Why Should We Test Before Using Cosmetics

As we always seen, before using a kind of cosmetics product, most companies make a test on it. Do you want to know why? Then come to see the reasons as follows.

Synthetic fragrances are widely used in consumer products. Studies concluded from patch testing show synthetic fragrances are made of many ingredients which cause allergic reactions. Balsam of Peru was the main recommended marker for perfume allergy before 1977, which is still advised. The presence of Balsam of Peru in a cosmetic will be denoted by the INCI term Myroxylon pereirae. In some instances, Balsam of Peru is listed on the ingredient label of a product by one of its various names, but it may not be required to be listed by its name by mandatory labeling conventions (in fragrances, for example, it may simply be covered by an ingredient listing of “fragrance”).

Cosmetics companies have been criticized for making pseudo-scientific claims about their products which are misleading or unsupported by scientific evidence. Often, though, the speculation of safety of cosmetics originates from scare stories and internet hoaxes unsupported by science. Many ingredients deemed unsafe by the media have been found safe by scientists in the EU where good regulations are enforced on animal testing. The behavior of cosmetics testing on animal is particularly controversial. Such tests involve general toxicity, eye and skin irritancy, phototoxicity (toxicity triggered by ultraviolet light), and mutagenicity.

Cosmetics testing is banned in the Netherlands, Belgium, and the UK, and in 2002, after 13 years of discussion, the European Union (EU) agreed to phase in a near-total ban on the sale of animal-tested cosmetics throughout the EU from 2009, and to ban all cosmetics-related animal testing. France, which is home to the world’s largest cosmetics company, L’Oreal, has protested the proposed ban by lodging a case at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, asking that the ban be quashed. The ban is also opposed by the European Federation for Cosmetics Ingredients, which represents 70 companies in Switzerland, Belgium, France, Germany, and Italy.

So, do a test before using cosmetics can bring the consumer a better experience of using. More important, it is safe. Now guys, you understand?

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