Common questions
The cosmetics industry receives hundreds of questions from the public and media about the ingredients in cosmetic and personal care products. Above all, there seems to be confusion, and some concern, surrounding the use of ‘chemicals’, as these ingredients are often referred to, including what they are, why they are used and whether they are safe.
To help address this, CTPA has compiled a list of some of the most frequently asked questions we receive and provides information to help answer these. We’ve also teamed up with experts from other industries and organisations to get their perspectives on these common queries. We hope this information enables you to feel more confident in the decisions you make about the products you use and their ingredients.
1. Are “chemical-free” products safer than products that contain chemicals?
There is no such thing as a ‘chemical-free’ product. Everything is made up of chemicals, from cosmetics, to water, to the human body. Chemicals are the building blocks of all substances, both natural and man-made. To create a “chemical-free” product of any kind therefore is simply not possible.
To help to address the confusion surrounding the term ‘chemical-free’, CTPA works closely with cosmetic and personal care product manufacturers to explain why using the terms “chemical-free” or “contains no chemical nasties” on product advertising or packaging is misleading.
Since there are no “chemical-free” products, the important question is whether the products you choose are safe?
2. Are products made from natural ingredients safer than those made with man-made ingredients?
You can feel confident that all cosmetic products you find on the shelves are safe for two reasons: first, stringent European laws require all cosmetic products to be safe and, second, because each one must undergo a rigorous safety assessment by appropriately qualified and authorised scientists.
The safety assessment takes account of all the ingredients used in the product, irrespective of their source. In fact, whether ingredients are natural or man-made has no bearing on how safe they are at all. What’s more important is how much of the ingredient you are using and in what way you are using it.
Anything has the potential to be harmful if used in the wrong way – even water for example; too much or too little can cause severe harm.
3. Are products made from natural or organic ingredients better for the environment than those made from man-made ingredients?
The source of an ingredient (i.e. from nature or from a laboratory) doesn’t really have a bearing on whether it is ‘better’ or ‘worse’ for the environment. What is much more important is the way in which it is produced. It is not the case that natural and organic ingredients are always better for the environment than man-made ones. The important factor in each case is that the ingredient is produced to a high quality and in a sustainable way.
Although nature can provide inspiration as a source of new ingredients for cosmetic and personal care products, natural resources are not always sustainable. For example, the excessive harvesting of plants from the wild can lead to a reduction in their numbers in nature or to a loss of natural habitat and biodiversity.
Similarly, many people support the principles of ’organic’ as a lifestyle choice and ingredients to suit that choice are available; it should not be assumed that all other ingredients are automatically harmful to the environment.
Today, scientists can produce man-made replicas of many natural ingredients from oils to fragrances. These replicas are the same in every way as their natural counterparts and behave in the same way when put on the skin. In fact, man-made ingredients can be even purer than natural ones, since they are produced under very strictly controlled conditions.
4. Are products that contain fewer ingredients better for your health than those with greater numbers of ingredients in?
There is a perception that it is safer to use products with fewer ingredients in them. In Question 1 we highlight that everything is made up of chemicals and in Question 2 we explain that all cosmetics must be safe. The number of ingredients present in a product has no bearing on its safety.
Cosmetic and personal care products are very complicated to make, which means they often have a long list of ingredients. Each ingredient within that list will have a specific role to play, from making the product work effectively, to making it smell and feel nice, to making it last for a satisfactory amount of time.
Most importantly, you can feel confident that all products you find on the shelves are safe to use and enjoy because every cosmetic product will have been rigorously assessed for safety by scientists and this will have taken account of every ingredient present in the product.
5. Can ingredients from everyday products build up in the body over time to reach unsafe levels?
A common concern is that the ingredients that are in our everyday products, such as cosmetics and personal care products, might stay within our body and build up over time to reach unsafe levels. Scientists call this process “bioaccumulation”. One reason for this concern is the fact that modern technology can now detect the tiniest traces of chemicals in the human body, even down to levels as low as parts per billion. (One part per billion is equivalent to one second in thirty years!)
Importantly, detecting the presence of an ingredient in the body is not evidence of bioaccumulation or of any harm being done by that ingredient. It simply shows that the person has come into contact with that ingredient at some point. In fact, the ingredient may well be on its way out of the body.The body is an amazing thing and eliminates effectively all the substances that it doesn’t need; so, if the ingredient in question isn’t required by the body, the chances are it won’t be around for long.
The potential for bioaccumulation is one of the factors that scientists look for when assessing whether an ingredient is safe to use or not.
6. Can ingredients in everyday products be more easily absorbed through a child’s skin than an adult’s skin, with greater risk of harm?
The skin of babies is more delicate that that of adults and can be damaged by coarse fabrics or rough towels for example. This is partly because baby skin is slightly thinner than adult skin (about 20 to 30%) but also because skin responds to the environment and babies are making the transition from life in the womb to life in the outside world. It takes time for baby skin to “toughen up”.
A common concern is whether ingredients in cosmetic and personal care products are more easily absorbed into infant skin and whether this could lead to safety concerns now or later in life. Actually, babies are born with skin which is very nearly complete in its ability to act as a barrier and this further matures within the first two to four weeks of birth. So, although baby skin may be physically more sensitive than adult skin and thus requires gentler handling, from the point of view of being able to keep out unwanted substances, baby skin is an effective barrier.
Cosmetic and personal care products intended to be used on babies and infants are formulated to take account of these factors; for example, they use milder cleansers and minimal or no fragrance. There is also an enhanced safety assessment that is legally required for all cosmetic products intended for use on children under three years of age. So parents can be confident in their choice of cosmetic products for their family.
7. Can exposure to chemicals in cosmetics during pregnancy harm the unborn child?
In the case of cosmetics and personal care products, all products must be rigorously assessed for safety by appropriately qualified and authorised scientists before they may be placed on the market. The safety assessment must take into account all the different situations and conditions in which the products are likely to be used, including their use by women during pregnancy. If any risks at all are identified, the law requires that product makers must put clear warnings on the product labels. Always ensure you read the label and follow its advice – then you can feel confident about enjoying your products safely.
Where can I find out more?
If you want to find out about different types of ingredients in your products, visit what's in my cosmetic?
Further information on chemical scares is available from Sense About Science:
- 'Making Sense of Chemical Stories'
- 'I don't know what to believe'
- ‘For the record’: where scientists are invited to set the record straight.
Read more from Cancer Research on how to make sense of mixed messages.
Read more from the UK Cleaning Products Industry Association
Read more on fragrance ingredients from the British Fragrance Association
