Online cosmetics, whole mixed creams... deceive consumers
On platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, it is not difficult to see countless mixed-use advertisements with invitations: "white bountiful after 7 days", "no more melasma", "more effective than spa". The seller can be a housewife, even a hot girl with tens of thousands of followers.
Searching for the keyword "measure", users can see hundreds of results, including the "measure - ingredients" group with more than 16,000 members, or "metallurgy recipe" with up to 175,000 members.
On the Facebook "Kem thiet chan", Ms. Tinh (name changed) - the business owner - often livestreams and personally mixes ice cream at home. The ingredients only include Thai-origin ice cream bottles, perfume, collagen, vitamin C... mixed in a steamer, beaten well with an electric mixer and then packed into a plastic jar.
Ms. Tinh affirmed that "the money will be gone after 2 days", otherwise "the money will be gone". The "super strong kem" set includes 5 dishes, priced at 300,000 VND/set of nearly 1kg, while for weak skin, the "normal kem" set costs 250,000 VND. Users are advised to choose the type that is suitable for lead skin or think skin.
The account T.N advertised "saving wings for women with dark skin" with the price list: white cake 300,000 VND/kg, white coating 450,000 VND/kg, recovery ginseng 600,000 VND/kg. Another account named H.M sells products to "unable-to-be-white" people by tapping in white sugar from vitamins, B1 and western medicine.
All are operating in a world of almost uncontrol. Advertisements such as white after 3 days, no refund make consumers blindly trust, regardless of origin and safety.
Most of the products are not manufactured in a hygienic environment, have not been tested for ingredients, and have not been registered for quality. Some also mix corticoids, hydroquinone - a banned substance - to create a quick whitening effect.
Poisoning, complications from believing livestream words
Dr. Vu Thai Ha - Head of the Department of Stem Cell Technology Research and Application, Central Dermatology Hospital - said that the trend of beauty variations from skin whitening cream, peel at home to filler, meso injections... is appearing frequently on social networks, with few people verifying its safety.
He warned: "Many people have become victims because of advertising. There are patients with exogenous pigmentation disorder after a long period of taking moisturizer of unknown origin. Another case of arrhythmia caused by white baths with phenol-containing products - a poison that can penetrate the skin, causing damage to the heart if used for a long time".
At the Poison Control Center - Bach Mai Hospital, a 31-year-old female patient (in Son La) was admitted to the hospital in a coma, with liver, heart, kidney, and brain damage. Tests showed that the mercury concentration in urine was 1.5 times higher than the limit, while the melasma cleanser she used contained up to 3,843 mg/kg of mercury - nearly 4,000 times higher than the permitted level.
The patient said that he has been using the product online for a year, at a price of only 50,000 VND/bowl, introducing himself as a "tayen (Chinese) product".
Also here, doctors discovered a set of "melasma exfoliants" including 2 bottles containing 6,978 mg/kg and 5,846 mg/kg of mercury, respectively - extremely toxic to the human body.
Dr. Nguyen Trung Nguyen - Director of the Poison Control Center, Bach Mai Hospital - warned: Hydroponics can make the skin white, but they are extremely toxic, absorbing through the skin, causing kidney failure, nerve damage, vision loss and mental disorders.
He recommended: "People need to check early if they suspect they are using toxic cosmetics. Only use products of clear origin from reputable companies, stay away from mixing ice cream and goods without labels.
Management agencies get involved
Faced with the widespread situation of livestream cosmetics and "handmade" mixing creams under the names "handmade" and "natural", the Department of Drug Administration (Ministry of Health) has issued a document requesting the Departments of Health to strengthen inspection and examination of cosmetic production and trading activities.
The Department stated: Many organizations and individuals are advertising products such as medicines and "medicines" without a unit responsible for announcing them, without a production license, without transparent labels. They also use celebrity images to advertise untruthfully, easily causing misunderstanding.
The Department proposed strict handling, but "erasing" the mixed ice cream book is a big challenge when many accounts do not register for business, do not have clear addresses, and easily change their names to continue selling. Effective prevention requires coordination between cybersecurity, market management, and health inspectors. Consumers also need to be alert, not believe in "white after 3 days", " family medicine" advertisements, "natural ingredients".
