A survey and health assessment of cosmetic products for children

• Shampoo
• Bobble bath
• Tooth paste
• Body lotion/cream
• Soap - solid
• Eau de toilette - perfume
• Bath oil
• Others (for instance body spray products)
• Hair dye (rinsing colour)
• Balsam
• Hairstyling products
• Deodorant
• Massage oil
• Soap - liquid
A large part of the products contained allergenic substances
A large part of the mapped products contained allergenic substances in the
form of fragrances, preservatives and/or colouring agents. 74% of all products
contained perfume but if the products with no declaration of content available
as well as the non-perfumed tooth paste products are left out 86% of the
remaining products had a content of perfume. About one-third of the
products contained one or more of the 26 fragrances which must be declared
separately.
More than the half (63%) of the products contained preservatives. A number
of preservatives is considered to be allergenic. Twelve of the 23 applied
preservatives are considered to be allergenic or potentially allergenic. Among
the six most frequently applied preservatives five were parabens of which
propyl paraben, butyl paraben and isobutyl paraben are a subject for a debate
about endocrine disrupting effects.
Correspondingly, more than the half (57%) of the products contained
colouring agents. Few colouring agents being considered to be allergenic were
found in the cosmetic products for children and these colouring agents were
only found in the hair dye products (rinsing colours) – seven products in total.
The EU Commission has banned 22 substances in hair dyes per 1 December
2006. None of these colouring agents were found in the mapped products for
children.
Analysis of the products
The project focus was on the allergenic properties of the cosmetic products
for children. Therefore, 17 products were selected for analysis of their
quantitative content of the 26 fragrances mandatory to declare as the EU
considers them to be allergenic. Additionally, 11 products have been analyzed
for their quantitative content of the allergenic preservative Kathon 1
which was
found in 15 products.
The analyses showed a total content of the 26 fragrances of up to 7,800 mg/kg
(0.78%) – found in an eau de toilette product. The analyses also showed that
six products did not comply with the legislation for the declaration of content
as described in the Cosmetics Statutory Order. One of the products had no
declared content of “perfume” in the product even if the analysis showed
1 Kathon is a mixture of the two substances methylchlorisothiazolinone and
methylisothiazolinone in the ratio 3:1
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