A Consultant Physician and Dermatologist at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, Dr. Folakemi Cole-Adeife says most organic creams contain bleaching ingredients, steroids, and high concentrations of hydroquinone that can cause irreversible skin damage.
Cole-Adeife called for caution in the use of organic creams, adding that many people are now having negative side effects from using them.
According to the dermatologist, a major side effect of organic creams was recurrent skin infections, noting that many of the users of organic creams are having repeated skin infections under the breast, groin areas and armpits.
Speaking in her ‘Skin Talk’ episode on her YouTube channel, the dermatologist said, “I’m seeing so many people with terrible side effects from using creams that they say they bought online. They claimed the creams are natural or organic but they are coming down with side effects of steroid abuse.
“A lot of these so-called organic creams are just filled with a lot of bleaching agents or steroids. Some have a very high concentration of hydroquinone that may be causing a lot of skin damage.
“Please be careful, don’t just buy any soap or cream that you see being advertised on some media, on Instagram or Facebook and apply it on your body, it’s a risk, it’s a hazard.
“A lot of people feel natural is better and that is not always the case, a lot of people claim that they are selling natural products but there is absolutely nothing natural about the products.
“Sometimes, some natural products can be harmful, just because something is natural or organic doesn’t mean it can’t damage your skin.”
Cole-Adeife noted that a lot of these organic products contain some ingredients that can burn the skin when you are exposed to the sun.
“We have to remember that in this environment, we have a high sun intensity, and high UV intensity.
“A lot of natural products contain beta hydroxy acid, alpha hydroxy acid, and other photosensitisers that can actually burn the skin when the user is exposed to the sun. So, it’s very important that you don’t just put anything on your skin.
“And for the cream mixers and mixologists that are mixing all sorts of things for people, please be careful. Very soon, lawsuits may be coming because we notice that people are really having damaged skin as a result of using some of these products,” she said.
She added that the organic creams may make the skin look good temporarily but eventually damage the skin.
“Some of the things that we have been noticing is that we see a lot of people who are using or have been using organic creams for a couple of months coming with complaints that their skin looks a bit thinner.
“Initially, the organic creams would make your skin look nice if they contain tropical corticosteroids and you will find out that the skin will become smoother initially and that initial effect is what draws and attracts people to using these organic creams.
“And shortly, maybe in a few months after starting the use of these creams they begin to have things like thinning of the skin, they begin to notice that the skin is bruising and sometimes, the wounds don’t heal as fast as they should.
“And on the face, there may be increased hairiness. So, you have people having a lot more hair on their faces and above the lips, and the mustache area becomes quite hairy.
“In dermatology, we call that hypertrichosis and it’s also a sign that there is long-term use of topical steroids. So, it is very important that one is very careful with the kind of creams that they use of their skin.”
Cole-Adeife said when people use harmful cosmetics, the skin looks good initially, and over time, the side effects will begin to creep in gradually and the damage may be irreversible.
“Another thing that they may notice is they may be having a recurrent skin infection. We find a lot of these creams give people the tendency to have fungal superficial skin infections which often occur under the breast, groin area, armpit, and these rashes may be itchy, slightly painful, and reddish.
“We notice that a lot of people tend to have these kinds of rashes and when you ask, they say they started using an organic cream but they’ve been using the cream for about six months so they don’t believe that the cream is responsible for these symptoms.
“Another common side effect is stretch marks. When using cream and you begin to notice stretch marks that were not there previously, probably the organic cream contains a steroid.
“We need to be really careful. Do not just buy off-label products over the internet. Any good product should have the labels, the contents, the ingredients, and the molecules in it should be written on it. It should also have NAFDAC registration.
“As a dermatologist, because I have a lot of empathy for the people I see daily. Maybe if I see 10 people, five or six will have a background history of the use of organic products, particularly the ladies.
“Please be careful, don’t just put anything you find on the internet on your skin,” she advised.
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