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An analysis of declared composition of cosmetics for skin care in newborns and infants with the focus on substances with known sensitizing or irritant potential
Izabela Forczek, Katarzyna Kordus, Radoslaw Spiewak
Recommended citation format: Forczek i, Kordus K, Spiewak R: An analysis of declared composition of cosmetics for skin care in newborns and infants with the focus on substances with known sensitizing or irritant potential. Estetol Med Kosmetol 2016; 6: 001.en.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14320/EMK.2016.001.en
Reason for the study: Frequent and prolonged contact of cosmetics with the human body can cause side effects. A group of cosmetic ingredients responsible for side effects include colorants, preservatives, fragrances, and UV-filters. The skin of newborns and infants is immature as compared to the skin of adults. Adults searching for child skin care products hope that the quality and safety of the ingredients will be much higher than in adult skin care products.
Purpose: The purpose of the study was to analyze the presence of substances with known allergenic or irritant potential in the manufacturer's listed ingredients of newborn and infant skin care products.
Material and methods: Skin care products for newborns and infants from pharmacies and stores as well as manufacturers' websites were analyzed for 'problematic' ingredients using the base Cosing and the European Directive. The cosmetics were divided into the following four categories: "rinse-off" products for newborns, "rinse-off" products for infants, "leave-on" products for newborns, and "leave-on" products for infants. The next step was to list the composition of cosmetics of known allergenic or irritant potential. The difference in the incidence of problematic substances in the four compared categories was analyzed by the Chi2 test. The differences between the median values for each variable in the four categories of products were compared using the statistical test Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA.
Results: Two hundred and fifty-nine cosmetics were identified, including 37 "rinse off" newborn formulations, 56 "rinse-off" infant formulations, 67 "leave-on" formulations for newborns, and 99 "leave-on" formulations for infants. The formulations contained a total of 595 different substances, of which 52 (8.73%) were fragrances, 17 "problematic" (2.85%), 26 (4.38%), preservatives (including all "problematic"), 13 (2.18%) UV-filters, the filter 18 (3.03%) dyes and 14 (2.36%) substances designated for limited use with an "other" function. Among the "problematic" substances the most frequent were sodium hydroxide, preservatives e.g. phenoxyethanol, parabens, potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate, colorant e.g. zinc oxide, UV-filter e.g. titanium dioxide and fragrances hidden under the code name "Parfum". "Leave-on" products contained more ingredients (median=20) than cosmetics components of "rinse-off" products (median=16; p=0.013). Also, significantly more preservatives were found in "rinse off" and "leave-on" products for infants (median=2) as opposed to both groups of cosmetics designed for newborns (median=0; p<0.001). The total number of problematic ingredients was significantly higher in "leave-on" infant formulations (median = 4) compared to the "leave-on" newborn formulations (median=2; p=0.004).
Conclusions: The compositions of virtually all examined formulations contain "problematic" ingredients. Only every eighth cosmetic intended for infants and newborns was free from potentially allergenic and irritating ingredients. Compared to formulations designed for infants, cosmetic formulations for newborns contain far less preservatives in both "rinse-off" and "leave-on" products. Products for newborns more often contain perfumes of unknown composition, hidden under the code name "Parfum" in both "rinse-off" and "leave-on" cosmetics. "Leave-on" cosmetics for newborns contain less problematic ingredients than for infants.
Keywords: newborn, neonate, infant, allergy, children allergy, cosmetic products, skin care products, cosmetics for children, allergy to cosmetics
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