Highly toxic skin-bleaching creams exposed on Coronation Street are available on High Streets for less than a tenner.
In a Corrie plot this week, Asha Alahan, 13, has blisters and peeling skin caused by lotions she applied as she desperately tried to be paler.
Our investigators discovered that the illegal creams using a super-strength substance likened to paint stripper are on sale in the UK for as little as £7.99.
We were able to buy bleaching cream containing banned hydroquinone – which increases the risk of cancer – at three stores on a High Street.
And we found scores of illegal creams available for UK shipment online.
Skin-bleaching products are largely targeted towards black and ethnic minority groups, though they can also be used to lighten blemishes and scars.
Council chiefs in England and Wales last week warned that criminals are exploiting a soaring market worth billions of pounds worldwide by bringing toxic products to the UK.
Substances containing hydroquinone are banned from over-the-counter sale as they can cause liver, nerve and foetal harm.
Hydroquinone can also increase the risk of skin cancer.
But we found a 500ml supply of so-called Skin Whitening Accelerator, listing the super-strength compound as an ingredient, on sale at three shops in Peckham, South London.
The product “clarifies skin tone and brightens its colour’’ according to its label. Worryingly, staff in each shop claimed they did not stock anything containing hydroquinone.
Corrie viewers saw Asha, played by Tanisha Gorey, 17, order illegal bleaching creams after a trip to India with her dad Dev.
We discovered numerous overseas sellers willing to ship products containing hydroquinone to the UK despite it being illegal here due to its strength.
Dr Bav Shergill of the British Association of Dermatologists, who regularly sees patients who have had a nasty reaction to the creams, told us: “High doses of hydroquinone can make you very unwell.”
