CADMIUM, LEAD, AND NICKEL IN HAIR CARE PRODUCTS IN TURKEY 243 national level. For instance, the Canadian regulatory limits for Cd and Pb are 3 and 10 μg/g, respectively (10). Also German Federal Government considers cosmetic products with Cd level above the 5 μg/g and Pb levels above the 20 μg/g as technically avoidable products (11). Cd and Pb levels found in our study were below these limitations. Also Cd and Pb values in this study did not exceed the limitation of 20 μg/g approved by the FDA (12). However, according to the European Council Directive published in 1976 and Cos- metic Legislation in Turkey rearranged in 2006, Cd, Pb, and Ni are listed as the sub- stances that are prohibited in any amounts in cosmetics (13,14). Systemic toxicity of Ni as well as its association with allergic dermatitis is well known. Some investigations revealed that allergic contact dermatitis is the most common single reason for hospital referrals associated with adverse reactions to cosmetics (15,16). Re- ports by the contact dermatitis group of North America have consistently ranked Ni as the number one contact allergen on patch testing (17). Ni, in the amounts of over 1.5 μg/g, can cause dermatitis or sensitization of the skin (3). It has been recommended that consumer products should not contain more than 5 μg/g of Ni and preferably this level should be below 1 μg/g to minimize the risk of allergic reactions (1,18). In our study, 94.29% of all the samples analyzed contained detectable levels of Ni. However, 81.82% of them were below the limit of 1 μg/g. In 13 samples with detectable Ni levels, concentrations were between 1 and 5 μg/g, and fi ve samples contained amounts higher than 5 μg/g. The Ni contents of those fi ve samples were 20.98 μg/g (hair conditioner), 12.46 μg/g (hairstyling agent), 9.19 μg/g (hair conditioner), 8.41 μg/g (hairstyling agent), and 8.19 μg/g (shampoo). Considering that only free Ni ions are responsible for induction or exacerbation of sensitization (19), such high concentrations may pose both dermal and systemic threat to human health. Exposure of infants and children to toxic metals is more concerning owing to the higher vulnerability to this kind of risk. Exposure to these chemicals begins with intrauterine life and continues during lactation period (20,21). In this study, 15 samples from 10 brands of pediatric hair care products were investigated for Cd, Pb, and Ni levels. Cd and Pb were detected in 6 (40%) and 3 (20%) pediatric products, respectively. The maximum levels were 8.70 ng/g for Cd and 0.18 μg/g for Pb. However, Ni was detected in 14 (93.33%) of 15 pediatric hair care products. One sample had the remarkable value of 1.43 μg/g. This sample exceeded the ultimate target level of 1 μg/g (18). Although the amount of investigated toxic metals in pediatric products were found to be below the current regulations, exposure of infants and children to these heavy metals in any amount should be considered as an important risk for their vulnerable bodies. In conclusion, this study provides new data on toxic metal concentrations of hair care products used in Turkey. To our knowledge, this is the fi rst study to evaluate Cd, Ni, and Pb levels in four different categorized hair care products in Turkey. In all the samples, measurable concentrations of these heavy metals were evident. Despite the concentration of Cd and Pb in all the samples analyzed were lower than the Canadian and German regulatory limits, presence of Cd, Pb, and Ni in cosmetic products are prohibited with no specifi c limitation in Cosmetic Legislation of Turkey. It is obvious that further studies are required to ascertain the forms of these toxic contaminants in cosmetic products and to assess the absorbed levels and potential risks to humans, especially susceptible groups of the population like the pediatric group. Presence of relatively high levels of Ni in the hair care products also indicates the necessity of routine market surveillance of the cosmetic products in order to decrease the possible side effects on consumers.

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