Cosmetics
Cosmetics are composed of mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources or synthetically created ones.[1] Cosmetics have various purposes. Those designed for personal care and skin care can be used to cleanse or protect the body and skin. Cosmetics designed to enhance or alter one's appearance (makeup) can be used to conceal blemishes, enhance one's natural features (such as the eyebrows and eyelashes), add color to a person's face, or change the appearance of the face entirely to resemble a different person, creature or object.[2] Cosmetics can also be designed to add fragrance to the body.
"Make-up" and "Toilette" redirect here. For other uses, see Make-up (disambiguation) and Cosmetic (disambiguation). "Toilette" is not to be confused with Toilet.Use[edit]
Cosmetics designed for skin care can be used to cleanse, exfoliate and protect the skin, as well as replenish it, through the use of body lotions, cleansers, toners, serums, moisturizers, eye creams, retinal, and balms. Cosmetics designed for more general personal care, such as shampoo, soap, and body wash, can be used to cleanse the body.
Cosmetics designed to enhance one's appearance (makeup) can be used to conceal blemishes, enhance one's natural features (such as the eyebrows and eyelashes), add color to a person's face, and—in the case of more extreme forms of makeup used for performances, fashion shows, and people in costume—can be used to change the appearance of the face entirely to resemble a different person, creature or object. Techniques for changing appearance include contouring, which aims to give shape to an area of the face.
Cosmetics can also be designed to add fragrance to the body.
Products used for haircare, such as permanent waves, hair colours, and hairsprays are all classified as cosmetic products as well. [7]
Cosmetics have been in use for thousands of years, with ancient Egyptians and Sumerians using them. In Europe, the use of cosmetics continued into the Middle Ages—where the face was whitened and the cheeks rouged—[8] though attitudes towards cosmetics varied throughout time, with the use of cosmetics being openly frowned upon at many points in Western history.[9] Regardless of the changes in social attitudes towards cosmetics, ideals of appearance were occasionally achieved through the use of cosmetics by many.
According to one source, early major developments in cosmetics include:[1]
Historically, the absence of regulation of the manufacture and use of cosmetics, as well as the absence of scientific knowledge regarding the effects of various compounds on the human body for much of this time period, led to a number of negative adverse effects upon those who used cosmetics, including deformities, blindness, and, in some cases, death. Many cosmetic products available at this time were still either chemically dubious or derived from natural resources commonly found in the kitchen, such as food colouring, berries, and beetroot. Examples of the prevalent usage of harmful cosmetics include the use of ceruse (white lead) throughout a number of different cultures, such as during the Renaissance in the West, and blindness caused by the mascara Lash Lure during the early 20th century. During the 19th century, there was a high number of incidences of lead poisoning due to the fashion for red and white lead makeup and powder, leading to swelling and inflammation of the eyes, weakened tooth enamel, and blackened skin, with heavy use known to lead to death. Usage of white lead was not confined only to the West, with the white Japanese face makeup known as oshiroi also produced using white lead. In the second part of the 19th century, scientific advances in the production of makeup lead to the creation of makeup free of hazardous substances such as lead.
Throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, changes in the prevailing attitudes towards cosmetics led to a wider expansion of the cosmetics industry. In 1882, English actress and socialite Lillie Langtry became the poster girl for Pears of London, making her the first celebrity to endorse a commercial product.[10] She allowed her name to be used on face powders and skin products.[11] During the 1910s, the market in the US was developed by figures such as Elizabeth Arden, Helena Rubinstein, and Max Factor. These firms were joined by Revlon just before World War II and Estée Lauder just after. By the middle of the 20th century, cosmetics were in widespread use by women in nearly all industrial societies around the world, with the cosmetics industry becoming a multibillion-dollar enterprise by the beginning of the 21st century.[12] The wider acceptance of the use of cosmetics led some to see makeup as a tool used in the oppression and subjection of women to unfair societal standards. In 1968, at the feminist Miss America protest, protestors symbolically threw a number of feminine products into a "Freedom Trash Can",[13] with cosmetics among the items the protestors called "instruments of female torture"[14] and accoutrements of what they perceived to be enforced femininity.
As of 2016, the world's largest cosmetics company is L'Oréal, founded by Eugène Schueller in 1909 as the French Harmless Hair Colouring Company (now owned by Liliane Bettencourt 26% and Nestlé 28%; the remaining 46% is traded publicly).
