Assessment of some heavy metals in selected cosmetics commonly used in Bangladesh and human health risk

In Bangladesh, use of beauty cream is very much popular and a common daily task for the people. The current study is focusing on the assessment of some toxic heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, chromium, and mercury contamination in some beauty creams commonly used by Bangladeshi people. The results indicate that the concentrations of lead, cadmium, and chromium exceed the maximum allowable concentrations, whereas mercury is found below the acceptable limit set by WHO/EU. However, according to Health Canada, the concentrations of cadmium and chromium for all the selected samples (except cadmium in sample coded A) was within the permissible limit. Health risks associated with these metal intakes via dermal exposure route are evaluated in terms of chronic daily intake (CDI) and hazard quotient (HQ). The carcinogenic risk (CR) estimated for chromium indicates that it is within the acceptable range. The cancer and non-cancer risk results indicate that although the chances of cancer risk and non-cancer risk resulting from the use of these cosmetic products were unlikely, buildup of these toxic heavy metals overtime on continuous usage could be detrimental for Bangladeshi people.