Product record
Vcare Derma Essence cream: mercury above 1 ppm (Telangana, Nov 2024)
Last checked 10 October 2026
CDSCO's November 2024 alert lists Vcare Derma Essence, made by VcarePharcos in Puducherry and marketed by Prabha's Vcare, Chennai, as not of standard quality because mercury was found above the 1 ppm limit in Rule 39(5)(b) of the Cosmetics Rules 2020 and IS 16913:2018; two entries for the same product appear in the alert.
- Classification
- Declared Not of Standard Quality (NSQ)
- Decided by
- Telangana Drugs Control Administration (state lab); listed by CDSCO
- Reference
- CDSCO NSQ alert, November 2024, state lab list
- Latest action
- 1 November 2024
- Last checked
- 10 October 2026
Photo: Woman applying cream to hand.jpg by Moose Photos (CC0). All photo credits.
CDSCO: Not of Standard Quality (NSQ) alerts, public portal (monthly lists from state and central labs)
Scope. A record here does not by itself mean a product or company is unsafe or banned today. Regulatory actions can apply to one batch, one formulation, one period or one state. Always check the linked government document for the current position, and tell us if something is out of date. How we label records.
Below: Blacklisted's explanationWe organise and explain what the document says. The document above is the authority.
Key facts
- Finding
- Content for mercury found above the limit; sample does not conform to Rule 39 (standards for cosmetics) and IS 16913:2018
- Maker and marketer
- VcarePharcos, Puducherry; marketed by Prabha's Vcare, Chennai
- Lab
- Drugs Control Administration laboratory, Telangana
- Follow-up
- No recall or licence action published
The November 2024 'not of standard quality' alert carries two entries for Vcare Derma Essence from the Telangana drug-testing laboratory. One reads 'content for mercury found above the limit'; the other cites Rule 39 of the Cosmetics Rules 2020 and IS 16913:2018, the Indian standard for skin creams and lotions, as the specification the sample failed. The product is made by VcarePharcos in Puducherry and marketed by Prabha's Vcare, a Chennai hair and skin clinic chain.
Rule 39(5)(b) allows mercury in a finished cosmetic only as an unintentional trace not exceeding 1 part per million. A result above that is a failure whatever the figure, and the alert does not give the figure. As an Indian-licensed cosmetic the product's manufacturing licence is held with a state licensing authority, which can suspend or cancel it after a hearing under Rule 31A, inserted in 2025.
No recall, licence action or company response has been published since the alert. The record will be updated if one appears.
What this means for you
One batch, not the brand
A failed lab test names a batch number and the lab that tested it. It does not mean every pack of that product is affected. Check the batch on your pack against the one in the record.
A branded Indian cream, not an import
Most mercury findings in 2025 and 2026 concern Pakistani imports. This one is an Indian-licensed product, which means the state licensing authority can act on the manufacturing licence.
Report what you find
CDSCO asks the public to report Indian-made cosmetics to the State Drugs Controller and imported ones to the Drugs Controller General of India at cosmetics@cdsco.nic.in. Keep the pack and the bill.
This is a record of official orders, not medical advice. Do not stop a prescribed medicine without asking your doctor or pharmacist.
Common questions
Is Vcare Derma Essence banned?
No. A sample failed the mercury test in November 2024 and the finding is on CDSCO's list. No ban, recall or licence action has been published.
Official sources and primary records
- Regulator
- G.S.R. 56(E), 19 Jan 2017: mercury limits in cosmetics (rules 135-A and 145-D, Drugs and Cosmetics Rules 1945)GazetteMinistry of Health and Family Welfare · 19 January 2017
- Cosmetics Rules, 2020 (G.S.R. 763(E), 15 Dec 2020), CDSCO cosmetics division page with rules, FAQs and noticesGazetteCDSCO · 15 December 2020