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                Skin Facts! What You Need to Know About Skin Lightening Products

Skin Facts! What You Need to Know About Skin Lightening Products

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          Reagan-Udall Foundation Skin Lightening Products Listening Sessions Summary Home
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          Skin Facts! What You Need to Know About Skin Lightening Products
          About Skin Facts!Skin Facts! What You Need to Know About Skin Lightening Products About Skin Facts!
  
  	
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              cream jarSkin Facts! What You Need to Know About Skin Lightening Products is a new initiative to alert consumers about the potential risks of using skin lightening products containing hydroquinone or mercury. OMHHE created the Skin Facts! Initiative to help consumers understand these risks and to help identify whether the skin products they purchase contain these harmful ingredients.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued warning letters to companies for selling over-the-counter (OTC) skin lightening products containing hydroquinone that do not meet the requirements to be legally sold as OTC drugs. The warning letters explain that OTC skin lightening products containing the active ingredient hydroquinone are unapproved drugs and are not generally recognized as safe and effective (not GRASE). In 2021, FDA issued a consumer update, cautioning consumers to avoid skin creams, beauty and antiseptic soaps, and lotions that contain mercury.

The Skin Facts! Initiative was developed following the 2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act becoming law. The Act provided appropriations for the FDA to educate the public on the potential risks of products containing hydroquinone or mercury.

The Skin Facts! Initiative includes educational materials, social media messages and other communications to support consumer awareness regarding illegal over-the-counter skin lightening products containing hydroquinone or mercury.  A Skin Facts! partner toolkit is also available for organizations and individuals to use to share Skin Facts! information.

The Skin Facts! initiative was informed by listening sessions conducted in partnership with the Reagan-Udall Foundation.

Related Information

Read the latest drug safety announcement on skin lightening products.

FDA works to protect consumers from potentially harmful OTC skin lightening productsRead the latest consumer updates related to skin lightening.

Mercury Poisoning Linked to Skin Products
	Injectable Skin Lightening and Skin Bleaching Products May Be Unsafe

                                                                                  Content current as of:
      09/13/2022
              
              
Topic(s)
			  Consumer HealthHealth Topic(s)
			  Skin
			    			       			    			       Skin Care
			       			    			       Skin ConditionsSkin Facts! What You Need to Know About Skin Lightening Products

          
                        About Skin Facts!
          Skin Facts! Resources
          Partner Toolkit
          Reagan-Udall Foundation Skin Lightening Products Listening Sessions Summary
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