FDA warns Walmart, Amazon, and other retailers over unapproved skin peel products

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned several online retailers, including Walmart and Amazon, for selling unapproved chemical peel skin products. The agency noted that many of the products contain corrosive chemicals in high concentrations that are unsafe for use at home without medical supervision.

On 25 July, the FDA sent warning letters to six companies, telling them to immediately stop marketing certain chemical peel skin products that may put consumers at risk. The agency also published a consumer warning on 30 July, detailing its actions and warning the public not to buy the products.

"FDA is warning consumers not to purchase or use certain chemical peel skin products without appropriate professional supervision due to risk of serious skin injuries," said FDA. "The agency has not approved any chemical peel products, and consumers should only consider using chemical peel products under the supervision of a dermatologist or licensed and trained practitioner."

Chemical peel products are typically sold as beauty products to treat acne, discoloration, wrinkles, and collagen production. The FDA noted that the products in question contain ingredients such as trichloroacetic acid (TCA), glycolic acid, salicylic acid, and lactic acid in high concentrations that require medical supervision.

"Using products that contain high concentrations of these acids may lead to serious injury from chemical burns," said FDA. "The concentration, number of applications, and length of time a chemical peel product is left on the skin all influence how deeply it can penetrate skin layers and potentially lead to chemical burns."

"These products remove layers of skin to varying depths and may cause severe chemical burns, pain, swelling, infection, skin color changes, and disfiguring scars," the agency added. "These injuries may even require emergency care or specialty care from a dermatologist or surgeon."

FDA has given the retailers 15 working days to respond to their warning letters.

As of publishing this article, many of the products on Walmart and Amazon seem to have been removed, though one of the products, Skin Beauty Solutions lactic acid skin peel 90%, appears to be available from Amazon. Companies such as Matte Beauty and Repare Skincare appear to be marketing some of the objectionable products.

FDA is also asking health care professionals and consumers to report adverse events associated with the chemical peels to its MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program.

FDA consumer warning

FDA warns Walmart, Amazon, and other retailers over unapproved skin peel products

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