New Federal Regulations for Cosmetics Proposed

 The Safe Cosmetics Act of 2011 (H.R.2359) was introduced on June 24, 2011 and is designed to give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to ensure that all the ingredients in cosmetics (also known as “personal care products”) are fully disclosed and free of harmful chemicals. The proposed law still has to undergo manufacturer, public and government scrutiny before it becomes final, and is likely to change as it goes through the system.

Photo: It's About Health 

The current law, enacted over seventy-three years ago (the Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act of 1938), surrendered all decisions about ingredient safety to the cosmetics industry themselves. Under the existing law, the FDA does not have the authority to require cosmetics companies to conduct safety assessments, or product recalls.  This is true even when the FDA receives information that the cosmetic contains a chemical that is harmful to human health.  The new proposed law would give FDA the authority to recall or stop the sale of any cosmetic it determines to be unsafe based on scientific evidence. 


This new legislation will have an impact any consumers who use moisturizing lotions, sunscreens, make-up, shampoos and deodorants, to name a few.  The general public is becoming increasingly concerned with eliminating unsafe chemicals from the products we use everyday.  The new law, as proposed, will put some pressure on cosmetic manufacturers to be vigilant about researching, testing and listing the formulations used in their personal care products.  The desired result is intended to be safer products for the consumers, but is this new bill the correct vehicle for attaining that result?

Photo: Skin Rejuvenation Today

The cosmetic industry has often been accused of not keeping up with scientific research on chemical toxicity. The lack of a strong regulatory structure could be one cause that has allowed some manufacturers to bury their heads in the sand and play dumb about the toxicity and long-term effects of the chemicals in their products. Cosmetic manufacturers would argue that they care very much and develop their formulations based on scientific research and data. One only needs to read the ping-pong game going on between organizations like Personal Care Truth and The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics to recognize the complexity of the issues.  Each of these organizations is in favor of safer cosmetics, but they both have different road maps to get there. 

Photo: Skin Beauty Review

On one side are the smaller natural cosmetic manufacturers who feel the new proposed law would make labeling confusing to the consumer, would require duplicative registration steps, increases costs for testing and basically would discourage innovation. It is important to note that the proposed law only applies to US manufacturers. This has the potential to cause some consternation between U.S. and overseas suppliers.

The Safe Cosmetics Act of 2011 also proposes extensive pre-market testing and would require Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) to be provided in multiple languages.  Many smaller manufacturers feel that the mandates would put an undue strain on their bottom line, and could prevent entry into the marketplace. In contrast, the larger companies are likely to have deeper pockets and would be more easily able to incorporate these additional expenses.

You can read the full text of the proposed Safe Cosmetics Act of 2011 here.