Resources

« Pour une couleur de peau », les enfants victimes de la dépigmentation. Video focuses on SLP use on children in Togo and Guinea.

Skin lightening might not be a familiar topic to many Americans, but it is an intensely popular subject globally and in some U.S. communities of color: The hashtag #whiteningcream has over 40 million views on TikTok, and products that are promised to bleach or lighten skin tone are readily available both online and at drugstores.

Children's exposure to mercurial skin lightening agents at any time during their development, from intra-uterine to early developmental life, can lead to severe detrimental health effects. This is because these skin lightening agents contain inorganic mercury as their active ingredient at varying concentrations that exceed acceptable levels.

The Zero Mercury Working Group (ZMWG) has been investigating mercury-added skin lightening products (SLPs) for several years, primarily due to their health risks, their illegality under many national laws, and the prohibition by the Minamata Convention on Mercury against the manufacture and trade of mercury-added SLPs, which generally became effective in 2021.

Mercury compounds are frequently added to skin lightening products (SLPs) because mercury lightens the skin by suppressing the production of melanin, despite substantial health risks. SLPs have received significant attention in the scientific literature—and World Health Organization recognizes that mercury—added to some SLPs—is a “major public health concern.”

November 2019 (Revised March 2022) It is an uncomfortable truth that colorism is still pervasive worldwide. In communities of color, beauty standards based on the racist notion that lighter skin is more desirable still hold power.

Despite advances in modern dentistry, untreated dental caries in permanent teeth was reported as one the most prevalent conditions assessed in the 2019 Global Burden of Disease study. The restorative model for managing dental caries was developed in the 1900s, with dental amalgam as one of the restorative materials.

This webpage from U.S. Food and Drugs Administration lists information on what the law and FDA regulations say about cosmetic ingredients and safety.

In India, skin whitening creams are being used since ages as white complexion has been associated with prosperity and beauty for thousands of years. However, after the post globalisation, India has evolved as a key market of the cosmetic products. Further with the growth of the online marketing portals, now the products across the globe are being flooded into Indian markets.

The World Health Organization website provides information on oral health through Overview, Causes and Symptoms and Responses. It also links to more information on the subject through Fact sheets, Databases and tools, Resolutions and decisions and Technical work.

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In almost every corner of the planet, there's a huge social dividend that comes from being lighter-skinned. Sociologists trace it back centuries to European colonization, slavery and class or caste.

Studies show people with lighter complexions earn more, are less likely to be arrested and, if convicted, serve shorter sentences than people with darker skin.

This investigation on the sale of mercury-containing skin bleaching, lightening or whitening cosmetics in online shopping platforms and social media sites was conducted by the EcoWaste Coalition to support the implementation of the Minamata Convention on Mercury that the government of the Philippines ratified on June 2, 2020.

The webinar on mercury-containing medical devices organised on 13 October 2020 by the Products Partnership Area had an attendance of over 100 participants.

Video animation explaining why mercury and, in particular, mercury in skin lightening products is dangerous to health and the need for countries to take action to ban this source of exposure.

Minamata online is an initiative from the Secretariat of the Minamata Convention.

A shooting star helps a bright young girl born "the color of midnight" learn to embrace her beauty, inside and out.

Infographic

Skin bleaching is a major health concern among Jamaicans. A common ingredient in skin lightening products is mercury. Mercury is a toxic substance that can cause damage to the gastrointestinal tract, nervous system and kidneys.

CBC's Marketplace tests popular skin-lightening products sold in Canada to find out if the ingredients are as toxic as the marketing. Our investigation reveals some products contain alarming levels of harmful ingredients, including mercury, hydroquinone and steroids. Some of these chemicals are possible carcinogens and can cause severe skin issues with prolonged use.  

Through the Chemical Safety and Health Unit, WHO works to establish the scientific basis for the sound management of chemicals, and to strengthen national capabilities and capacities for chemical safety. Mercury is a chemical of major public health concerns.

In the past few years, FDA and state health officials have discovered numerous products marketed as skin lighteners that contain mercury, and there have been cases in which people exposed to such products have had mercury poisoning or elevated levels of mercury in their bodies.

Therefore, to address this growing challenge, coordinated compliance mechanisms are needed at the local, national, regional and global levels. The ultimate goal of this publication is to improve consumer protection by targeting unsafe products and accelerating their removal from commerce before they are sold to consumers.

Effects of mercury poisoning can be devastating, with symptoms including seizures, memory, vision and hearing loss, and development disorders. Explore mercury's trade routes in this interactive story.