"Black Shampoo Cannot Rule Out Genotoxicity Possibility"... Modamoda "Already Discontinued" (Summary)

Consumer Organizations Council Additional Risk Assessment Results
"Concerns of Harm... Voluntary Recall and Compensation Plan Needed"

‘Pro Change Black Shampoo’ by Modamoda, famous for its dyeing shampoo, contains the key ingredient ‘1, 2, 4-Trihydroxybenzene’ (THB), which has been found to potentially have genotoxicity according to verification results.

Modamoda's 'Pro Change Black Shampoo'.
[Photo by Modamoda]

The Korea Consumer Organization Council announced on the 6th that, following the Regulatory Reform Committee’s recommendation for improvement, it formed a Cosmetics Ingredient Safety Verification Committee to conduct additional safety verification of the THB ingredient, concluding as such. Modamoda is now unable to avoid pressure for recall or compensation measures due to these verification results.

The verification committee stated, “Since THB has the potential for genotoxicity and no threshold exists, it is impossible to determine toxicity reference values, making it impossible to establish safety standards for human exposure. Therefore, there are safety concerns if consumers use it continuously,” adding, “From a precautionary perspective, it is reasonable to prohibit its use as a cosmetic ingredient.”

They further emphasized, “Because THB has the potential for genotoxicity and no threshold exists to determine toxicity reference values, safety standards for human exposure cannot be set, raising safety concerns for continuous consumer use,” and stressed, “It is appropriate to ban its use as a cosmetic ingredient as a preventive measure.”

The verification committee is co-chaired by Professor Jin-Ho Jeong, Chair Professor at Duksung Women’s University, and Jung-Hwa Kang, President of the Korea Consumer Federation, and consists of 11 experts from various fields.

Based on the verification committee’s conclusion, the Consumer Organization Council also stated that Modamoda needs to prepare a voluntary recall plan for the product and establish compensation measures for consumers who have suffered side effects or damages.

The government also added that it should take follow-up measures such as adding the THB ingredient to the prohibited substances list and inform consumers about this matter.

Modamoda continued to sell the Pro Change Black Shampoo containing the THB ingredient on its official mall and other channels even while the risk controversy and verification were ongoing, but stopped sales from early October this year. Subsequently, on the 26th of the same month, it launched a new second-generation dyeing shampoo ‘Zero Gray Black’ without the THB ingredient.

Regarding this, Modamoda stated, “We respect the announcement results from the Korea Consumer Organization Council, the designated verification authority by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety,” but explained, “Products containing the announced ingredient were already discontinued in early October this year, and the currently sold ‘Modamoda Zero Gray Black Shampoo’ does not contain THB and is unrelated to this announcement.”