Six Questions to a Cosmetic Safety Assessment Company

Nowadays, those wearing make-up take it for granted that the products they apply to their skin are safe. And, not only to their own skin, but also to that of their children and babies… We caught up with some of the ELEMENTS team in their Dublin office to find out what it takes to have […]


Nowadays, those wearing make-up take it for granted that the products they apply to their skin are safe. And, not only to their own skin, but also to that of their children and babies…

We caught up with some of the ELEMENTS team in their Dublin office to find out what it takes to have safe cosmetics on the market…

1. How long have you been assessing the safety of Cosmetics?

ELEMENTS was formed in 2014 because there was a huge demand for experienced cosmetic safety assessors. We have 3 toxicologists in our team, with one having almost 20 years experience across different industries, including pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. Combined, there’s a total of 15 years experience assessing the safety of cosmetics. We offer all services required to assess the safety of cosmetics.

2. Are cosmetics safe?

Every cosmetic product we certify is safe for the intended consumer to use. We work on all cosmetic product types, including skin care products, colour products, intimate products, children’s products and baby products.

All cosmetic products marketed in the EU must adhere to the EU Cosmetics Regulation. It’s a set of legal regulations to set high standards for the safety of each cosmetic product.

3. Which products are the most challenging to assess?

Every product receives the same detailed assessment. However, products for babies, children, the face, intimate areas and eyes need to be thoroughly tested because they are applied to delicate skin or sensitive parts of the body.

Woman in a beauty salon

4. How do you test these products?

The testing depends on the product type. If we take a baby shampoo for example, we know that a baby does not close its eyes when in the bath. Therefore, the shampoo must not sting the eyes.

For this product we do a microbiology test, a stability test, a laboratory eye test in cells, a 48 hour skin patch test on 10 adult volunteers with sensitive skin, a 4 week study where adult 20 volunteers with sensitive skin wash their hair with the shampoo, and finally we do a tear’s free test.

5. What is the most important thing in making safe cosmetics?

The most important thing is to use high quality ingredients from reputable suppliers. We recommend having a cosmetic safety assessor on board at the beginning to input to the product design and claims.

6. What types of companies do you work with?

We work with many different customers. Some are new to cosmetic production with a couple of products, others are large scale with multiple products. Our customers are located mainly in the UK and Ireland, but we have customers in Bali, New York, India, Detroit, France, Germany and Poland. New customers can make a quick enquiry through our online submission form.

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