Amore Pacific says its hair dye shampoo is totally safe

Amore Pacific's hair dyeing shampoo, Ryo Black Double Effector Shampoo [AMORE PACIFIC]

After a controversy over the safety of one hair dyeing shampoo, Amore Pacific is hitting the market with a similar product, which it insists is totally non-toxic.

Amore Pacific announced it will sell Ryo Black Double Effector Shampoo starting Thursday.

It is supposed to gradually turn grey and white hair darker every time a person shampoos, eventually making it black.

A very similar claim was made last August by cosmetics company Moda Moda for its Pro-Change Black shampoo.

Many customers loved the product, but in January the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced a ban on the production and sales of the shampoo to go into effect later. The main reason was the use of 1,2,4-trihydroxybenzene (THB) in Pro-Change Black.

The ministry says 1,2,4-THB can damage genetic information in cells and cause skin sensitization. Moda Moda fought back by saying the substance is used in the United States, Japan and Australia and that it is only toxic when left on the hair for a long period of time, which Pro-Change Black is not.

Sales were to be prohibited in 2024 and production this year, but both were given grace periods of two-and-a-half-years while the Office for Government Policy Coordination looks into whether the substance is actually harmful.

Amore Pacific said its shampoo does not use 1,2,4-THB and uses extracts from black ginseng, black soybeans and kuduzu root.

The company added it follows local safety regulations for cosmetics products and that the shampoo was certified by Germany’s dermatology lab Dermatest, getting the highest “Excellent” rank.

The shampoo will start sales Thursday on e-commerce websites of Shinsegae Group affiliates including Emart, SSG.com and Gmarket. The shampoo will start selling through other retail channels about a month later.

BY LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]