Skin safety and health prevention: an overview of chemicals in cosmetic products

Materials and methods

Different kinds of beauty and hygiene products were selected between October and November 2017 from various shops in Lecce (Italy), mainly supermarkets with nationwide coverage, beauty shops, and pharmacies as well as online shops. Ingredient information from labels was collected by taking photos in the shops or downloading data sheets from webshops. Because of the lack of available data on sales rates of specific products to the public, as in other studies [11], a crude selection of products estimated to be sold in large volume was made, on the basis of information from shop assistants and the authors’ own perceptions.

All products were divided into 3 categories: rinse-off products (shower gel, shampoo, toothpaste, liquid soap, intimate soap, shaving foam) leave-on products (body cream, face cream, hand cream, deodorant, sunscreen, aftershave) and make-up ones (lipstick, lipbalm, foundation, nail polish). Such a classification was based on the time of skin application: rinse-off products stay a very short time on it, as they are usually rapidly washed away (even if it would also be appropriate to consider the frequency of application); leave-on and make-up products stay longer on the skin, but the former are more usually used for skin care, in order to protect it, perfume it and keep it in good conditions (moisturising, nourishing, tonifying, etc.), the latter have an aesthetic purpose and are intended to improve someone’s look.

Every group included also organic and children’s products. The first were identified on the basis of organic and natural certifications disclosed on the brand’s website and indicated on the label (Cosmos, Ecolabel UE, Ecocert, Icea, Natrue, etc.); the latter showed on the label the word “baby” or “kids”.

Subsequently, the label of every product was examined and chemicals which could possibly affect human health were detected. The selection of substances was based on scientific evidence: for fragrances the list of 26 allergens which have been identified as skin sensitizer by the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) and whose names should be listed on the label [12] was considered; for the other substances a literature’s review was conducted [13-15] and only those reporting possible harmful effects on human heath were selected.

A list with fragrances, preservatives and other chemicals of concern, including some UV filters, antioxidants, emulsifiers, surfactants and other synthetic compounds, was created. Data were recorded in Microsoft® Excel and analysed by calculating rate, median and maximum of substances for every category. No chemical analyses were performed in the present study.