Elizabeth Deloria had not given much thought to her new Kmart hyaluronic acid cleansing balm until a painful burning sensation woke her in the middle of the night.
The Melbourne woman immediately knew something was wrong when her throat swelled and she was struggling to breathe.
Hours earlier after using the product she felt her lips and tongue go numb.
She quickly got herself into a telehealth appointment in the middle of the night where the doctor confirmed she was having a reaction to Kmart’s skincare product.
The same product saw a 13-year-old girl hospitalised in February due to extreme eye pain.
Ms Deloria said she was furious after learning about the Marong teenager’s reaction because she herself had reported her painful experience to Kmart a month earlier.
“When I saw she had to go to the hospital I was so angry. If only they’d listened to me she wouldn’t have gone through that,” Ms Deloria said.
“I pleaded with them to pull the product until they investigated.
“I told them it was dangerous, but they just sent me copy-and-pasted responses and offered a $4 refund.”
The ABC has seen emails from Kmart to Ms Deloria that say “the exchange voucher that is available to you is to use instore on any items, there was no reference to this requirement being on the same product as I understand you not wishing to use [sic] given the reaction”.
Reaction not going away
Two months after using the product and Ms Deloria said her skin had not recovered.
“I have burns on my face that won’t go away and a tiny lump on my forehead that won’t disappear,” she said.
“I’m in my mid-30s and I’ve never had an allergic reaction or skin problems before.”
Since the teenager’s experience was made public Ms Deloria said Kmart had informed her she could claim expenses treating the condition.
“All of a sudden I’ve been getting emails from some kind of manager and they’ve told me I can claim any medical expenses through (Kmart owner) Wesfarmers ,” she said.
“But it feels a little too late. They should have done this in January when they could have prevented serious injury.
“I can’t believe a big company would be that neglectful.”
The ABC has contacted Wesfarmers for comment.
Lack of accountability
Kmart has said it is still testing the product after the mother of the hospitalised 13-year-old girl gave them a sample of the product.
It remains off the shelves, with the company expecting results to be available by Friday afternoon.
Last month it withdrew the hyaluronic acid cleansing balm from the shelves while it investigated the product’s ingredients.
The ABC approached the Therapeutic Goods Administration who referred the issue to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
In a statement the ACCC said businesses were responsible for addressing safety issues with products they sold to consumers including honouring obligations under consumer guarantees, or conducting a voluntary recall, where applicable.
“Businesses also have obligations to report product safety incidents in certain circumstances. These are reported to the ACCC via our website,” the statement said.
“If a business finds that a product they supply is unsafe we expect it to follow our guidelines and initiate a recall voluntarily to remove it from the market.”
The ACCC said it could not comment on individual cases.
Calls for better regulation
Bendigo dermal clinician and registered nurse Jacquelyn Mortimer has warned that the lack of regulation around skincare products was dangerous.
“This is the first of many incidents that will happen,” she said.
She is calling for a regulatory body to approve skincare products before they reach store shelves.
“There is a massive gap in regulation. It’s really important … or this is just going to keep happening,” she said.
“You should be able to pick up a product and know it’s safe.”
Ms Mortimer, who has a teenage daughter, is particularly concerned about the rise of cheap “dupes” that mimic big-brand skincare products.
She is also worried about the growing influence of social media on skincare choices.
“In my opinion young children and adults are being influenced by social media instead of experts,” she said.
“It’s just getting worse and worse.”
By Sarah Lawrence and Shannon Schubert
