Japanese Manufacturer of Skin-Whiteners Has a Blotchy Mess on Its Hands

Kanebo Cosmetics confirms another 1,233 customers developed blotchy skin after using its products

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Yoshikazu Tsuno / AFP / Getty Images

Kanebo president Masumi Natsusaka apologises for a recall of products blamed for leaving thousands of customers with skin blotches at a press conference in Tokyo on September 11, 2013.

The blotch count keeps rising for a Japanese manufacturer of skin-whitening products. Kanebo Cosmetics Inc. confirmed on Monday that another 1,233 customers had developed blotchy skin after using a whitening chemical substance called 4-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2-butanone, which the company refers to as Rhododenol, reports theĀ Japan Times.

Kanebo has confirmed 15,192 cases to date, and in a series of candidĀ press releases, has broken down the symptoms by severity, from widespread blotches across the face and hands, to smaller patches at least 5 cm in diameter, to “other.”

[Japan Times]