The Paris Conference on Dermatology was held on mid-December. Coordinated by the French Society of Dermatology, they help the professionals to broaden their knowledge, thanks to the latest pieces of information. The last conference dealt with the allergies to cosmetics.
During this conference, a three-lecture session was about the allergies to cosmetics. Current regulation, new allergens, management of patients, or management of the specific cases of hair cares or sunscreens creams: an occasion to learn more about troubles that draw more and more patients to meet dermatologists.
First part: Regulation and management
The European Regulation on cosmetics makes it mandatory to put on the labels the
list of ingredients
, with their
INCI
names, in descending concentration's order.
The allergic patient and his (her) M.D. shall learn to read in "
INCI language
", and it is not always that easy … Underneath, some examples of this
INCI
language:
• Plants often come with their Latin name: Myroxilon Pereirae is the Peru balsam.
• The names of chemical ingredients are often almost incomprehensible: for instance, Hydroxyisohexyl 3-Cyclohexene Carboxaldehyde is nothing other than Lyral (an
allergen
recently added to the 2009 European Standard battery of tests).
•
Water
comes as Aqua (while it is listed as Water in the
CTFA
nomenclature, which is applicable in the USA) …
Further, reading the list of ingredients once is not enough: the manufacturers may modify the formula (sometimes while keeping the same name and …
