In recent years, there has been a surge in “homemade” and customisable, even ultra-customisable, cosmetics. The lockdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated this practice. Consumers want to save money, reduce their waste, but above all they want to know what they are really using. They want transparency! But while this is a good feeling, it is not so simple from a purely regulatory and safety point of view! Estelle Dehier, from Labosphere, explains.
Home-made cosmetics and DIY (Do It Yourself) recipes
These cosmetics are made by the consumer at home. To do this, they have to buy the ingredients they need to make their product, based on a “recipe” found on a website or sometimes even integrated directly into a food processor.
From a regulatory point of view, a cosmetic product must comply with Regulation 1233/2009. And these “home-made” cosmetics pose several problems.
• First of all, does the “recipe” or rather the formula (since we are talking about cosmetics and not cooking) comply with the European Regulation as far as its composition is concerned (authorised and regulated raw materials)? Has it been tested (microbiological, stability over time, tolerance, efficacy) and toxicologically assessed for the intended target?
On websites or blogs, there is no specific mention of the proposed recipes. On some sites, one can read: “formulated and tested by our laboratory”… but this remains very light and evasive.
• When a finished cosmetic product is developed in a laboratory, it is evaluated on the basis of perfectly identified raw materials (composition, quality, impurities, etc.) because it is known that the quality of a raw material can influence the organoleptic characteristics of the …
