Knowledge about and attitude toward cosmeceuticals among pharmacists in Saudi Arabia

Whitening cosmeceuticals are commonly used for beauty purposes and managing pigmentation disorders. There is significant variability across the world with regard to knowledge as well as legislation of cosmeceuticals.

To evaluate the knowledge of and attitude toward whitening cosmeceuticals among pharmacists in Saudi Arabia.

This was a descriptive cross-sectional observational study based on an online survey conducted between February and August 2019. The participants were registered pharmacists in different sectors in Saudi Arabia. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Qassim, Ministry of Health. The pharmacists' response to questions on demographic characteristics, occupation, knowledge, and attitude toward whitening cosmeceuticals were collected in an online sheet.

In all, 584 pharmacists completed the survey; of these, 5.49%, 24.82%, and 70% were consultants, pharmacists I, and pharmacists, respectively. The male-to-female ratio was 1.6:1. The most common response in the survey is "I don't know." Interestingly, 324 (59.12%) of the participants could define whitening cosmeceuticals, but 520 (90%) did not identify the term's source. Regarding practice, 196 (35.77%) participants had never used a whitening cosmetic, whereas 72 (13.14%) had but could not identify the agent. Forty percent of the participants were unaware of the possibility of combining two or more whitening cosmeceuticals and 13.14% thought that such combinations are contraindicated.

There is significant variability among pharmacists in Saudi Arabia regarding the understanding and practice of whitening cosmeceuticals. Our results indicate that further measures are essential for increasing the awareness of pharmacists in Saudi Arabia.