Zimbabwe creating stricter cosmetic regulations to curb use of “harmful ingredients”

17 Jul 2024 --- The Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ) is tightening the regulation of cosmetic products in the country with plans for a comprehensive regulatory framework. 

The public and animal health protector identified “several issues requiring stricter oversight, including the use of harmful ingredients, poor product quality and lack of traceability.”

The Medicines and Allied Substances Control (Cosmetics) Regulations seek to address MCAZ’s concerns over the “proliferation of sub-standard, falsified and potentially harmful cosmetic products in Zimbabwe.”

Guidelines will be set for defining, registering, labeling and testing cosmetic products for manufacturers, importers and distributors, who must comply with “stringent” safety and quality standards. MCAZ adds the industry suppliers must also “submit detailed product information for evaluation, and adhere to proper labeling and marketing practices.”

The authority says strengthening regulations will boost product innovation, rebuild consumer trust in the market and enable consumers to make knowledgeable decisions about the products they apply to their skin and bodies.

“The proposed cosmetics regulations are expected to be implemented soon, subject to the necessary legislative and administrative processes,” states MCAZ. The public is urged to use some of these cosmetics cautiously, encouraging stakeholders — manufacturers, importers, retailers, and consumers — to stay informed and interact with the authorities during this crucial process. 

MCAZ flags harmful ingredients, poor product quality and lack of traceability in cosmetic products sold.Concerning cosmetics
Although MCAZ does not specify product issues, research in the Medical Journal of Zambia five years ago suggested concerning cosmetic sales practices.

It surveyed 270 women in Zimbabwe and conducted informant interviews across ten cosmetic sellers nationwide.

The researchers found that “all the key informants reported to be selling skin-lightening cosmetics among their cosmetics, some of these cosmetics reported being illegal. All skin-lightening products were reported to be hoarded outside Zimbabwe.”

“Corruption and relaxed policies on cosmetic regulation were suggested to be enabling entry of some of the illegal and potentially harmful products in the country. The prevalence of skin bleaching among the participants was 31.15%, and most participants (61.40%) were ignorant about skin bleaching cosmetics’ side effects.” 

They also noted that MCAZ is the only body that regulates medicines and cosmetics, and criticized the authority’s lack of action on the cosmetics market.

Movitations behind skin bleaching include smooth and healthy skin, beauty and gaining social favors.Neoliberalism scrutinized
The researchers connected neoliberalism to the high number of skin bleachings in the Zimbabwean market. They suggested that “targeted health education, i.e., on skin bleaching, regulatory public health policies and their enforcement can play an important role in controlling access and subsequently curbing the detrimental effects of skin bleaching products.”

The authors claimed neoliberalism promotes free-market capitalism and curbs government interference in the market which they believe pushes companies to “go out of boundaries to maximize profits,” potentially resulting in “cheap and potentially harmful materials to produce goods.”

“Some of these skin-lightening cosmetics markets even promote health in their products. Other cosmetics companies put labels claiming their products to be ‘free from’ substances usually known to be harmful, which can distract the consumers from scrutinizing the rest of the ingredients and be misleading to consumers,” flag the authors. “The ‘free from’ claims could also be false,” with false advertising used to surpass competitors.

Deep-rooted colorism
Another study in African Health Sciences of 260 Zimbabweans revealed the prevalence of skin bleaching at 31.15%. Reasons included desires for “smooth and healthy skin alongside other factors such as beauty, gaining social favors, for example, getting married and good jobs.”

The authors pointed to “deep-rooted” colorism as the cause of skin bleaching, which has been “taken advantage of by the cosmetics industry.”

Meanwhile, users of skin-lightening products reported reversible and non-reversible side effects, including “skin irritations, inflammation, rashes, erythema, oedemas, ochronosis, dermal atrophy, photophobia, insomnia and unexplained weight gain.” Researchers saw “no formal registration, regulation or legislation covering the products, processes and practice of skin-lightening in Zimbabwe.”

They concluded that skin bleaching in the country is a “huge complex of networks,” formal and informal, with numerous options showing an established commercial enterprise of local and imported products. 

By Venya Patel