In order to test and safely bring cosmetics to market, you will need to follow a number of different steps.
By Alex van der Burgh 17 October 2022
Before I started working at SkinConsult, I always thought that the only purpose of using cosmetics was to make oneself more beautiful. For me, this was hair gel – for my sisters this was mascara.
It wasn’t until I really dived into the world of cosmetics that I realized cosmetics are much bigger, and really used by everyone, everywhere, all the time. In addition to make-up, there are also personal care, oral care and so on. All cosmetic products.
Once, I decided to count how many cosmetic products I use every day. I ended up with 11 products, so quite a bit more than just my hair gel!
This can also be seen in the definition of cosmetics, which reads:
From a safety point of view, the type of cosmetic also matters. The main distinction between all types of cosmetics is how the products are used. Think about whether the product is rinsed off or not, which part of the body you put it on, whether you spread it, stick it on or spray it on, and so on.
You can both apply a body lotion and a shower gel all over your body, but leave one on while you rinse off the other. You can imagine the body lotion you leave on stays on your body longer and must also be safer than the shower gel you rinse off after a few seconds.
Or the difference between a face cream and a hand cream; the skin on your face is thinner and more sensitive than the somewhat thicker (calloused) skin on your hands.
This means with facial lotions, more sensitive skin must be taken into account. Similarly, products for oral care or for more intimate, private parts must be developed with the greatest care.
Developing cosmetics is quite a complex process. The product must be safe and do what it’s supposed to do. A sunscreen must of course be safe, so that you do not get any irritation, but it must also have the right sun protection factor (SPF).
And maybe even more: moisturizing, anti-aging…?
These are such niche questions, with the result that there are several companies involved in the process of developing a product. For example, a product formulator at a factory is very good at putting together the perfect cream that feels silky smooth.
A safety assessor, on the other hand, is good at checking the safety of the cream.
Perhaps the brand owner also wants the product to have an anti-aging claim, and outsources a claim substantiation test of the cream by volunteers to demonstrate the effect.
The product must be resistant to bacteria and fungi, so a microbial laboratory must test this.
All companies at a glance:
A Product Information File (PIF) is the complete passport of a cosmetic product.
It consists of 3 parts:
So the PIF is actually a framework that encompasses these components, making it easy both to create one and for the competent authorities to easily reach the right information. The administrative section mainly contains information about:
This information is sometimes quite similar to the information that a safety assessor needs to make a CPSR. As a rule of thumb you can say that a full PIF contains all the information, and a CPSR only contains the information necessary to approve the safety of a product.
For example, SPF tests are necessary for the safety assessor so that consumers do not suffer sun damage, while an anti-aging claim has little to do with safety. This also means that a safety assessor is not mandatory for the administrative file.
Some companies therefore choose to make the PIF themselves and only have the CPSR made by a safety assessor. On the other hand, this is often double work for all companies involved, because a lot of information then has to be gathered, reviewed and processed twice.
Many different tests may be required to develop a product properly and safely. This depends on the complexity of a formula, but also on any claims on the label.
In general: the more and stronger the claims, the more testing needs to be done. Tests can have a short or long duration, affecting their price.
Cosmetics tests can also be simple, to be carried out in a laboratory, or a bit more difficult because people (volunteers) and doctors such as dermatologists are needed.
For example, having a sunscreen tested can easily cost a few thousand euros purely for demonstrating the SPF on volunteers, while this is not necessary for a simple soap.
And if a manufacturer already has a ready-made recipe, compared with if a formula has to be developed completely from scratch, it will of course save a lot of development time and costs.
To put cosmetic products on the market safely, you will have to follow a number of steps. We list them for you below.
Make the choice: produce yourself or outsource production to a manufacturer.
Create a concept formula and have it checked by a safety assessor
Use stability tests and microbial tests to determine shelf life. If necessary, make some adjustments to the formula so that the product has a good shelf life (and have the safety assessor look at the adjustments). This allows the safety assessor to complete the CPSR.
Test any other claims you would like to make, such as your cosmetics being anti-aging. This completes the administrative part of the PIF.
Notify your product to the CPNP. With this, your product is ready for market.
Creams are quite difficult products to create. Such a formula is a combination of water and oil. As you probably already know, oil and water don’t mix well. So there are other ingredients (emulsifiers) that have to keep things together.
Difficult, also because a cream must be able to stand on the shelf for years without falling apart. A good stability test is essential, so that you are swiftly able to see any stability issues like whether the product is going to separate.
Or becomes very thin and runny over time, so that the product starts leaking out of the bottle.
A cream should also feel good on your skin. You can do this yourself, or ask a test panel to do this.
Creams contain water, which also makes them attractive to bacteria and fungi. A good challenge test, which checks whether the product has been properly preserved, is essential.
Soap is used to clean your hands, your feet and the rest of your body. The standard soap often does this based on its pH, which is the degree of acidity. A low pH is acidic, a high pH is basic.
Soaps are usually basic, with a pH between 8 and 10. Bacteria and fungi cannot handle this well and die, which is why soap works.
You can imagine that a soap should not get too high of a pH, because it can also have harmful effects on the skin. But the other way around is also not good, if the pH becomes more neutral and therefore has no effect on bacteria and fungi.
So it is very useful for soaps to test how their pH changes over time (hopefully the pH doesn’t change).
Contact us, we'd love to help you out.
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