International Regulations of Inorganic Colorants for Cosmetics

Abstract

Pigments used for cosmetics are classified generally into organic colorants, inorganic colorants and nature colorants. About the organic colorants, many studies were accomplished in a point of view of safety and the stability, and the lists of the usable colorants are promulgated in Japan, the United States and Europe.
On the other hand, about the inorganic colorants (e.g., a titanium oxide or an iron oxide for colorants), it is thought that there is a difference in the regulation situation between in Japan and in the United States and Europe. Specifically, since the regulation like the organic colorants has already been established in the United States and Europe, the understanding and correspondence are indispensable in developing cosmetics business worldwide.
In this report, the regulation of representative inorganic colorants for cosmetics in Japan, the United States and Europe is compared, and the tendency is introduced.