Women Only!
“Can we return and get a refund for SK-2 products in Malaysia?”I am too lazy to move my butt to the SKII counter in Metrojaya, Penang to ask this. I hope someone has a clearer picture of this matter? I have an unused bottle of the red jar Advance Signs Treatment, half a bottle of Whitening Essense, cleanser, miracle essence and maybe a mask. Woohoo…if only I can return them all for the money. I am not one scaredy cat afraid of dying of cancer but I sure love to return the stuffs if the reports I read in the China and Hongkong media are true.
Many reports have said nine (some said four) SKII products are found with high metal content.
Meanwhile, health concern become intensified as excessive heavy metals are found in products of SK-II, a famous and popular Japanese cosmetic brand, which claimed to have whitening and lifting effects on skin.
City University of Hong Kong announced Friday that their test results showed 4 products of SK-II contain heavy metals Nd and Cr, which are forbidden to use in cosmetics selling in Hong Kong. Hong Kong Customs has taken some SK-II samples from local market and said they will announce its test result in a week.
The largest chain store of cosmetics Sa Sa announced to call back all SK-II sold by Sa Sa. Mannings, an chain pharmacy, said customers can turn back SK-II within 14 days. (source)
Meanwhile, I think it is wise for our local Malaysia SK-2 to at least shed some light to us users instead of keeping mum. After all, they have been so active in promoting their membership card and stuffs. I haven’t seen any announcement in our local papers nor information on their website.
In a statement released late Thursday, Procter & Gamble’s Guangzhou headquarters denied it had added the substances to its products and said all products had passed a strict examination by the health and quarantine authorities when entering the Chinese market.
The company released its second statement Friday, saying it would cooperate with the authorities to resolve the issue.
The State General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said late Thursday that the brand’s whitening source pan-cake contained 4.5 milligrams of neodymium per kilogram, while the other eight products, including cleansing oil, essence, mask, cream, lotionsand foundation, contained 0.77 to two milligrams of chromium per kilogram.
The substances are banned in cosmetics on the mainland, as they could cause eczema and liver problems if used over a long period of time. (source)
Anyway, while writing this, I managed to call up the Crystal Club toll-free line 1800-80-1782 and obtained the following:
“if our customers are not confident with our products at the moment, we would advice them to temporarily stop using SK-2 products until further advice. The products found to contain the harmful metal substances are only in China and Hongkong. There is no refund of SK2 products at the moment.”
To my question if our Malaysian products are being tested at the moment, the staff said this, ” Yes, the report will be out in a while.”
As for me, I am still using the cleanser, lotioin, miracle essence and cream. I only stop using the whitening lotion these few weeks. And guess what? This blog is on the first page of Google search. 
If you are a user of SK-2 (SK-II, SK-11 wateva), do call up their toll free number 1800-80-1782 for information if you are too lazy to visit the nearest cosmetic counter.
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Thank you for your support to SK-II. As one of our valued and loyal SK-II users, we would like to reassure you that SK-II products are safe and that you can continue to use your SK-II products with complete confidence.
We are also writing to you not only to provide reassurance on the safety of SK-II, but also share some information with you in light of the recent developments on SK-II in China which you may have heard about. The issue relates to consumer concerns and negative publicity triggered by a press statement released via the Xinhua News Agency stating that the CIQ found chromium and neodymium in nine SK-II products imported from Japan.
At SK-II, product safety and quality are our highest priority. The trace levels found in SK-II products are well within limits recognized as safe within the EU and other countries including the US. Furthermore, we believe our products are in compliance with government rules and regulations around the world, including the Ministry of Health in Malaysia, the Health Sciences Authority in Singapore, and the Taiwan Department of Health, Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department, The European Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery Association, Korea Toxicity Society and U.S FDA.
According to Dr. John Bailey, former U.S. FDA official and current Executive Vice President for Science, Cosmetics Toiletries and Fragrance Association, (CTFA) “The U.S. FDA regulations recognize that unavoidable levels of trace elements like chromium and neodymium can be found in cosmetic products and do not pose a health or safety risk to consumers.”
In fact, trace levels of ingredients like chromium and neodymium exist naturally in the environment and in a range of everyday products such as food, water, and cosmetic products. They are not used in the manufacture of SK-II products. The trace levels of chromium in the products in question are in fact 100 times less than what the World Health Organization (WHO) considers safe in your everyday diet. Similarly, the level of neodymium is at least 1,000 times less than what is considered to be a safe level in your every day diet.
Sales of SK-II will continue as per normal in Singapore / Malaysia. Following security incidents at SK-II counters in China, sales of SK-II have been temporarily suspended in mainland China, effective September 22nd 2006. In the interim, they will be replaced with a 24 hour hotline that will handle consumer concerns and questions. This action is only related to mainland China and sales of SK-II will continue as per normal in Singapore and all other markets.
Again, we should like to assure you that we are completely confident that you can continue to use SK-II products and enjoy a lifelong journey towards crystal clear skin. For any enquiries, please contact our Crystal Club hotline on 1800 270 1416 from 9am to 6pm.