Viewpoints Necessary for Quality Assurance in Accordance with the Use Scene of Cosmetics

Safety Assessment—Raw Materials, Products, Post-Marketing—

Abstract

Cosmetics including quasi-drugs are used daily and for a long period of time for the purpose of improving the quality of life (QOL) of people; therefore it is essential to ensure the safety of cosmetics. Cosmetics are composed of a wide variety of raw materials and ingredients, and not only their dosage forms, but also their application parts and usage methods are diverse. Therefore, it is necessary to assess and guarantee safety according to various situations from raw materials to products and use scenes. In addition, in order to assess safety appropriately, it is necessary to understand a lot of information such as the background of the times, laws, regulations, various evaluation methods and guidelines. This review introduces a wide range of contents that should be understood in order to assess and guarantee safety, including the history of the safety of cosmetics, based on the basic information on actual safety assessment.