Skin Product Safety
Fact Sheet: Download and Share Brochure: Download and Share Infographics: Download and Share
En Español Additional Languages
Skin lightening products containing the ingredients hydroquinone or mercury may cause harm. The over-the-counter sale of these products is illegal in the U.S. Read skin product labels to identify ingredients and consult with your health care provider about treatment options.
What are skin lightening products?
Skin lightening products are marketed as treatments for uneven skin tone, acne, age spots, freckles, and wrinkles. Companies may describe skin lightening products as skin bleaching, fading, evening, brightening, or whitening products.
These products are often sold in the form of creams, lotions, soaps, and powders in shops catering to Hispanic/Latino, Asian, African, or Middle Eastern communities.
What are hydroquinone and mercury?
Hydroquinone and mercury are ingredients added to skin lightening products to limit the skin’s production of melanin. Melanin is the pigment responsible for skin color. When you apply skin products with hydroquinone or mercury to your skin, your body absorbs these ingredients. With continued use, hydroquinone and mercury can build up in your body, which may cause harm.
The FDA has received reports of serious side effects from the use of hydroquinone, including rashes, facial swelling, and permanent skin discoloration (ochronosis). Mercury is a highly toxic metal that can damage the nervous, digestive, and immune systems, as well as the lungs, kidneys, skin, and eyes.
Does the FDA regulate the sale of skin lightening products with hydroquinone or mercury?
Skin lightening products containing hydroquinone are not approved for over-the-counter sale. However, you can get a prescription skin product containing hydroquinone from your health care provider. The use of mercury in skin lightening products is banned.
How do I know which skin lightening products contain hydroquinone or mercury?
When purchasing a skin lightening product, check the product label to see if it contains hydroquinone or mercury. Do not purchase over-the-counter skin lightening products containing these ingredients. Note that mercury may be listed as mercurous chloride, calomel, mercuric, mercurio, or Hg.
What else should I consider when purchasing an over-the-counter skin lightening product?
Some illegal skin lightening products containing hydroquinone or mercury may not list these ingredients on the label. Avoid products with handmade labels, labels in languages other than English, or no label at all. Products like these are in violation of FDA regulations and may be harmful.
Where can I learn more?
Get the Skin Facts! about skin product safety by visiting www.fda.gov/SkinFacts.
If you experience a bad reaction from the use of a skin product, please contact your health care provider. Report it to the FDA at www.fda.gov/medwatch/report.htm or by calling 1-800-FDA-1088.
For more information on health equity, visit www.fda.gov/healthequity.
Download the Skin Facts! Resources
- Fact Sheet: Skin Product Safety
- Brochure: Know What’s In Your Skin Products
- Infographics: Skin Product Safety
Additional Languages
The documents below are available in several foreign language(s). FDA offers these translations as a service to a broad international audience. We hope that you find these translations useful. While the agency has attempted to obtain translations that are as faithful as possible to the English version, we recognize that the translated versions may not be as precise, clear, or complete as the English version. The official version of these documents is the English version.
- Fact Sheet: Skin Product Safety
- Brochure: Know What's in Your Skin Products
- Infographics: Skin Product Safety
الوثائق الموجودة أدناه متوفرة بعدة لغات أجنبية. وتقدم إدارة الغذاء والدواء تلك الترجمات كخدمة لجمهور دولي واسع. ونأمل أن تجدوا هذه الترجمات مفيدة. وفي الوقت الذي حاولت فيه الإدارة الحصول على ترجمات أقرب ما يمكن للنسخة الإنجليزية، فقد تبين لنا أن النسخ المترجمة ربما لا تكون بنفس الدقة أو الوضوح أو الكمال مثل النسخة الإنجليزية، ومن ثم فإن النسخة الرسمية من هذه الوثائق هي النسخة الإنجليزية.
