Dauda et al. 2023 - Heavy metals in cosmetics from Kafanchan markets
Dauda et al. tested cosmetics purchased from Kafanchan markets in Kaduna State, Nigeria for selected heavy metals. The paper is direct personal-care occurrence evidence across lipsticks, fairness creams, lip balms, and anti-aging creams. Chromium and nickel were detected in lipsticks, mercury was detected in fairness creams, and the tested lip balms and anti-aging creams had no detected target metals.
Key numbers
| Finding | Source-reported value |
|---|---|
| Samples | 3 lipsticks, 3 fairness creams, 3 lip balms, 3 anti-aging creams |
| Lipstick chromium | 1.09 to 1.34 ppm |
| Lipstick nickel | 2.19 to 2.36 ppm |
| Lipstick lead and cadmium | Not detected |
| Lip balm and anti-aging cream | No tested heavy metals detected |
| Fairness cream mercury | 0.10 to 2.52 ppm as total mercury in the detailed results; abstract lists 1.79, 1.52, and 0.10 ppm |
| Highest fairness-cream mercury described | Aroma Magic Fair Lotion 1.97 ppm total Hg, equivalent to 2.67 ppm HgCl2 |
| FDA comparator cited by authors | 1 ppm mercury for cosmetics other than eye products |
Methods (brief)
The authors purchased cosmetic samples from local markets in Kafanchan. Lipstick, lip balm, and anti-aging cream samples were prepared for Pb, Cd, Cr, and Ni determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. Fairness creams were prepared for mercury determination and analyzed by cold-vapor/flameless atomic absorption.
Brand names appear in the methods and tables; this source page keeps the public summary at product-category level and does not reproduce brand-by-brand rankings.
Implications
For lipstick and skin-lightening product pages, this source supports Nigeria-market occurrence of Cr/Ni in lipsticks and Hg in fairness creams. The mercury results are especially relevant because the authors state that mercury in fairness creams is prohibited under the cited cosmetic rule and that several detected values exceed the FDA comparator used in the paper.
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Verification notes
The source contains a minor inconsistency: the abstract lists fairness-cream mercury values of 1.79, 1.52, and 0.10 ppm, while the results text reports a range of 0.10 to 2.52 ppm and names a highest detailed value of 1.97 ppm total Hg for one product. The page records both source statements rather than resolving brand-level values by hand.
Page history
The five most recent substantive edits to this page. The full version history lives in git; when DOI minting comes online (see schema docs), each entry below will also link to a version-pinned DataCite DOI.
| Commit | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|
| c1aef38 | 2026-06-02 | audit-queue: hamid2021-bacterial-plant-biostimulants-review → audited-promote |