Survey found chemical in products including Nivea and L’Oreal creams
Crackdown: Cosmetics Europe has urged companies to remove
Methylisothiazolinone from creams
Beauty product companies have been told to stop using a chemical irritant in some products after an explosion in cases of allergic reactions and eczema.
The chemical, a preservative called Methylisothiazolinone (MI or MIT), is routinely added to moisturisers, sun creams, shampoos and wet wipes.
Skin experts in the UK and around the world have picked up a large number of allergic reactions they believe are caused by the chemical.
Now, Cosmetics Europe, the European cosmetics trade association, has told its members to remove MI from products that are left on the skin.
In a statement, the body said: ‘This action is recommended in the interests of consumer safety in relation to adverse skin reactions.
‘It is recommended that companies do not wait for regulatory intervention under the Cosmetics Regulation but implement this recommendation as soon as feasible.’
The Daily Mail has previously highlighted the concerns of UK skin experts and suffering of a number of women who had severe allergic reactions.
Symptoms ranged from a rash of bright red tiny bumps to fluid filled lumps on the skin, blisters, itchy eyes and even a severely swollen face.
A Daily Mail survey in September found the chemical in L’Oreal Paris Triple Active Day Multi-Protection Moisturiser; Sanctuary Mini Mande Lular Body Soufflé; Clarins Paris Exfoliating Body Scrub for Smooth Skin; Olay Professional Exfoliating Cream Cleanser (150ml); Nivea Body Lotion Express Hydration; and Piz Buin 1 Day Long Lotion.
Several companies have already announced that they will stop using MI, including Vaseline, Brylcreem, Huggies, Molton Brown, Nivea and Johnson & Johnson’s Piz Buin. However, products containing the suspect ingredient could still be on shelves.
Chemical: A Daily Mail survey in September found Nivea Express Hydration Body Lotion and Olay Professional Exfoliating Cream Cleanser were among many creams to contain MI, alongside Clarins and Piz Buin products
British skin experts say the scale of the allergic reactions to the chemical, which has been used increasingly since 2005, has been alarming.
Dermatologists expect an allergic reaction to a cosmetic product of no more than 1-2per cent, however British clinics report that the rate has been more than 10per cent for MI.
It is claimed that scale of harm is more than twice the level of another ingredient called MDBGN (methydibromo glutaronitrile), which was banned by the European Commission in 2008.
Leading dermatologist Dr Ian White from St Thomas’ Hospital, London, said: ‘The frequency of reactions to MI is unprecedented in my experience. We’ve never seen anything quite like it.
‘Contact allergy to this permitted preservative is now of epidemic proportions.’
Dr David Orton, a member of the British Association of Dermatologists and president of the British Society of Cutaneous Allergy, welcomed the industry move but said it did not go far enough.
Reaction: One in ten sufferers of dermatitis were found to have had an allergic reaction to the chemical
He said: ‘This is a promising step forward, and I welcome this demonstration of responsibility by Cosmetics Europe to pre-empt regulation on the use of MI. I hope that this recommendation will be adhered to by the association’s members and will go some way towards protecting UK and European consumers.
‘Nevertheless, as it currently stands, this recommendation falls short of calling for the removal or a reduction of MI levels in rinse-off cosmetics, such as shower gels or shampoos.
‘We still have concerns that its continued use at present concentrations in such products will elicit allergic reactions in those that are already sensitised. This is a matter which we are hoping to reach agreement on in future planned discussions.’
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2524361/Ban-chemical-irritant-used-skin-creams-explosion-cases-allergic-reactions-eczema.html#ixzz2ndCdqWi0
