The five products are Karisma Aqua Birds Nest, which contains hydroquinone; Skin Revolution – PAP – Blemish Control Serum, which contains clindamycin; Skin Revolution – PAP – Blemish Fade Cream, which contains metronidazole; Ufora Daily Treatment 10g, which contains betamethasone 17-valerate; and Dnars Gold Debalen Cream (Night), which contains hydroquinone, tretinoin and betamethasone 17-valerate.

“Sellers and distributors of these cosmetic products need to stop sales and distribution immediately as it is against the Control of Drugs and Cosmetics Regulations 1984,” the ministry said in a statement today.

The ministry said products containing the mentioned chemicals must be registered with the drugs control authorities and can only be used on the advice of medical health professionals as their unsupervised use could lead to unwanted side effects.

“Hydroquinone causes discomfort, redness on skin, unwanted change of skin colour and skin hypersensitivity, while tretinoin causes redness of skin and peeling, discomfort, pain and light hypersensitivity.

“The use of clindamycin and metronidazole can have detrimental results on health and raise the risk of resistance, which in turn reduces its effectiveness to treat infections.

“Betamethasone 17-valerate results in skin thinning, irritation and acne,” the ministry said.