Abu Dhabi: Three tonnes of expired cosmetics and beauty substances with unknown sources have been confiscated from a number of beauty salons by the Abu Dhabi Municipality (ADM) during the past two weeks.
The municipality also confiscated substances with no labels that show the basic ingredients and expiry dates.
This confiscation was part of an inspection campaign carried out by ADM that targeted beauty centres as well as ladies' and men's salons to maintain public health and safety.
"It doesn't make sense to request an expiry date for a product that lasts no longer than three days, like shampoo," said Rabei, a hairdresser in a five-star hotel.
When asked about the missing expiry dates Rabei said "It is the supplier's responsibility. Suppliers import shampoo in gallons then distribute them to the beauty salons in four litre bottles with no expiry date."
An official from the ADM disagreed.
"The inspectors sent out are highly training. Confiscated products were sent to high-tech labs for very detailed tests and analysis, and photos of the expired dates were taken.
"This campaign was launched in March in Abu Dhabi city and its surrounding suburbs including Bani Yas, Mussafah, Shahama and Khalifa A. We started inspecting the health conditions of the place like cleanliness, storage conditions and sterilization of the used equipment. Then we looked at the quality and expiry dates of the used products. We were shocked at the large amount of expired products sold by various shops or used at the beauty salons," Khalifa Al Rumaithy, Director of Public Health Department at ADM said.
"In the past months since the launch of the campaign, we have received not less than 10 reports from customers complaining especially of using what is called " black henna".
"Black henna is simply a regular henna mixed with harmful colouring as well as petrol. Although the colouring used works for hair, it isn't suitable for the skin and can cause severe burning particularly for women with weak immunity," he added.
Fines for the offences start from Dh500 upto Dh10,000 depending on the confiscated quantity and the place could be closed down.
Al Rumaithy called upon all customers not to blindly trust and to check all products in a salon before usage.
"The municipality cannot afford to be anything less than severe with such an issue, as it addresses the health and welfare of our entire community." he added.
