(CNN) Skin-whitening creams can be as toxic as paint strippers and should be "avoided at all costs," the UK's Local Government Association has warned.

The creams "act like paint stripper and increase the risk of cancer," said the LGA, which represents regional councils in England and Wales.

Many skin-whitening products are banned in the UK due to harmful ingredients -- but recent seizures of banned products indicate they are still being sold in a booming industry, the LGA said in its press release.

Most of those products include the banned ingredient hydroquinon -- a bleaching agent which is "the biological equivalent of paint stripper," said the LGA statement. It essentially removes the top later of skin, increasing cancer risk and potentially causing liver and kidney damage.

Mercury, another common banned ingredient, can cause reduced resistance to bacterial and fungal infections, liver damage, anxiety, depression or psychosis, according to the World Health Organization.