- 信息图表: 护肤产品安全 (Fact Sheet: Skin Product Safety)
- 手册: 了解您的护肤产品中含有什么成分 (Brochure: Know What's in Your Skin Products)
下列文件可用若干种文字阅读。美国食品药物监督管理局是为方便国际各界而提供这些译文的；希望它们对您有帮助。本局的心愿是力图让文件译文尽可能忠实于英文原文，但我们也知道译文会有不如原文精确、明晰的情况，甚至会有漏译的地方。因此，英文版是这些文件的正式文本。
- 情況說明書: 護膚產品安全 (Fact Sheet: Skin Product Safety)
- 手冊: 瞭解您的護膚產品中含有什麼成分 (Brochure: Know What's in Your Skin Products)
以下文件有幾種外語版本。美國食品及藥物管理局將這些翻譯作為一種服務提供給廣大的國際讀者。我們希望您覺得這些翻譯有用。儘管該機構已試圖獲得盡可能忠實於英文版本的翻譯，但我們認識到翻譯版本可能不如英文版本準確，清晰或完整。這些文件的正式版本為英文版本。
- Fiche d’information: La Sécurité Des Produits Pour La Peau (Fact Sheet: Skin Product Safety)
- Brochure: Sachez Ce Que Contiennent Vos Produits Pour La Peau (Brochure: Know What's in Your Skin Products)
- Infographie: La Sécurité Des Produits Pour La Peau (Infographics: Skin Product Safety)
Les documents ci-dessous sont disponibles en plusieurs langues. Ces traductions sont fournies par la FDA pour rendre service à un vaste public international. Nous espérons qu’elles vous seront utiles; nous avons pris le plus grand soin pour qu’elles soient le plus exactes possible, mais il peut arriver que le texte traduit ne soit pas aussi précis, clair ou complet que l’original en anglais. Veuillez noter que le texte officiel de ces documents est le texte anglais.
- Fey enfomasyon: Sekirite Pwodwi Po (Fact Sheet: Skin Product Safety)
- Bwochi: Konnen Sa’k Nan Pwodwi Pou Ou (Brochure: Know What's in Your Skin Products)
Dokiman ki anba yo disponib nan plizyè lang etranje (yo). FDA ofri tradiksyon sa yo kòm yon sèvis pou yon gwo odyans entènasyonal. Nou espere ke ou jwenn tradiksyon sa yo itil. Pandan ke ajans lan te eseye jwenn tradiksyon ki fidèl ke posib nan vèsyon angle a, nou rekonèt ke vèsyon tradui yo ka pa egzak, klè, oswa konplè tankou vèsyon angle a. Vèsyon ofisyèl dokiman sa yo se vèsyon angle a.
- तथ्य पत्रक: त्वचा उत्पाद सुरक्षा (Fact Sheet: Skin Product Safety)
- विवरणिका: जानिए आपकी त्वचा उत्पादों में क्या ह (Brochure: Know What's in Your Skin Products)
- आलेख जानकारी: त्वचा उत्पाद सुरक्षा (Infographics: Skin Product Safety)
नीचे दिये गये दस्तावेज कई विदेशी भाषा(भाषाओं) में उपलब्ध हैं। FDA व्यापक अंतर्राष्ट्रीय समुदाय के लिए ये अनुवाद एक सेवा के रूप में प्रदान करता है। हमें आशा है कि आप इन अनुवादों को उपयोगी पायेंगे। हालांकि एजेंसी ने ऐसे अनुवाद पाने का प्रयास किया है जो यथासम्भव अंग्रेज़ी संस्करण जितने ही प्रामाणिक हों, फिर भी हम स्वीकार करते हैं कि अनुवादित संस्करण उतने सटीक, स्पष्ट, या पूर्ण न हों जितना कि अंग्रेज़ी संस्करण हैं। इन दस्तावेजों के अधिकारिक संस्करण अंग्रेज़ी संस्करण हैं।
- Daim Ntawv Teev Qhia Ntsiab Lus Tseeb: Kev Nyab Xeeb Hais Txog Tshuaj Pleev Kom Tawv Dawb (Fact Sheet: Skin Product Safety)
- Los Paub Yam Uas Muaj Nyob Rau Hauv Cov Tshuaj Pleev Kom Dawb (Brochure: Know What's in Your Skin Products)
- Kev Nyab Xeeb Hais Txog Tshuaj Pleev Kom Tawv Dawb (Infographics: Skin Product Safety)
Cov ntawv nram no muaj ua ntau hom lus. FDA muaj cov kev txhais ntawv no ua ib txoj kev pab rau ntau haiv neeg. Peb vam tias cov ntawv txhais no yuav pab tau koj. Txawm yog lub koom haum muab cov ntawv txhais kom yog li cov Lus Askiv npaum li yog tau los peb pom tias cov ntaub ntawv txhais yuav tsis raug kiag lub ntsiab, meej los sis tiav txhij txhua kiag li cov ntawv Askiv. Cov ntawv tseem ces yog Lus Askiv.
- ファクト・シート: スキンケア製品の安全性 (Fact Sheet: Skin Product Safety)
- あなたのスキンケア製品に何が入っているか、知っておきましょう (Brochure: Know What's in Your Skin Products)
以下の文書は数ヶ国語で提供されています。FDAは、広く国際的に閲覧できるよう、この翻訳を提供しています。この翻訳が役立つことを願っています。当局では英語版に忠実な翻訳を取得する努力を行っていますが、翻訳版は英語版のように正確、明確で完全なものではないことがあります。本文書の正式版は英語版です。