Call for Data: Safety of Cosmetic Ingredients
OPSS would like to invite any interested parties to submit any scientific information relevant to the safety assessment of cosmetic ingredients.
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) would like to invite any interested parties, including academia, manufacturers of cosmetic products, producers of the substances concerned and consumer associations to submit any scientific information relevant to the safety assessment of the following cosmetic ingredients.
Any scientific data submitted for the safety assessment must include all relevant elements as prescribed in the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety Notes of Guidance for the Testing of Cosmetic Ingredients and Their Safety Evaluation.
Note: The Scientific Advisory Group on Chemical Safety (SAG-CS) will use 70 kg as their default bodyweight assumption for adults in new safety assessments. This aligns with other UK groups, such as the UK Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment, who carry out chemical risk assessments across a range of sectors and have agreed that a default adult bodyweight of 70 kg is representative for the UK adult population. For more information, see SAG-CS.
Please submit original study reports and literature in full for all data relied upon in the safety assessment. This is particularly important for the pivotal studies, those which support the critical No Observed Adverse Effect Level (NOAEL) and point of departure and the dermal absorption value.
How to submit data
Please submit relevant data by email to: [email protected].
Deadline for Submission: 30 April 2025
Note: The data submitted may be subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Any confidential and commercially sensitive data should ONLY be submitted if it is relevant to the safety assessment. Any confidential and commercially sensitive data must be very clearly marked in a submission. Any data that is not marked as confidential and /or commercially sensitive may be liable for release under an appropriate request.
Prostaglandins and prostaglandin analogues
Prostaglandins and prostaglandin analogues are used in cosmetic products with the function of promoting eyelash growth. These types of eyelash growth products are increasingly available on the UK market and contain prostaglandin analogues such as:
- Isopropyl closprostenate (CAS 157283-66-4)
- Bimatoprost (CAS 155206-00-1)
- Ethyl tafluprostamide (CAS 209860-87-7)
- Norbimatoprost
- Methylamido dihydro noralfaprostal
Due to their potency, intended use in the proximity of the eye and concerns raised by other scientific bodies / regulators over their safety, OPSS would like to evaluate the safety of these ingredients in cosmetic products.
Note: This call for data is not limited to prostaglandin analogues mentioned in the list above. OPSS is seeking data on all relevant prostaglandin analogues used in cosmetic products.
Alpha and beta-arbutin
Alpha-arbutin (CAS 84380-01-8) and beta-arbutin (CAS 497-76-7) are used as antioxidants, skin bleaching and skin conditioning agents in cosmetic products. OPSS has concerns regarding the risks associated with the use of these ingredients in cosmetic products due to their degradation to hydroquinone under common storage conditions. Hydroquinone is a known carcinogen, mutagen and a strong skin sensitiser which is prohibited from use in cosmetic products (except for entry 14 in Annex III of the UK cosmetics Regulation). As a result OPSS would like to evaluate the safety of these ingredients in cosmetic products.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A derivatives such as retinol (CAS 68-26-8), retinyl acetate (CAS 127-47-9) and retinyl palmitate (CAS 79-81-2) are used in cosmetic products for their anti-aging and antioxidant properties. The major source of vitamin A exposure in the population is food and food supplements. As a result, any additional source of exposure, including cosmetic products, may exceed tolerable upper intake levels. Therefore, there is a potential risk to human health arising from the use of vitamin A in cosmetic products when its concentration exceeds certain levels. As a result OPSS would like to evaluate the safety of these ingredients in cosmetic products.
Data protection
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Updates to this page
Published 14 August 2023Last updated 24 October 2024 + show all updates
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Scientific information requested on prostaglandins and prostaglandin analogues, alpha and beta-arbutin, and Vitamin A.
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First published.