Safety evaluation of metal exposure from commonly used moisturizing and skin-lightening creams in Nigeria Chukwujindu M.A. Iwegbue a,e,⇑ , Francisca I. Bassey b , Godswill O. Tesi a , Sunday O. Onyeloni c , Grace Obi d , Bice S. Martincigh e a Metals and Trace Organics Research Group, Department of Chemistry, Delta State University, P.M.B. 1, Abraka, Nigeria b Department of Chemistry, University of Calabar, P.M.B. 1115, Calabar, Cross-Rivers State, Nigeria c Faculty of Pharmacy, Delta State University, P.M.B. 1, Abraka, Nigeria d Department of Chemistry, Federal University of Petroleum Resource, Effurun, Delta State, Nigeria e School of Chemistry and Physics, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville Campus, Private Bag X54001, Durban, South Africa article info Article history: Received 2 August 2014 Available online 8 February 2015 Keywords: Metals Exposure Contact dermatitis Body creams Nigeria abstract The concentrations of ten metals (Cd, Pb, Ni, Cr, Cu, Co, Fe, Mn, Zn and Al) were measured in some com- monly used moisturizing and skin-lightening creams in Nigeria with a view to providing information on the risk of exposure to metals from the use of these products. The metal concentrations in these products were measured by atomic absorption spectrometry after acid digestion of the samples. The measured concentrations of metals in the skin moisturizing creams ranged from <0.15 to 6.3 lg/g Cd, <0.02 to 17.5 lg/g Cu, 2.25 to 6.25 lg/g Cr, <0.25 to 124.3 lg/g Al, 0.2 to 7.3 lg/g Pb, <0.03 to 10.7 lg/g Ni, 17.3 to 372.0 lg/g Zn, <0.02 to 1.0 lg/g Co, 17.75 to 28.8 lg/g Mn, <0.1 to 89.8 lg/g Fe while the concentra- tions of metals in the skin-lightening products ranged from <0.15 to 16.5 lg/g Cd, <0.02 to 10.0 lg/g Cu, 4.25 to 8.0 lg/g Cr, <0.25 to 128.0 lg/g Al, 0.5 to 4.5 lg/g Pb, <0.03 to 1.65 lg/g Ni, 24.7 to 267.5 lg/g Zn, <0.02 to 2.5 lg/g for Co, 19.3 to 31.8 lg/g Mn, 9.5 to 211.63 lg/g Fe. In a significant number (>93%) of the samples investigated the concentrations of Pb, Cd, Ni and Co were below the specified limit, or the max- imal limit for impurities in colour additives in cosmetics for external use. However, Cr was found at con- centrations above the allergenic limit of 1 lg/g. The results also showed that skin-lightening creams contained higher concentrations of the studied metals than the moisturizing creams, except for Ni, which indicates that persons who uses skin-lightening creams in preference to moisturizing ones, are exposed to higher concentrations of metals. Ó 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction The use of cosmetics as a part of routine body care is as old as man. The demand for cosmetic products across the globe has increased rapidly because of the increasing awareness of the need for beautification of the human body (Ullah et al., 2013) and due to the sharp rise of product advertisements in the mass media (Gondal et al., 2010). Despite the high global demand for cosmetic products, the safety of these products is of major concern and has attracted the attention of researchers, toxicologists, as well as regulatory agencies, with a common goal to ensure safe levels of the ingredients in the products (Linsey and Milnes, 2011; Al-Saleh and Al-Enazi, 2011). Modern brands of cosmetics are being manufactured from natural products as well as synthesized products. The active ingredients of cosmetic products depend on the specific use of these products. Some of the components of these cosmetics are inadvertent, in that they are not meant to be used, such as some toxic metals and other elements, which are found in cosmetic products as a result of the manufacturing process. On the other hand, some metals are intentionally used as ingredients of cosmetics as exemplified by the use of inorganic mercury com- pounds in whitening creams and tattoo inks, and lead acetate in progressive hair dyes (Ababneh et al., 2013; Omolaoye et al., 2010). The intentional use of metals as active ingredients in cos- metic products is prohibited in most countries of the world due to their toxic and persistent nature, but these substances are still found in today’s cosmetic products as a result of contamination during the production process. Annex II of the directive 76/768/ EEC listed more than 1000 chemical substances which must not form part of the composition of cosmetic products due to their http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.yrtph.2015.01.015 0273-2300/Ó 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. ⇑ Corresponding author at: Metals and Trace Organics Research Group, Depart- ment of Chemistry, Delta State University, P.M.B. 1, Abraka, Nigeria. E-mail address: maxipriestley@yahoo.com (C.M.A. Iwegbue). Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology 71 (2015) 484–490 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/yrtph