Cosmetic Products Legislation
The Cosmetic Products (Safety) Regulations 2004
came in to force on 11th September 2004. The Regulations
consolidate earlier Regulations and implement current European
Directives.
What is a cosmetic product?
The Regulations define a cosmetic product as being:
"Any substance or preparation intended to be placed in contact with
any part of the external surfaces of the human body (that is to
say, the epidermis, hair system, nails, lips and external genital
organs), or with the teeth and the mucous membranes of the oral
cavity with a view exclusively or mainly to cleaning them,
perfuming them, changing their appearance, protecting them, keeping
them in good condition or correcting body odours except where such
cleaning, perfuming, protecting, changing, keeping, or correcting
is wholly for the purpose of treating or preventing disease."
The last part of this definition means that products used solely as
medicines are not covered by these Regulations.
The Regulations further define "cosmetic product intended to come
into contact with the mucous membranes" as:
"A cosmetic product intended to be applied in the vicinity of the
eyes, on the lips, in the oral cavity or to the external genital
organs, and does not include any cosmetic product which is intended
to come only into brief contact with the skin."
What about aromatherapy products?
These can be medicines, cosmetic products, or neither of these,
depending on their intended use. If they are not medicines or
cosmetic products, they are governed by the General Product Safety
Regulations 2005.
Please ask your local Consumer Protection and Investigations
Service if you require more guidance on aromatherapy
products.
Main Provisions
- It is an offence to supply cosmetic products that are liable to
cause damage to human health when applied under normal conditions
of use, or reasonably foreseeable conditions of use, taking into
account all circumstances such as presentation, labelling,
instructions for use and disposal, and any other information
provided by the manufacturer, his agent or first supplier in the
UK.
- There are many substances that are either prohibited or
restricted for use in cosmetic products. Reference should be made
to the legislation itself for detailed information. There are some
substances which are not subject to the Regulations, if the product
was placed on the market before 24th March 2005 and was supplied
before 24th September 2005.
- There are restrictions on animal testing of cosmetic products
and ingredients.
- Certain labelling is required.
- Certain information is required to be held by "the responsible
person", who must also notify the competent authority (the DTI) of
the types of product which they are manufacturing or importing into
the EC.
Rules on animal testing
The Regulations make it an offence to supply a cosmetic product
where the final formulation or any of the ingredients were tested
on animals, other than using the authorised alternative method
(where such an alternative method exists), after 11th September
2004.
From 11th March 2013, it will be an offence to supply any cosmetic
product where the final formulation or ingredients have been tested
on animals, other than using the authorised alternative method,
where the tests involve repeated dose toxicity, reproductive
toxicity or toxicokinetics. For all other tests, the same
restriction on supply applies from 11th March 2009.
Where a claim is made that a cosmetic product has not been tested
on animals in general, this must be correct but, specifically, for
any cosmetic product placed on the market in any Member State from
11th September 2004, the manufacturer or supplier must not have
tested or commissioned tests on animals of either the finished
product or any ingredients. The cosmetic product must also not
contain any ingredients which have been tested on animals by others
for the purpose of developing new cosmetic products.
Composition
The rules on what may and may not be used as an ingredient, and
the rules on restricted use and special precautions, are too
detailed to be summarised in a web page such as this. If you
require this information, you should make reference to the
Schedules to the Regulations or you should seek specialist
advice.
Labelling Conditions: Cosmetic Products
For further guidance on the correct and propper labelling for
cosmetic products please see our Cosmetic
Labelling Conditions section.
