Skin lightening is prevalent in communities around the world but little information is broadcast about the serious dangers to the health of women who use them. Many skin lightening creams include harmful ingredients such as parabens, cetyl alcohols and hydroquinone, all shown to have adverse health effects ranging from contact dermatitis to cancer, when used topically. The purpose of the current study was to conduct a content analysis of the chemical ingredients listed in skin lightening products found in Eldoret, Kenya and Asheville, North Carolina. In local beauty and grocery stores, we found 29 different products across the two sites. Out of 197 ingredients listed across these products, 64 (32.4%) were classified as harmful/ toxic by the Environmental Working Group: Cosmetic Database. A cross- country analysis of policies by CosIng (European Cosmetics Database), FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) and KEBS (Kenya Bureau of Standards) showed that KEBS had specific regulations that banned 2 out of the 64 listed toxic ingredients (3.13%), whilst the FDA had regulations that restricted 1 out of the 64 listed ingredients (1.56%). CosIng had the greatest number of cosmetic restrictions and bans covering 38 (59.4%) of the ingredients found that were classified as toxic by the Environmental Working Group. The ingredients found toxic fell under 10 broad levels of toxicity including immunotoxicity/ allergenics, organ system toxicity and ecotoxicity.