Although modern makeup has been traditionally used mainly by women, men also use makeup to enhance their own facial features or cover blemishes and dark circles. The negative stigma of men wearing makeup in countries such as the United States has weakened over the years, with numbers increasing in the 21st century.[15] Cosmetics brands have increasingly targeted men in the sale of cosmetics, with some products targeted specifically at men.[16][17]
Lead has been used as a makeup product since the 18th century. It is said to be lethal to women who apply it daily to achieve a pale complexion representing nobility, as tanner skin represents the working class. Lead can be detrimental to people's health and cause death if mixed with vinegar which it allows lead to be absorbed through the skin.[18]
Legislation[edit]
Europe[edit]
In the European Union, the manufacture, labelling, and supply of cosmetics and personal care products are regulated by Regulation EC 1223/2009.[91] It applies to all the countries of the EU as well as Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland. This regulation applies to single-person companies making or importing just one product as well as to large multinationals. Manufacturers and importers of cosmetic products must comply with the applicable regulations in order to sell their products in the EU. In this industry, it is common fall back on a suitably qualified person, such as an independent third party inspection and testing company, to verify the cosmetics' compliance with the requirements of applicable cosmetic regulations and other relevant legislation, including REACH, GMP, hazardous substances, etc.[92][93]
In the European Union, the circulation of cosmetic products and their safety have been the subject of legislation since 1976. One of the newest improvements to the regulation concerning the cosmetic industry is the ban on animal testing. Testing cosmetic products on animals has been illegal in the European Union since September 2004, and testing the separate ingredients of such products on animals is also prohibited by law, since March 2009 for some endpoints and full since 2013.[94]
Cosmetic regulations in Europe are often updated to follow the trends of innovations and new technologies while ensuring product safety. For instance, all annexes of Regulation 1223/2009 were aimed at addressing potential risks to human health.
Under the EU cosmetic regulation, manufacturers, retailers, and importers of cosmetics in Europe will be designated as "responsible persons.".[95] This new status implies that the responsible person has the legal liability to ensure that the cosmetics and brands they manufacture or sell comply with the current cosmetic regulations and norms. The responsible person is also responsible for the documents contained in the Product Information File (PIF), a list of product information including data such as Cosmetic Product Safety Report, product description, GMP statement, or product function.
United States[edit]
In 1938, the U.S. passed the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act authorizing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to oversee safety via legislation in the cosmetic industry and its aspects in the United States.[96][97] The FDA joined with 13 other federal agencies in forming the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods (ICCVAM) in 1997, which is an attempt to ban animal testing and find other methods to test cosmetic products.[98]
The current law on cosmetics in the U.S. does not require cosmetic products and ingredients to have FDA approval before going on the market, except from color additives.[99] The Cosmetic Safety Enhancement Act was introduced in December 2019 by Representative Frank Pallone.[100]
Brazil[edit]
ANVISA (Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária, Brazilian Health Surveillance Agency) is the regulatory body responsible for cosmetic legislation and directives in the country. The rules apply to manufacturers, importers, and retailers of cosmetics in Brazil, and most of them have been harmonized so they can apply to the entire Mercosur.
The current legislation restricts the use of certain substances, such as pyrogallol, formaldehyde, or paraformaldehyde, and bans the use of others, such as lead acetate in cosmetic products. All restricted and forbidden substances and products are listed in the regulation RDC 16/11 and RDC 162, 09/11/01.
More recently, a new cosmetic Technical Regulation (RDC 15/2013) was set up to establish a list of authorized and restricted substances for cosmetic use, used in products such as hair dyes, nail hardeners, or used as product preservatives.
Most Brazilian regulations are optimized, harmonized, or adapted in order to be applicable and extended to the entire Mercosur economic zone.
International[edit]
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) published new guidelines on the safe manufacturing of cosmetic products under a Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) regime. Regulators in several countries and regions have adopted this standard, ISO 22716:2007, effectively replacing existing guidance and standards.
ISO 22716 provides a comprehensive approach for a quality management system for those engaged in the manufacturing, packaging, testing, storage, and transportation of cosmetic end products. The standard deals with all aspects of the supply chain, from the early delivery of raw materials and components until the shipment of the final product to the consumer.
The standard is based on other quality management systems, ensuring smooth integration with such systems as ISO 9001 or the British Retail Consortium (BRC) standard for consumer products. Therefore, it combines the benefits of GMP, linking cosmetic product safety with overall business improvement tools that enable organisations to meet global consumer demand for cosmetic product safety certification.[101]
In July 2012, since microbial contamination is one of the greatest concerns regarding the quality of cosmetic products, the ISO introduced a new standard for evaluating the antimicrobial protection of a cosmetic product by preservation efficacy testing and microbiological risk assessment.