A facial mask powder of Natural Beauty was found to contain excessive lead, the Shanghai Food and Drug Administration said yesterday.

The heavy metal is harmful in cosmetics, and long time use of it can cause skin poisoning, administration officials said. In addition, the skin becomes dry and thin.

The concentration of lead in cosmetics should not be higher than 10 milligrams per kilogram as per China’s national standard. The powder was found to contain 14 milligrams per kilogram of lead.

A “Clear” shampoo for men had bacterial colonies totaling 30,000 CFU (colony-forming units) per gram, compared to the 1,000 CFU/g national standard.

Four essence oil made by Shanghai Pu’ai Cosmetics Co Ltd were found to contain plasticizers, which are banned in cosmetics. Two perfume made by Shanghai Fenshang Biotechnology Co Ltd was found to have the same banned product.

In total, 886 samples were tested.