Managing the container/content interactions in cosmetics

Interview by Vincent Gallon

16 January 2012

When a primary packaging (container - bottles, closures, etc.) is in contact with a formulation (content), physical and chemical exchanges may occur. "The control and monitoring of these container/content interactions are essential in cosmetics, especially because of regulatory changes," explains Benoît Persin, in charge of cosmetics analyses for the Intertek group. But at the same time, formulators are faced with the need to develop within a short period of time.

Premium Beauty News - Why are container/content interactions so important in cosmetics today? It is not something which has been discovered yesterday!

Benoît Persin - Quite true, these phenomena have been widely studied in various sectors such as the food industry (where it is referred to as food contact) and the pharmaceutical industry. As I explained at the breakfast organized last September by the BeautyFull Club, the new EC Cosmetics Regulation 1223/2009 has introduced new concepts in this regard. [1]

These interaction phenomena between the packaging material and the formula, can manifest themselves in different ways (Figure 1) either during the manufacturing, conditioning process, or during storage. They may have several consequences, visual or not, even under normal conditions of use: organoleptic modification of the formula or of the primary packaging, chemical modification of the formulation, etc.

Modifications in connection with container/content interactions therefore potentially have an impact on the quality, efficacy and safety of a cosmetic product. The characterization of the packaging (including its stability and impurities and traces technically unavoidable) and the assessment of the potential interactions are key parameters to demonstrate that the packaging used is safe and does not interfere negatively on the formula.

It is precisely in this context that the Regulation 1223/2009 asks to take into account this information!

Premium Beauty News - How can this assessment be undertaken? Are there any official standards available?

Benoît Persin - No, currently standards or study protocols are not (yet) available for the cosmetic sector. In fact the entire difficulty stands here in view of both increasingly complex and innovative cosmetic formulas and in attractive and efficient packaging articles.

It is a real challenge for manufacturers. But not insurmountable, the critical parameters that come into play in this phenomenon of chemical interactions are well known: the composition of the material, the composition of the formula and its properties, the physico-chemical characteristics of the packaging components, the manufacturing and filling conditions the conditions of use and of storage, etc.

Premium Beauty News - What is the consequence of this absence of standards or guidelines in cosmetics?

Benoît Persin - The studies on the container/content interactions must be carried out under relevant and specific conditions. The ones Intertek undertakes for the industry are foremost based on a long-term collaboration where information exchanges are essential to perfectly understand the context (components, formula) and to correctly define its perimeter. [2]

If the knowledge of the raw materials used for the packaging (origin of the substance, production process, etc..) is not sufficient, a comprehensive analytical testing will help provide a good basis to reach the final goal of assessing the potential toxicological impact of the material on the formula.

Technical solutions tailored to the needs of the cosmetic industry can be proposed today to identify the nature of packaging (e.g. recycled copolymer...), its purity, its stability and the presence of possible components such as additives, dyes, plasticizers , solvents, antioxidants, etc..

Once the data is collected, the safety assessor will be able to quantify the potential risk. But again, as in cosmetics, guidelines do not (yet) exist, these interaction studies should be undertaken on a case by case basis.

Footnotes

[1] Trace or impurity? Technically unavoidable? An impurity can be defined as an unwanted substance in raw materials. A trace is a small amount of a not desired substance in the finished product which can come from : impurities in raw materials, the manufacturing process, chemical changes or potential interactions (instability), the possible transfer/migration of the primary packaging material to the product. The unintended presence of a small quantity of a prohibited substance, impurities coming from natural or synthetic ingredients, from the manufacturing process, from storage, from the migration of the packaging, which is technically unavoidable in good manufacturing practices, is permitted provided it complies with Article 3 of Regulation 1223/2009 on cosmetics.

[2] For the cosmetic industry, the Intertek laboratory of Chalon-sur-Saône in France is the competence centre for many analytical services in chemistry, microbiology and toxicology.