Cosmetics store and owner ordered to pay £60k over skin lightening products

April 30, 2018

A hair and cosmetics store has been hit with what is thought to be a record fine in London for breaching cosmetics regulations by illegally selling dangerous skin lightening products.

Dalston

Hair and Cosmetics Ltd, trading as Shaba Cosmetics, of 36-42 Kingsland High Street, E8 2JP, was ordered to pay £59,793 at Thames Magistrates Court on 13 April for continuing to supply the products despite previous warnings and prosecutions for the same offence.

The skin lightening creams, which contained the illegal ingredient hydroquinone, can burn the skin and cause permanent damage and discolouration, Hackney Council said. Products containing hydroquinone are banned in the EU.

The council brought the prosecution after a follow-up visit by its trading standards team in March 2017, which found that the banned product was still being sold in contravention of the Cosmetic Products Enforcement Regulations 2013.

The local authority said: “When faced with prosecution, the company, which had changed its name, attempted to restrict liability by claiming that Shaba was now a separate company. Further investigation by the council found that both had the same the company number.”

The company’s director, Mohammed Naeem, pleaded guilty to the 13 charges against him and 13 against his company. He was handed a fine of £14,000, with the company receiving a fine of £42,000. A victim surcharge was also paid by both defendants, with the full costs and fines totalling £59,793.

Kim Wright, Hackney Council Group Director, Neighbourhoods and Housing, said: “Skin lightening creams can cause horrific burns that last a lifetime. Businesses who flout the law by selling these dangerous illegal products risk prosecution, heavy fines and imprisonment. As this case and its record fine shows, we will come down hard on those who put people at risk.”