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, a lot of people have very sensitive skin or have allergies to some things in makeup, so it can be really dangerous when using counterfeit makeup.
I think counterfeit makeup SHOULD be illegeal becayse this is just gross. We need to stop putting werid unnecessary things into makeup. It's simply just not okay to be putting this disgusting stuff into makeup that goes on our faces. We can help stop manufacturing by start making sure that no bad ingredients get into our makeup.
It is gross, and it's even grosser on them that they lie about what's actually in these nasty unsanitary products that they are making. If counterfeit makeup isn't banned they should at least put what's actually in their knockoff makeup instead of just copying the real brand's label, so people know what they are putting on their face.
I think that it could be legal as long as they don't lie about what's in it. They need to put on it that it contains harmful ingredients. I think that would also help women to safely purchase makeup because it would have what's in it but that would not help the issue of it still not being what they intended but that is partially because of the lower price.
I agree with telling them the actual ingredients in the makeup, but a lot of them just copy the label from the original makeup brand because they don't want to get into trouble for having harmful ingredients in their products, similar to the food industry.
I think the government should ban it. It hurts people a lot more then it helps them. Also, it is illegal to make counter-fit things, to begin with. I think the government should do more to prevent counter fit makeup. Good topic!
That's a good point, I didn't realize that counterfeit things are already illegal, so the companies are committing a crime and adding onto it by putting harmful chemicals into it that ruin your skin and can make you very sick.
I think that the government should ban counterfeit makeup. this kind of makeup can cause our skin the break out and be permanently damaged. Yes, it's more expensive to buy the good stuff but the cheap stuff is what's going to give you blemishes and cause your face to break out.
I agree a lot of women don't want to spend loads of money on makeup, but they have to understand that you get what you pay for, so if they buy super cheap products they have to realize that there might be consequences that can harm them and their skin.
I think counterfeit makeup should be illegal. Becuase it can couse many awful thinks for your body many times you could get sick or break out and have a lot of acne. Women could go to an actual makeup store to buy makeup. Becuase you dont need makeup so if you dont want to pay for the good stuff then dont compllain when you buy cheap stuff and break out.
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