Why do the electrical quotient of inferior sunscreen have been banned? Illegal costs are too low

Up to midsummer, many women will choose sunscreen as a daily fight against ultraviolet damage of the weapon. Whether it is a high density of brand advertising, or sales staff constantly stressed the magic of the effect, people have produced a kind of "only use sunscreen to really Enron without a summer" feeling.

However, after more information, it is doubtful: is the sunscreen really so "powerful"? In fact, not all sunscreen products can be trusted, of which the long-standing problem of excessive heavy metals is the first.

At the beginning of 2013, a group of Shiseido, Japan's largest cosmetics group, which was exported to China for its sunscreen products, was seized with heavy metal cadmium, prompting nationwide consumer shocks. In the past two years, many consumers because of the use of heavy metal substandard sunscreen and allergy to medical treatment, but also repeatedly staged.

Why are heavy metals in sunscreen products frequently exceeding the cordon? And how many of the neglected products have to be uncovered?

In this respect, Yangzhigang, Director of the Chamber of Commerce of beauty and cosmetics industry, said in an interview with the 21st century economic Reporter: "Overall, the current enterprise internal control and regulatory standards are very strict, but still can not eliminate the unscrupulous products of small enterprises." The root cause is that the profit space is too large, especially some with whitening function of sunscreen products, must be reflected in the effect will bring sales, so the manufacturers to add a large number of such heavy metals such as mercury to promote the effect. ”

Bad sunscreen: The owner won't use it.

There are hundreds of unnamed skincare brands hidden in stores in China's cities at all levels of big shopping malls. Compared to customers such as weaving business over the channel, corner shop is often inferior to the breeding of sunscreen products.

One day in early July, the 21st century economic reporter walked into the Shanghai suburb of a light textile commodity market, the market dedicated to create more than 20 stalls selling various types of skin care products. Due to the summer, whitening and sunscreen products are placed in the most prominent position.

In one of the shops, the reporter saw that the store's sunscreen product name is almost unheard of, product ingredient content is very brief, but it is effective sunscreen, protect adult skin. A bottle of 50 ml of sunscreen is priced at twenty or thirty yuan, well below the average price of sunscreen sold on the market.

When asked whether there is a risk of heavy metals in these products, the owner said: "Most of the shopkeeper to buy the most concern is whether the sun, heavy metal hazards such as the problem of the basic few people care about, let alone warn consumers." The product of a motley sunscreen to complete inventory of heavy metals, basic to all the strokes. ”

"Although we do this sunscreen business, we do not use these products." But because prices are so cheap, sales are fairly stable. ”

The shopkeeper also told the reporter that today, the production of a very scattered sun-proof products, relatively concentrated place in Zhejiang and Guangdong two provinces of the processing workshop. For example, in Taizhou, Zhejiang, for the past five years, local producers have been hit hard by the business sector because of the production of shoddy sunscreen without batches.

But it is worth noting that, with the cyclical rectification action of the Industry and commerce sector, these battered entity shops are now looking for more covert and lucrative places. Taobao and other well-known manufacturers of online shop, low prices of sunscreen products are also a big way.

Reporters in the network can easily query the following information: "Coppertone water baby 30 ml installed sunscreen SPF50 only 9 Yuan", "genuine aqua 100 ml refreshing sunscreen only 9.5 yuan" and so on the content is staggering. Such a large capacity of sunscreen products is so low price, the cost is almost the same as mineral water.

Heavy Metal hidden trouble frequent: big names also recruit

In fact, low-priced low-quality sunscreen has repeatedly exposed the quality of the hidden dangers, and show the potential blowout. In the first half of 2014, a local female consumer in Nanjing spent 108 yuan to buy a brand of sunscreen, facial and arm all appear redness, itching and other adverse reactions, almost disfigured. Earlier, also because consumers apply sunscreen allergy, Guangxi Longlin County Industry and Commerce administration has investigated the counterfeit and Procter "Olay" more effective repair sun cream merchants.

"Some small and medium sized sun creams are not as simple as chrome, they may be harmful elements such as mercury, or even lot numbers are fake." "Yangzhigang said.

