Dentification Of Hydroquinone Content On Whitening Creams That Are Circulating At The Traditional Market Of Palopo City

Abstract

Hydroquinone is prohibited from being used in cosmetics, which is usually used as a skin whitening agent. This can cause cancer. Hydroquinone is used as a skin depigmentation drug. For this reason, it is necessary to test the hydroquinone content in whitening cream. This research aims to identify the hydroquinone content in whitening cream circulating in the Palopo City Traditional Market using the UV-Vis spectrophotometry method. The sample in this study consisted of 9 samples with the codes HB, BL, SS, DC, H, UK, KY, LB and CW. The results showed that the 9 samples that had been studied were positive for containing hydroquinone with levels of HB= 0.33%, BL= 0.31%, SS= 0.13%, DC= 0.37%, H= 0.52%, UK = 0.1%, KY= 0.1%, LB= 0.3% and CW= 0.04% so it can be concluded that the 9 samples that have been studied do not comply with BOPM regulations no. 23 of 2019, concerning the prohibition of the use of hydroquinone as a bleach or brightener in cosmetics. Thus, these 9 cream samples cannot be used as cosmetics and must change their category to therapeutic products (medicine) or remove the hydroquinone ingredient from their formula if they are still produced in the cosmetic category.