Evaluation of Heavy Metal content in Unbranded Facial Cosmetic and their potential Health risk

The use of cosmetic items in daily life in order to enhance the quality of outlook is becoming quite common. The continuous use of these products, may expose consumers to health challenges which may be caused by the absorption of chemical elements. Pure cosmetic production is important for our health. Women’s ingestion and; exposure to organic and inorganic contaminants in cosmetics through dermal absorption, due to reasons such as personal habits and characteristics of the living environment, may contribute to carcinogenic risks following daily dietary exposure. The care for the physical body has gain huge attention especially the facial part where various kind of cosmetic item have been utilized to bring out a desired appearance. This investigation was based on determining the concentration of heavy metal such as Nickel (Ni), Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd) , Chromium(Cr) and Iron(Fe) in four types of unbranded cosmetic products (lipstick, eye pencil, eye shadow, talc powder) available at local markets in south west Nigeria. The analysis was carried out via inductive coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The results revealed that Pb, Cd, Cr, Fe claimed high concentration as compared with world health organization WHO recommendation.