You may have read a report in the media (Daily Mail, 26 March) suggesting that ingredients in cosmetic and personal care products could harm your health. We understand the alarm this may cause for the millions of people who use safely use these products and we would like to allay any concerns.
Dr Emma Meredith, Director-General at CTPA and a pharmacist says:
"I would like to reassure anyone who might feel concerned, that all cosmetics and personal care products must be safe to use. They are covered by robust safety requirements and their safe use is underpinned by a wealth of scientific research and strict legislation. If an ingredient as it is used in a cosmetic product could cause harm it would, quite simply, be banned from use."
"As a scientist myself, I am disappointed that such misinformation has been published and can frighten people unnecessarily. Cosmetic products are one of the most studied and safest classes of consumer product on the market today and we can all have confidence in the safety of our cosmetic products because there are rigorous laws in place to assess and confirm their safety, which is why they are safely used daily by millions of people worldwide."
European cosmetic safety laws require that cosmetic and personal care products must not cause harm to human health. Before any such product reaches the shelf it must have undergone a rigorous safety assessment by a professionally qualified safety assessor. This safety assessment takes into account the finished product, all of the ingredients, how and where the product is to be used, how often and by whom and irrespective of whether the ingredients are natural, organic or man-made (synthetic). All must be safe.
For information on the safety of cosmetic products, please read: Confidence in cosmetics
