Determination of Heavy Metal Impurities in Facial Makeup Cosmetic Products in Sudanese Markets, using Inductively Coupled Plasma ? Mass Spectrometry (ICP ?MS)

Recently facial makeup cosmetic products have become very popular among Sudanese women in spite of the fact that they might contain toxic materials including Pb, Hg, Cd, As, Ni and Zn, and their use as ingredients in cosmetics is prohibited as they cause skin problems. Owing to the absence of control standards of these products sold in Sudanese markets, the present study aimed at developing a method for the determination of these metals by inductively coupled plasma ? mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Eighty-six samples of different facial makeup cosmetic products were collected randomly from the local Sudanese markets. A microwave- assisted digestion with a mixture of concentrated nitric acid and hydrochloric acid was applied for sample preparation. The concentration of each metal was determined in triplicate by ICP-MS. For eye shadow, in a wide range of concentrations, all analyzed elements were detected at high levels in the imported samples, but Pb, Hg, and Cd were detected at low levels in the locally prepared not only eye shadow but also lipstick samples. Although Pb was present at low concentrations in all samples, locally prepared whitening creams, lipstick, and eye shadow showed highest concentration levels of 33.63 ?g /g, 42.42 ?g /g, and 52.02 ?g /g, respectively. The highest concentration levels for Hg in locally prepared whitening creams and eye shadow samples were found to be 42.09 ?g /g, and 21.30 ?g /g, respectively. The highest concentration levels for Cd, however, were found to be 5.21 ?g /g, 22.53?g /g, and 7.06?g /g, in imported lipstick, eye shadow, and local whitening creams, respectively. High concentration levels of Zn were not obtained in all analyzed samples except in the imported eye shadow, (72.46?g /g). The determination of heavy metals in cosmetic products sold in Sudanese markets increase the needs to set laws to regulate their preparation locally and to set standards to control their quality and safety.