JEDDAH — A new debate started on Twitter over the pros and cons of buying cosmetic products using social media apps. Many women these days prefer to make purchasing decisions based on product reviews on a particular site. They increasingly tend to buy fashion items, beauty products and other accessories from online stores. The debate started after news reports about a young woman who had her face and parts of her body burned after she used a whitening cream she had purchased from an Instagram account. According to a local newspaper, the woman's wedding was just three months away. She used the product for a month without any side effects. Yet, in the second month the side effects started to be shown and the would-be bride noticed her skin darkening, which persisted until her skin color completely changed. The woman's dermatologist explained that the patient had no previous history of skin diseases or allergies. After running several tests and examinations on the cream, the doctor said he found out that the chemical component that caused the skin mutation was not licensed in the Kingdom. This component was mixed with other ingredients. He said the patient might take up to five years to be completely cured of the effects of the cream on her skin. Saudi Gazette interviewed several women to know about their experience of buying cosmetic products from social media applications. Tahani Qoqandi, a Saudi patient relations officer, explained that in general, she does not recommend buying cosmetic products from Instagram or any other social media site. However, if she got good reviews of a product with really good recommendations from people, she may consider buying it. When asked whether she ever ended up buying a fake product, she answered, "I buy a lot of stuff from clothes and abayas to fat burning supplements and cosmetic products. I was terrified at the beginning from the whole process of how to get products from people who only owns an Instagram account without making sure if they are honest or they will just run away with my money. Yet, at the end I was really chocked with the quality of some products I ordered through the app but definitely not all of them. I couldn't discover how fake some products were especially with the good photographing/displaying of them, which give out a picture close to original products." Sara Khalid, another Saudi female working in the private sector, mentioned that females who are buying cosmetic products such as whitening creams or any other product that includes chemicals without a medical consultation is making a massive mistake. "Buying these products from social media is another major fault since she is risking her skin, beauty and health," Khalid said. "I don't trust accounts selling products on Instagram any more because of the stories I hear. I will never buy cosmetic products from Instagram. Not at all, buy it from an actual web store or a local shop," said Rana Rozi, a Saudi student. Dalal, another Saudi teenager, said she recommends buying cosmetic products from social media. "If an Instagram account has a good reputation, then why not? And it's easier and faster to get. I have never ended up buying a fake product because I am really careful," she said.
