21% of Overseas Direct-Purchase Cosmetics Found 'Unsafe'... Excessive Methanol and Heavy Metals Detected

Ministry of Food and Drug Safety Releases Results of Testing 1,080 Products
High Non-Compliance Rates Found in Hair and Nail Products

It has been found that more than 2 out of every 10 overseas direct-purchase cosmetics products bought by Korean consumers do not meet domestic safety standards.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced on the 18th that, after testing 1,080 overseas direct-purchase cosmetics products, 21.3% (230 products) were found to be non-compliant.

The Ministry purchased and tested products from online platforms frequently used by domestic consumers, such as Aliexpress, Amazon, Naver Store, Shein, Coupang, COSMIC, Alibaba, and 11st. The products selected included those from product categories that failed last year's inspections, those with high order volumes, and those ranking high in popularity.

As a result, hair products had the highest non-compliance rate at 38.3% (69 cases), followed by nail products at 33.9% (61 cases), eye makeup products at 17.2% (62 cases), and color makeup products at 10.6% (38 cases). Among nail products, nail removers had the highest non-compliance rate at 73.8%, with 31 out of 42 tested products failing. For hair products, hair fiber products had a non-compliance rate of 57.1%, with 12 out of 21 tested products failing.

The most frequently exceeded standards in non-compliant products were methylisothiazolinone (75 cases, 32.6%), methanol (45 cases, 19.6%), total aerobic bacterial count (36 cases, 15.7%), CMIT/MIT (22 cases, 9.6%), nickel (16 cases, 7.0%), and antimony (14 cases, 6.1%). In hair products, there were cases where formaldehyde was detected at up to 50 times the domestic usage limit (2,000μg/g or less), and in color makeup products, lead was detected at up to 22 times the domestic usage limit (20μg/g or less).

Regarding the country of manufacture for non-compliant products, China accounted for 223 cases (97%), followed by the United States with 7 cases (3%). By sales platform, Aliexpress accounted for 218 cases (95%), Amazon for 8 cases (4%), Shein for 3 cases (1%), and Alibaba for 1 case (0.4%).

Additionally, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the Korea Customs Service, and the Korea Consumer Agency jointly conducted collaborative testing on 91 overseas direct-purchase color and eye makeup products, and found that 3 products did not meet standards for heavy metals such as lead, nickel, arsenic, and antimony.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety requested the Korea Customs Service to withhold customs clearance for 233 non-compliant products to prevent their import and sale in Korea, and asked the Korea Communications Standards Commission to block access to online sales sites. The Ministry also posted information such as product names, photos, and non-compliant items on its website to inform domestic consumers. The Korea Consumer Agency plans to share information on non-compliant products with overseas online platforms and request that sales of these products be blocked.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety advised, "If you experience abnormal symptoms such as red spots, swelling, or itching while using overseas direct-purchase cosmetics, consult a specialist and do not use the product on wounded areas." The Ministry further cautioned, "Unlike officially imported products, overseas direct-purchase cosmetics do not have Korean labeling or safety verification procedures, so they may contain ingredients prohibited or restricted for use in Korea. Please exercise special caution when using these products."