Cosmetics and personal care products are applied to the human body for the purposes of cleaning, beautifying, promoting attractiveness or changing its appearance. In particular, skin care includes cosmetic products designed for the skin care and protection, covering all types of creams and lotions for face, hand and body care.

The global personal care market is overcoming the difficulties arising from the COVID-19 period, and skin care will be the front-runner in future growth as consumers continue to see the skin beauty routine as a way to combat stress and anxiety, and bring normality during uncertain times.
Skin care is always evolving and looking for new products and trends inspirations, and it is considered a science-driven and highly innovative sector which makes large investments in R&D.

The Cosmetic Regulation

The Cosmetic Regulation (EC) N° 1223/2009 is the main regulatory framework for finished cosmetic products when placed on the EU market, in order to ensure the functioning of the internal market and a high level of protection of human health. 

According to the European Commission, the most significant changes introduced by the cosmetics regulation include:

• Strengthened safety requirements for cosmetic products
• Introduction of the notion of ‘responsible person’
• Centralised notification of all cosmetic products placed on the EU market
• Introduction of reporting of serious undesirable effects (SUE)
• New rules for the use of nanomaterials in cosmetic products (link alla pagina dei nanomateriali)

Do you need to test the efficacy and safety of your cosmetic product?

Thanks to the high level of skills, development and control along the whole cosmetic chain, Mérieux NutriSciences offers a complete range of efficacy and safety studies, sensory tests and consumer research to guarantee the claim truthfulness and product’s compatibility and compliance with national and international standards.
Studies are performed according to international Guidelines and acknowledged quality standards (GLP/GMP, ISO 17025).

Our CosmeticLAB testing services include:

• Efficacy tests and claim support. Our CosmeticLAB integrated and multi-tool approach benefits from the synergies of different techniques.
• Safety tests. The manufacturing of cosmetics is almost worldwide covered by a specific regulation that aims at assuring human safety and products must be previously assessed before entering the market.
• Quality controls. Quality control of cosmetic products is fundamental to ensure both safety and high performance of the formulations and raw materials in order to verify that these characteristics remain constant over time.
• Cosmetic Packaging. The packaging of a cosmetic product is not only a simple container to put the product. It is an important communication tool to drive consumer purchases, transmits the brand identity and becomes an essential element to assess product safety.