About a quarter of face washes tested contain only some or none of their claimed active ingredients, Hong Kong’s consumer watchdog has revealed.
It also urged users to try a small portion on their skin beforehand as a precaution when using cleansers that were highly acidic.
The Consumer Council said on Monday it tested 25 face washes with exfoliating properties and found that six of them, which were labelled as containing alpha-hydroxy acids, salicylic acid, or both, failed to meet their claims. In these cases, the ingredients were either not detected or only partially detected.
The two types of acids are commonly used in exfoliating products and must be present at certain concentrations to be effective.
But high levels of alpha-hydroxy acids might cause mild discomfort such as temporary skin redness, stinging and burning sensations, while prolonged overuse or excessive concentrations of salicylic acid could also be harmful, the council said.
Among the samples, 16 products were found to contain alpha-hydroxy acids and 14 salicylic acid. All levels met the standards in mainland China, but concentrations varied from 0.05 to 3.4 per cent for alpha-hydroxy acids and 0.001 to 0.497 per cent for salicylic acid.
