Dangers from skin whitening baths: Doctors are also afraid but many women ignore them

Skin loses its protective barrier, negatively affecting the cardiovascular system

Sharing on the sidelines of the 8th National Conference on Cosmetic Dermatology taking place from May 22-24 in Kien Giang , Dr. Vu Thai Ha - Head of the Department of Research and Application of Stem Cell Technology, Central Dermatology Hospital said that many women are spreading the word about mixed creams and creams of unknown origin to whiten their skin.

When using these products, at first, women see their skin become brighter, smoother, and the cost is quite cheap, so many women really like them. However, after a while, women's skin begins to show signs of dark spots, aging, redness...

Dr. Vu Thai Ha recommends that women should not use whitening baths or bleaching products of unknown origin (Photo: Hong Hai).

"When the patient came to see the doctor, he wondered why his skin gradually became darker and darker. When taking his medical history, we learned that the patient had been using cheap, unknown skin care creams for a long time, causing exogenous pigmentation disorders. This condition is very common in patients who come to see the doctor because of skin irritation, dark spots, and aging," said Dr. Ha.

In particular, women love white skin so when they hear advertisements for white and pink skin, they do not hesitate to spend money on bleaching products, whitening baths of unknown origin, mixed creams, without realizing that topical products have very bad effects on the health of the whole body.

According to Dr. Ha, there was a case of a female patient who came to the clinic with skin problems and arrhythmia, related to the skin whitening bath. It is very possible that the skin whitening bath contains the toxic substance phenol. When used for whitening, phenol penetrates deep into the body, causing harm to the cardiovascular system.

Phenol is a highly toxic substance, not allowed in cosmetics used on the skin or only allowed to be used at extremely low concentrations in some special products and must be strictly controlled. But in reality, in floating products, mixed creams... phenol is still abused to bring about miraculous effects, but it is very dangerous.

According to Dr. Ha, phenol is corrosive to the skin and mucous membranes. Using products containing phenol can cause chemical burns, dermatitis, and this substance is also absorbed through the skin, affecting overall health.

Dr. Ha noted that skin whitening is the removal of skin pigment cells, which is the skin's protective barrier against harmful agents. Once this barrier is lost, the risk of skin aging and skin cancer increases.

"As a dermatologist, we never recommend that women use skin whitening creams or products of unknown origin because of the many dangers. When you take good care of your overall health and skin, healthy skin will be the most beautiful skin," Dr. Ha recommends.

Beauty must be safe

According to statistics in 2024 and the first quarter of 2025, the rate of customers and patients with skin cosmetic needs at the Central Dermatology Hospital increased by about 10% compared to the previous year, focusing on specialized departments such as laser, stem cells, cosmetic surgery...

Customers experience skin care cosmetic products (Photo: Dung Dung).

At the conference, Associate Professor, Dr. Le Huu Doanh, Director of the Central Dermatology Hospital, said that beauty is a legitimate need of everyone, especially women. However, women's beauty must be safe and performed by licensed specialists.

According to Associate Professor Doanh, currently the trend of minimally invasive medical beauty is popular with many people.

"Especially in the past 5 years, we have had many rapid developments in many beauty technologies. Many new technologies are continuing to be researched and developed for the market in cosmetic dermatology," Associate Professor Doanh informed.

In particular, regenerative medicine opens up many great potentials, but requires caution because there are many factors that cannot be controlled safely. At the same time, it requires more evaluation through research as well as permission from the Ministry of Health in the issue of applying aesthetic treatments.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/suc-khoe/hiem-hoa-tu-u-tam-trang-bac-si-cung-so-nhung-nhieu-chi-em-bat-chap-20250524074119096.htm