natural hair colour had more than 3000ppm of lead whereas the presence of the toxic heavy metal is not at all allowed in such products, a senior official toldKhaleej Times on Tuesday. The Dubai Municipality’s Department of Public Health and Safety which banned the product in the emirate has also issued an alert calling for the total ban on the product in other emirates as well, said its Director, Redha Hassan Salman. “The high volume of lead was detected during the product assessment programme of our Consumer Products Safety Section,” he said. The test results from the Dubai Central Laboratory (DCL) showed the presence of 3415.30ppm lead. “This is a very high concentration for such toxic heavy metal that can lead to long-term carcinogenic changes,” said Salman. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved lead acetate as a colour additive for colouring hair on the scalp at concentrations not exceeding 0.6 per cent w/v, calculated as metallic lead (21 CFR 73.2396) in progressive hair dye products, said the FDA’s website. Lead acetate is the main ingredient of Youthair that has the catchphrase “No More Gray Hair”. The standard alternative to lead acetate hair treatment is the use of organic dyes. However, Salman said Dubai was following the directives of the European Union that do not allow lead in such products. “The detection limits in DCL start at 0.15ppm, which also is not accepted. We will not give permits to market such cosmetic products with lead content,” he said. The official said the product was in the window period for registration. “The company has been informed about the status of the product and asked to do urgent withdrawal from the market. We have asked them to send us all the details of the withdrawal.” The product that claims to regain the natural colour of hair in just three weeks is also being sold online. The company’s website said it had finally come up with a lead-free product, as well.