324 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS Substances used in cosmetics should conform to appropriate specifications and standards of purity. Standards acceptable for food additives or pharmacopoeial preparations can be regarded as acceptable for cosmetic materials, although in some cases less stringent specifications may be justified. Cosmetics present special problems of hygiene and health protection because of their frequent use (often daily), without any scientific or medical supervision. The possible hazards should not be considered in isolation but rather in conjunction with other risks, such as those of food additives and contaminants of air and water. RESOLUTIONS 1. The ingredients of cosmetic and toilet preparations, both in the pure state and as formulated, should be subjected to biological testing to ensure, as far as possible, that the use of cosmetics does not constitute a hazard to health. 2. Appropriate control measures are, therefore, necessary. The nature of these must depend on the particular ingredients in the cosmetic prepara- tion, the uses to which it is put and the population groups involved. 3. In general, effective control can be promoted by the compilation of lists of substances that are considered to be either suitable (positive list) or unsuitable (negative list) for use in cosmetics. 4. A positive list and/or negative list, whichever is most appropriate for the group of substances under consideration, should be compiled, after consideration of the available evidence, along the lines indicated in this Report, for the ingredients used or proposed for use in cosmetic prepara- tions. 5. Special measures, such as limitation of concentration used, specified conditions of use and/or labelling regulations, are needed for some substances that may cause unwanted side effects. 6. Substances that may be used for specific therapeutic purposes should, in general, be under medical control the uncontrolled use of potent therapeutic agents, such as antibiotics and hormones, is undesirable. 7. Adequate specifications and standards of purity of ingredients used in the formulation of cosmetic preparations, especially vehicles, solvents and colours, are necessary to ensure the exclusion of harmful impurities. 8. The plan of biological testing for each substance or group of substances

10. PREVENTION OF HAZARDS FROM CHRONIC TOXICITY OF COSMETICS 325 should be decided by the responsible scientific investigator: nevertheless, some guiding principles as set out in this Report that take account of the uses to which the cosmetic will be put, should be considered. Cosmetic preparations, in general, are intended for adults, but there are some special preparations for children. Preparations for adults may also be used by children either accidentally or intentionally. Infants and children must be given special protection against toxic hazards. The possibility should be explored of establishing more effective human epidemiological studies in the field of chronic toxicity hazards that may attend the use of cosmetics. I)IFFERENT COSMETIC INGREDIENTS Some constituents of toilet preparations were considered in the light of the general principles. The lists of materials are not considered to be com- prehensive. Preservatives and antioxidants The maintenance of a high level of cleanliness and hygiene in factories and other premises devoted to the manufacture of cosmetic preparations such as shampoos, creams, emulsions and toothpaste, is of the utmost importance. Completely aseptic conditions of handling are seldom attain- able, so preservatives may have to be added to the final product. In addi- tion, antioxidants are required to prevent oxidative changes in particular ingredients. In order to prevent contamination and deterioration of creams and emulsions, these are best supplied in completely filled tubes (metal or plastic) in which they are more protected than they are in open jars or bottles. Category C Preservatives: (i) Benzoic acid (0.2 to 0.3%) is effective in toothpaste below pH 6.0. At higher pH values glycerol (at least 50% of the aqueous phase) is suitable. (ii) Esters of p-hydroxybenzoic acid up to 1.5ø/0 are acceptable they are, however, relatively inefficient, particularly in preparations with pit above 7.0. Antioxidants: Tocopherol, ascorbic acid and isoascorbic acid are accept- able, as are butyl hydroxyanisole, butyl hydroxytoluene, and gallates in limited concentration.