"All products with whitening effects have the potential to add mercury," he added. The addition of heavy metal mercury is simply artificially added, because the mercury compounds will destroy the enzyme activity on the surface of the skin, so that melanin can not form, so it will produce whitening effect. Mercury has a greater impact on the body than other heavy metals. ”

Over the past decade, sunscreen skin care products, the United States and cosmetics product heavy metal concentration erupted over the rounds, every year there will be sporadic scattered manufacturers due to supervision and consumer complaints and closed the door, but the risk of exceeding the situation has never been extinct.

Among them, the high proportion of unqualified and big brand exceeding the warning, become the biggest risk characteristics of sunscreen products. Heavy metal problems, in the name of sunscreen products or beauty makeup brands are also repeatedly exposed.

2007, Guangdong Province Cosmetics evaluation sampling, well-known Japanese group Avon Summer Love Sunscreen Moisturizing cream and Nivea Sunscreen skin cream has been the quality of substandard, and then related products in all parts of the decline in sales.

2013, the French skin care brand Occitane due to some of the products lead content exceeded the group through the Chinese subsidiary of the batch of almond firming scrub products by the Chinese State Administration of quality Supervision, inspection and quarantine destroyed.

In January, Shiseido was notified by AQSIQ that a batch of Shiseido hot sun-resistant sunscreen (Anessa) was destroyed by the detection of heavy metal cadmium.

Why do we have to ban it? Illegal costs are too low

Today, some manufacturers in the detection of heavy metals after the argument that "heavy metal is not excessive, and sunscreen is mainly in the skin surface cover, and will not be absorbed by the skin, so the impact is very limited." But in a cosmetic industry, it seems that heavy metals are deliberately weakening the effect is the profit-driven manufacturers, there is a misunderstanding of consumer cognition.

In the case of repeated exposure to heavy metal mercury, mercury and its compounds can penetrate the skin barrier into all organs and tissues of the body, especially in the kidneys, liver and spleen. In the end, the activity of the enzyme system destroys the symptoms of mercury poisoning, such as tremor, memory loss, irritability, visual and auditory changes.

"The harm of heavy metals is being known by more and more people, in fact, such as lead, mercury, such as heavy metals, regardless of the amount of the human body caused by the corresponding damage." Heavy metal lead itself does not have sunscreen function, the product of lead ions only in the skin and the melanin reaction, so that melanin temporarily diluted, so that the skin looks more white. Said the industry insiders bluntly. Once you stop using these heavy metal products, the effect can bounce back and even cause some skin consumers to react and accelerate skin aging.

Since the harm is serious, the effect is not obvious, why is the phenomenon of excessive heavy metal in sunscreen still repeatedly banned?

Yangzhigang to reporters that because sunscreen mainly plays a role in the cover, manufacturers in the production of finished products will usually be some mineral ingredients added inside. Minerals or raw materials, usually mixed with a number of heavy metals, will lead to some elements of the standard.

However, these surface effects of significant heavy metal addition, not can not be industrialized removal. But many enterprises in the security and profit choices, often choose the latter. "These minerals used in sunscreen, heavy metals are actually impurities in these raw materials, to avoid technical difficulty is very high, so the cost of enterprise investment is also very large." "Yangzhigang said.

21st century economic reporter for the purchase of wholesale sunscreen in the name of contact with a number of skin care products agents in Shanghai. One of the franchised local sun whitening products, Mr. Gu told reporters, sunscreen products raw material cost is low, compared to production easier. Local small and medium-sized brands in order to compete with overseas big-name, often doping a higher dose of heavy metals to stimulate the surface effect.

"Small and medium sized sunscreen products are often workshop-style small-scale production, and the risk of breaking the law is much lower than the well-known products." And this kind of product sales in fact can not be underestimated, in the vast number of three or four-line cities, consumers to 50 yuan below the sun-proof products rely on a very high degree. Mr. Gu revealed.

Yangzhigang to reporters: "At present, consumers are really difficult to identify the true and false differences between sunscreen products, let alone to understand whether the excessive metal." These indicators must be tested by scientific experiments, so consumers are at risk when buying sunscreen. However, it is relatively safe to choose some more secure brands. ”