“Copy Copy!”: Dangerous for health may be “Dupes” cosmetics (abbreviation of Duplicates), that is copies Skin care products, makeup or sunscreen – sold at low internet prices, warn professionals in the industry.

On social media, especially in Tiktok, hundreds of thousands of videos of young women show their latest findings as “copies”. Makeholder, lipstick, moisturizing cream or sunscreen: These products are said to achieve the same results as the original, almost half price.

These products – increasing in number and increasingly popular to young consumers – constitute health riskas Zavier Giean, Director of Legal Affairs of the French Federation of Beauty Businesses (Febea), told AFP, which issued a “alarm” on June 4, World Against Faith.

In addition to the danger allergy‘poor quality’ products may contain ‘Toxic’ substanceseither forbidden or exceeded the permissible limits, which can create “real health risks”, warns Dr. Stephan Pirne, a toxicology expert and director of the Expertox Laboratory.

The toxicologist also warns of a chemical risk, as some tested products often contain ‘heavy metals’ or ‘phthalates’chemicals considered endocrine (MS: Chemicals that can affect the endocrine system of the human body).

In addition, they pregnize a infectious riskas some of these studied products may contain many pathogens.

“We’re really surprised to see all the things we can find in imitations: soil, stones, feces, bird wings“, Pirne says.

No protection from sunscreen “Dupes”

Lorenes Quafar, a professor of pharmacy at Nantes University in Western France, specializing in cosmetology, studied the sunscreen sold on these platforms. With her team, she analyzed two imitations of products claiming to have a 50+ protection index as well as some copies.

The result: “None of these products actually contained UV filters,” he reveals.

‘So they do not provide no protection from UV rays And there is a high risk of using them, “he warns, although exposure to the sun is the leading cause of skin cancer.

They are mainly sold in Temu, Shein, Aliexpress and … Tiktok

Febea focuses on products sold on e -commerce platforms outside the European Union, mainly Asian such as Temu, Shein and Aliexpress, and “prepared outside any regulatory framework for hygiene or quality control”.

For Quafar, sites such as Temu and Aliexpress are “the ultimate sales space” for imitations or copies of “where they can dominate” products because they are available on the market without meeting European regulatory requirements.

According to a study published by the European Consumer Organization (BEUC) in February, more than 80% of products controlled and purchased in TEMU did not comply with European law.

In terms of cosmetics, the most serious violations involved incorrect ingredient lists, making it impossible to determine what the products really contain. “When you charge prices like these, you can’t reasonably carry out security ratings,” Giean points out.

And even if there are checks, “the market is so huge that players are flooded with the scale of the phenomenon,” Kuafar adds.

Giean fears that, with the Tiktok Shop, which allows purchases to be made directly within the application, this more direct connection between the seller and a buyer will benefit copywriters and falsifications.

Together with Febea, he also calls for the strengthening of the legal framework to “clarify the gray zones” and increase the resources available for checks.