A South London beauty retailer has been ordered to pay more than £30,000 for repeatedly selling illegal and dangerous skin lightening products, some of which contained chemicals known to increase the risk of cancer.
Repeat Offender Caught with Toxic Products
Kings & Queens Beauty Supplies, located on Rye Lane in Peckham, was first investigated by Southwark Council's Trading Standards team in July 2024. During this initial visit, approximately 300 cosmetic products with an estimated value of £1,000 were seized. The items, including creams, oils, and serums sold under brands like White Secret, Perfect White, and Nature Secrete Lightening, lacked mandatory safety and traceability labels, raising immediate red flags about their contents.
Subsequent laboratory testing confirmed the worst fears. Out of 22 samples analysed, 10 contained banned substances. These included the prohibited skin bleaching agent hydroquinone and the potent steroid clobetasol propionate. One product, Nature Secrete Moisturizing Lightening Lotion, was found to have a hydroquinone concentration of nearly 6 per cent. This level is three times the former legal limit and has been entirely banned in skin lighteners across the EU since 2001 due to severe health risks.
Severe Health Risks and Legal Consequences
The chemicals discovered in these products pose a grave threat to public health. Hydroquinone is linked to irreversible skin damage, organ toxicity, and an increased cancer risk. Products containing such powerful ingredients are strictly prescription-only and are illegal to sell directly to consumers in high street shops.
In court, it was revealed that the company director, Shakeel Ahmed, 44, from Clydebank in Scotland, claimed during an interview under caution that he was not involved in day-to-day operations. He also failed to provide any records of the products' origins, a legal requirement for all cosmetic sellers.
Following the investigation, Peckham Hair & Cosmetic Limited, trading as Kings & Queens Beauty Supplies, and Mr Ahmed pleaded guilty to multiple offences under cosmetics safety regulations. At Croydon Magistrates' Court on November 3, the company was handed a £10,000 fine, ordered to pay £16,575.14 in council costs, and a £4,000 victim surcharge.
For his role, Ahmed received a 12-month community order and must complete 140 hours of unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay a £145 victim surcharge. The judge issued a stern warning that any further offences would result in a prison sentence.
A History of Illegal Sales and a Council's Pledge
This is not the first time the company has faced prosecution. In 2016, the same business and its directors were fined over £15,000 after illegal products were discovered during undercover test purchases, marking a troubling pattern of behaviour.
Councillor Natasha Ennin, Southwark Council's Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Neighbourhoods, condemned the actions. "The sale of illegal and dangerous skin lighteners is abhorrent and being caught twice is shocking," she said. "Southwark Council is committed to protecting residents from this toxic trade. Our Trading Standards team is one of the most proactive in the country, and we will continue to take tough action against anyone who puts profit before people's health."
