93% of tested clay masks found to contain heavy metals: Hong Kong watchdog

More than 90 per cent of clay masks tested in Hong Kong have been found to contain heavy metals, with two exceeding safety limits set by mainland China and the United States, according to the city’s consumer watchdog.

The Consumer Council on Monday called on manufacturers to improve formulations and increase transparency after tests of 30 products priced from HK$79 to HK$610 (US$10 to US$78) showed that heavy metals were commonly present in ingredient lists.

Twenty-eight, or 93.3 per cent, contained at least one heavy metal, with arsenic detected in 22 brands and lead in 28.

“Although the health risks arising from short-term skin contact with heavy metals are low, prolonged exposure or exposure to high concentrations, or contact through wounds or inflamed skin, may increase the risk of heavy metals being absorbed into the body and accumulating over time,” said Chung Chi-yung, chairman of the council’s committee on research and testing.

Two items – Aromatica’s Tea Tree Pore Purifying Clay Mask and Apivita’s Express Beauty product – were found to have levels of arsenic and lead that surpassed mainland and US thresholds, with the findings already passed to the Customs and Excise Department for follow-up.

The Apivita mask was found to contain 7.1mg/kg of arsenic, more than three times the mainland limit of 2mg/kg and more than twice the 3mg/kg threshold of the United States.