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Leopold Chen

One of 17 vitamin C skincare products tested by Hong Kong’s consumer watchdog has been found not to contain the antioxidant ingredient at all, while most of the remaining samples have lower levels than their labels indicate.
The Consumer Council on Tuesday called on cosmetics manufacturers to enhance their quality control and product labelling, including of ascorbic acid, the chemical name for vitamin C.
“Vitamin C is most commonly known for its antioxidant properties. Normal skin would contain a certain concentration of vitamin C to promote the production of collagen, hence many skincare products in recent years use vitamin C as a selling point,” it said.
“The test results did not find any vitamin C traces in one out of the 17 samples.”
The sample with no vitamin C was Vita C Ascorbic Acid Spot Correction and Firming Essence by South Korean cosmetic brand Missha, sold at HK$185 (US$24) for a 30ml bottle.
Missha had not responded to the council’s inquiry, the watchdog said.
Asked if Missha had breached the law, Gilly Wong Fung-han, the council’s chief executive, said the test report had been shared with the Customs and Excise Department.
“If there is any infringement of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance, they will take independent enforcement actions,” she said.
Asked what consumers could do in view of the test results, Wong said they could try reaching out to distributors to ask for an exchange of products.
Ten other samples labelled with vitamin C concentration were found to include 0.2 to 6 per cent less than what they claimed.
The product found to have the highest discrepancy between its label and contents was the Powerful-Strength Line-Reducing Concentrate by US brand Kiehl’s, priced at HK$770 for a 50ml bottle.
The product was said to contain 10.5 per cent of vitamin C and another 2 per cent of vitamin C derivative, but the test showed it only had 4.5 per cent of the former, far lower than claimed.
Responding to the council, Kiehl’s said vitamin C was not the only ingredient determining the product efficiency. It also added that vitamin C was highly unstable because its concentration could decrease over time.
Kiehl’s also submitted a report to prove the concentration of vitamin C could remain stable three months after the production, according to the council.
The concentration of vitamin C should range from 10 to 20 per cent to enhance skin penetration and increase stability, a study cited by the council said.
But only five samples were found to have vitamin C concentrations within that range, while another four were close to 10 per cent.

The council further detected fragrance allergens with restrictive use in the European Union in seven of the 17 samples, with the concentrations exceeding the upper limit under the EU cosmetics standards.
But only three out of the seven products labelled the allergens.
The council said Hong Kong laws did not require manufacturers to label these allergens, but those products could have negative health consequences on some consumers.
“If eczema sufferers or people with allergies inadvertently purchase those products and become too exposed to such substances, there is a chance that they may develop symptoms such as allergic contact dermatitis and rashes,” the council said.
The watchdog also found that one of the samples did not indicate an expiry date, while six others did not provide detailed ingredient information.
“The concentration of vitamin C decreases upon exposure to air, moisture and light, thus affecting the product’s efficacy,” it said.
The council advised consumers to pay special attention to manufacturing and expiry dates, as well as vitamin C concentration.
Wong urged consumers to use such products as soon as possible after opening them, citing the instability of the substance.
“If your skin is sensitive and has a history of allergy, or if you have eczema, you have to be mindful when selecting the products because the high concentration [of vitamin C] may irritate your skin further,” she added.
Samples collected in the Consumer Council test were sold at a wide range of unit prices, from HK$3.4 to HK$52.7 per millimetre or per gram.
But both cheapest and the priciest sample had the same highest overall score in the council’s test.
The cheapest was The Ordinary Ascorbic Acid 8% + Alpha Arbutin 2% by Canadian brand The Ordinary, priced at HK$101 for a 30ml bottle. The most expensive one was France-made C E Ferulic by SkinCeuticals, sold at HK$1,580 for a 50ml bottle.
“[It reflects] that there is a good range of selections on the market regardless of price,” the watchdog said.
In response to a Post inquiry, the Customs and Excise Department said it would look into the matter to assess if there had been any infringement of the Trade Description Ordinance, and take action if necessary.
“When handling cases suspected of violating the Trade Descriptions Ordinance, the Customs and Excise Department needs to consider the specific circumstances and relevant evidence of each individual case before determining whether there has been a breach of the ordinance,” it said.
Additional reporting by Jiang Chuqin


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Product by South Korean brand Missha has no ascorbic acid, while many others also over-reported quantities of antioxidant ingredient


Product by South Korean brand Missha has no ascorbic acid, while many others also over-reported quantities of antioxidant ingredient.


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Consumers