Changes to the regulation of personal care products in Europe will make it easier to add known carcinogens to the ingredients, or to continue to use these substances despite documented concerns.

Known carcinogens are currently banned chemicals in cosmetics unless permission is granted when no alternatives are available. Under EU law, “cosmetics” include everyday hygiene products such as soap, toothpaste, shampoo, deodorant and sun-screen, and also beauty items such as makeup and hair dye. 

Changes proposed by the EU executive earlier this month, however, mean substances known to be cancer-causing will be permitted if there is no evidence of harm caused by using them correctly. A substance could be permitted for makeup, for example, although known to be carcinogenic if swallowed or inhaled.

Horrified

“Consumers will be horrified to learn that cosmetics and personal care products will contain even more known carcinogens than at present,” said Theresa Kjell, Head of Policy at chemicals watchdog ChemSec.  

A growing number of ingredients in personal care products are being classified as carcinogens, which is having “potential negative effects” on the personal care sector, says the distributed meeting document. If a substance’s classification depends on the route of exposure, however, this will reduce the likelihood that its use in cosmetics will be restricted or banned.

The finished proposal will be presented by the European Commission on July 2 as part of a “simplification” drive to streamline regulations and boost competitiveness. 

“In this draft proposal we see that what simplification really means – making it simpler to use toxic chemicals in personal care products,” Kjell said. “It takes no account of the fact that cancer-causing substances considered safe when applied to the skin, for example, can be accidentally inhaled or ingested and will end up in the water supply after washing or in the environment via waste disposal.”

The specific risk approach to regulating toxic chemicals implied by the proposal is far less safe than the generic risk approach recommended by experts. The EU is under intense pressure from industry to adopt the risk-based approach because it is more permissive, even though it adds a huge burden of complexity to regulatory procedures.