Some counterfeits have been reported to contain horse and human urine, human and rodent waste, arsenic, lead, talc, staph, and other bacteria. They have been reported to cause serious skin issues such as boils, cellulitis, pustules, and more. Sounds really unhealthy right? Well, that's just some of the ingredients they use to make counterfeit makeup. Beauty blogger Tanya Arguelles purchased a popular eyeshadow from a Los Angeles street market and tested the fake and real to see if it was worth the buy. She then woke up with her eyes burning and itchy with uncomfortable pain. Counterfeit cosmetics often contain arsenic, beryllium, and cadmium (all known carcinogens) and with high levels of aluminum and dangerous levels of bacteria. Some of these products have caused acne, psoriasis, rashes and eye infections just like Tanya’s.
Counterfeit Mac lipstick was also tested and it ended up having 15 times the amount of lead than the real version. Lead can cause long-term health problems, as well as miscarriages and stillbirths in pregnant women. Another common ingredient in counterfeit makeup is mercury, mercury can cause health issues like headaches, lack of coordination, vision impairment, mood swings, and insomnia. Some people think counterfeiters list all the ingredients so buyers should be able to know if the ingredients are dangerous or not. However, the packaging is so similar to the real one that it lists the same ingredients and doesn’t tell consumers that there is dangerous things in it.
Most counterfeit makeup is extremely unsanitary too. Factories, where counterfeit makeup is produced, aren't clean or sanitized which could end up causing serious health problems. “If I could paint a picture of what it’s like in one of these (counterfeit factories in China)... If you took the most disgusting frat house bathroom, it looks like a surgical suite compared to these conditions. It’s filthy, there are bacteria everywhere… it’s disgusting.”-Greg Marrazzo, the Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel of Estee Lauder Companies.
Most Buyers don’t know background information about most of these online stores or street markets either which makes it even worse when they buy from the companies. Many think counterfeit makeup is sold on safe and well-known websites. But online businesses such as Amazon, Wish, eBay, and Alibaba, use algorithms that will place products with the most and best reviews at the top of the search. So when searching “pink eyeshadow” on Amazon, the top results will be the highest ranked among customers. So counterfeiters will pay for services that provide fake reviews to higher them to the top spots. Some victims who have bought fake cosmetics online discovered their personal information was used to set up hundreds of illegal websites selling counterfeit products so even if buyers use this site for all of their shopping it can still be dangerous. Fake/phony makeup products are usually at mall kiosks, swap meets, and street vendors. A popular one is LA’s Santee Alley, but more than 80% of the sales are happening in cyberspace.
Do you think counterfeit makeup should be illegal in the U.S. because people don’t know how some of it is made, and the makeup could cause major health issues? Women and girls are pressured to buy high-quality expensive make-up that they can’t afford. They have the right to feel safe when they buy less expensive make-up products. People must ask themselves if using counterfeit makeup is worth the risk to their health.
Do you think counterfeit makeup should be illegal?
How can women safely purchase makeup without the worry of it being counterfeit?
What can we do to help stop the manufacturing of counterfeit makeup?
Replies
I agree women shouldn't have to worry about what they are putting on their faces. They should be able to go out and read the label and see if the product is safe for their skin or not, but most companies lie about whats truly in their product so it's hard to tell.
I think that they should make counterfeit makeup illegal because women should be able to safely purchase makeup without being harmed by chemicals. People should be able to go out to the store looking for makeup without the worry of getting hurt by chemicals when using makeup.
I agree with what you said about not worrying about what is put into their makeup, they should be able to just go out and look at the label to determine if the product is safe for their skin or not. They shouldn't have to worry about if their skin is going to break out or have sores all over just because there was a harmful ingredient in the product that they lied about.
I think that banning counterfeit makeup would be nice but it wouldn't do anything. Drugs are basically banned in some states yet people still use them, Some people may get arrested but it won't stop the problem. People will still make them, it is cheap, you can buy them cheaply and goods keep going up.
I agree, it's hard to completely stop the problem, someway they will keep producing and selling the product and women will keep getting harmed by the dangerous chemicals put into these products, its sad that women have to worry about products being safe for them or not.
I do think that counterfeit makeup should be illegal. It is a huge health risk. When people buy makeup, they shouldn't have to worry about it being filled with harmful chemicals. I think that buying makeup from a trusted store would help lower the risk of it being counterfeit. If the government won't ban it and make it illegal, then there should be health regulations put into place.
I think that counterfeit makeup should be banned because it wont be safe if you dont know what is in it. I think that if you get it at an actual trusted store then it shuold be ok. If you get counterfeit makeup that can have harmful chemicals or other things in it that can hurt or harm your skin.
I think that counterfeit makeup should be illegal and banned. I think that you can safely purchase makeup if you go to a retail store that is trusted like Ulta or Sephora. I think that most makeup could have harmful chemicals that could hurt your skin. So I do not think all makeup is good for you but counterfeit is definitely worse for you.
I think there should be very strict regulations on products meant to be on the skin and around the eyes. However, legislature being passed in the US to prevent this would not help a whole lot. A lot of counterfeit makeup is made in other countries. To fully stop the problem, every country would need to pass such regulations. It's best to buy cheap makeup made by well-known brands and at in-person stores.
I didn't really think about that, that is a very good point. Another way to help with purchasing safe items, is women should be more understanding on the saying "you get what you pay for". So when they buy an insanely cheap product they should know that it could potentially harm them or their skin.
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