4. Conclusion
This study investigated the level of heavy metals in cosmetic products of different countries marketed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It provided new data on heavy metal concentration in cosmetic products used in Pakistan. Only two samples contained high level of Pb concentration, four samples with high level of Zn, whereas most of these cosmetic products contained high level of Fe. For cosmetics i.e. lipstics, talc powder, surma, cream and shampoo, dermal exposure is suspected to be the most significant exposure route since they are in direct contact with the skin.
It revealed that high and nearly close values of heavy metals among samples of each class may be due to the spurious nature (fake branded name) of the samples. It will be premature to jump at the conclusion to decide the fate of these products on the bases of concentration of heavy metals as there are no proper safety regulations in Pakistan. However, the possibilities of spuriousness of these products cannot be ignored. The data obtained clearly showed that further studies are also needed of these heavy metals in cosmetic products of daily use. Acceptable limits of potential contaminants in cosmetics must be enforced. The principle of good manufacturing practice must be followed. There is need for an assessment of human risk from the exposure to cosmetics which are highly contaminated with heavy metals. It was inferred from the result that most of the products were Pakistani (highly), Indian (fairly) and brands of some other countries (less) were contaminated with heavy metals. Removal of heavy metals from personal care products after manufacture is not possible, however if careful selection of the raw material is made keeping in view the heavy metal contents we can improve the quality of the products and save the beauty of the environment.