The cosmetics industry cares deeply about the safety of our consumers and the environment. Suppliers and manufacturers of cosmetic ingredients and products carefully consider the ingredients used in cosmetic products from both a human safety and environmental safety perspective.
In 2023, the UK and European cosmetics industry decided to voluntarily stop using intentionally added PFAS ingredients in cosmetic products by December 2025. Prior to this decision, PFAS chemicals were rarely found in cosmetic products but in limited cases they could be used to make cosmetics easier to apply or more water resistant, for example. However, these concentrations of PFAS were extremely low and their use in cosmetic products must be safe.
What are PFAS?
PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) is the term given to a huge family of substances, with very different properties. There are estimated to be over 4,500 individual PFAS chemicals used for diverse purposes by many different industries. As there are so many chemicals within the group, they all have very different environmental properties but these substances do not easily degrade in nature.
Why were PFAS used in cosmetics?
Cosmetic scientists occasionally chose to use PFAS ingredients as they could make cosmetics easier to apply or more water resistant. For example, water and oil resistance can create long-lasting skincare and make-up products which are more comfortable to wear. These properties can also give a smooth high-gloss finish and frizz protection to hair fibres.
That said, it’s increasingly rare to find PFAS ingredients in cosmetics at all today because, in the vast majority of cases, cosmetic scientists have developed non-PFAS alternatives to provide these product benefits. In fact, a 2020 study by CTPA found that 1.5% of our member companies used any PFAS chemicals as cosmetic ingredients. That figure is likely to be even smaller today as more cosmetics companies have committed to using non-PFAS alternatives. As mentioned above, in 2023, the UK and European cosmetics industry decided to voluntarily stop using intentionally added PFAS ingredients in cosmetic products by December 2025.
Why have cosmetic companies moved away from PFAS?
In recent years concerns have been raised about the use of PFAS across all types of products and industries because they can be what’s known as ‘environmentally persistent’. Something that all chemicals within the PFAS group have in common is that they all possess a carbon and a fluorine atom joined together as part of their structure. This chemical linkage is very strong, which means that these chemicals tend to break down slowly in the environment. Although PFAS were not commonly used in cosmetics, companies have been innovating to move to alternative ingredients which offer the same product performance.
Were PFAS in cosmetics safe for my health?
Yes. All cosmetic products and their ingredients must be safe for use. In the case of any PFAS which were used within cosmetics, we can be confident that these are subject to the same extremely strict UK and EU safety laws as is the case with all cosmetic ingredients. The use of PFAS ingredients in cosmetics will have been carefully reviewed and approved by an experienced and qualified safety assessor who will have confirmed that the PFAS, and any other ingredients, in the product do not pose any risk to human health.
Read more: A to Z of cosmetics ingredients and terms
