Deepika Neupane’s entire face puffed up and started itching uncontrollably.

The 27-year-old resident of Butwal had bought eyelash glue from a local cosmetic store. After applying it, she noticed itching around her eyes, which eventually puffed up her entire face.

“My eyes became intensely red, teary, and had a stinging sensation,” Neupane says. “I dismissed it as a minor reaction, until my entire face was swollen and started itching uncontrollably.”

It was then that she realised she needed to find more information about the product. When she looked it up online, she found nothing.

She is not alone.

Concerns have grown over the safety of cosmetic items that the makeup industry produces, often using hazardous materials like lead, cadmium and mercury.

Mohan Bhusal, a consultant dermatologist and laser and hair transplant expert, says he has encountered extreme cases such as permanent disfigurement when a local product was used to treat a skin condition.

According to a 2012 research paper by Ram Charitra Sah, then executive director of the Center for Public Health and Environmental Development Nepal, a non-governmental organisation, various lipstick products contain high levels of lead, a toxic chemical with alarming health impacts. The paper pointed out that “there is no government agency responsible for regulating chemicals in cosmetics in Nepal”.

During his research, Sah collected samples of eight popular lipstick products from Kathmandu’s market. The products contained high levels of lead, which, over continuous use, potentially cause disabilities and health issues, according to lead contamination tests at Nepal Environmental and Scientific Services, a Kathmandu-based lab.

Concerns about cosmetic safety underscore the importance of consumer education and regulatory measures. With counterfeit products and lead contamination rife, strict quality standards are vital.

Semi Subedi, 22, a childcare provider residing in Dadhikot, Bhaktapur, has seen many mothers applying kajal on infants with the belief that it is good for the eyes and protects them from ultraviolet rays.

Over half of conventional kajal products include lead, in the form of lead sulphide, according to a US Food and Drug Administration report. At times, the usage of kajal has been linked even to infant deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Children are particularly susceptible to lead poisoning as their bodies absorb four to five times more lead than adults.

Despite being a hazardous metal, lead is used in lipsticks and foundations as it is vital for increased adhesion, and the more lead there is, the more chances there are of the product lasting longer.

Lead exposure can result in a variety of negative health outcomes, such as poisoning the nervous system, learning impairments and reduced fertility in both men and women. It also contributes to hormonal changes and menstrual irregularities that affect the development of testes in boys and delay the onset of puberty in girls.

Dermatologist Prativa Shrestha says that in her years-long practice, many patients have come to her with some kind of irritation in their skin. Most times, it happened because of duplicate skin products.

“The problems I’ve encountered are dry skin, irritation, itching, burning sensation, acne flare or new pigmentation issues,” Shrestha says.

Global regulatory bodies have been forced to look into and establish guidelines to protect consumers due to the widespread presence of lead in lipsticks, kohl, vermilion, cream, facial powder, and other cosmetics.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has set limits for lead at 10 ppm, cadmium at 0.3 ppm, and mercury at 1 ppm.

In 2019, the Nepal Council for Standardization (NCS) and the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Supplies set guidelines for cosmetic items produced, imported, sold, and used in Nepal.

The move aimed to reduce the number of cosmetic items with high concentrations of potentially dangerous substances, including lead, mercury, cobalt, arsenic and cadmium.

Sanjeev Kumar Thakur, information officer at the Nepal Bureau of Standards & Metrology, confirmed to the Post that there is no regulatory body that governs the usage of chemicals in cosmetics.

“Even though consumers are slowly becoming aware, many still lack awareness of the toxic effects of those metals on their health,” Neupane says.

Even when the cosmetics industry insists it is not a cause for concern as the dose is so small for each application, such harm accumulates over time.

Initially, the lead in cosmetics helps consumers get a dazzling white complexion and clean tone. However, if one stops using the product for a while, their skin will darken and develop freckles, enlarged pores, melasma and age prematurely.

Typically, copies of high-end brands are sold in the local market.

For more than 20 years, dermatologist Shrestha has been using a vitamin E cream known as Fruit of the Earth. But a few days ago, she came across a counterfeit Fruit of the World, which had a very similar packaging too.

“I looked up the product online when I got home. Unsurprisingly, it was nowhere to be found,” Shrestha says. “Consequently, people who are not familiar with the Fruit of the Earth trademark and see a product that appears identical could be tricked.”

She further adds that the market is flooded with counterfeit or inferior skincare and makeup products. “This is concerning as they can cause long-term effects like chronic dryness, irritation and even more serious conditions like pigmentation disorders,” she says.

As awareness grows, so does the importance of understanding the nuances between genuine and counterfeit beauty products to ensure the safety and well-being of consumers.

Fake products can be harmful to your skin as they are often made using relatively harsh chemicals and ingredients of inferior quality without passing quality control measures, experts say. One of the ways to ensure that you are buying genuine cosmetics is to buy from authorised retailers.

There are robust regulatory mechanisms in the more developed countries. The FDA, for instance, regulates cosmetics in the US under the FD&C Act and FPLA, ensuring safety and labelling compliance. Meanwhile, in South Korea, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety enforces strict standards for product safety, ingredient labelling, and advertising claims. The EU regulates cosmetics under Cosmetics Regulation No. 1223/2009, establishing safety standards and labelling requirements for products sold in its member states.

In all three regions, rigorous regulatory oversight and consumer protection measures are in place to safeguard against counterfeit products, misbranded goods, and potentially harmful substances in cosmetics.

But as such regulatory mechanisms are absent in Nepal, consumers are left to fend for themselves.

Industry insiders the Post talked to provide some practical tips to distinguish original products from fraudulent ones—read packages carefully, notice variations in packaging and minutely inspect the product’s texture.

As counterfeiters often struggle to replicate the exact dimensions and shapes of authentic items, paying attention to finer points such as fonts, holographic stickers and embossed logos can help distinguish genuine products from fake ones, they say.