Toxic chemicals in cosmetics in India: need for better legislation

India is one of the world’s largest markets for cosmetics. However, in a recent study reported in Jan 2014, the Pollution Monitoring Lab (PML) at India’s Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) found alarming data about the unregulated use of toxic chemicals in many leading brands of cosmetics, from both Indian and international companies.

This study was India’s largest investigation on the use of heavy metals in the cosmetic industry. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) took the initiative and tested 73 cosmetic products tested from four different categories. The results showed excessive levels of hazardous heavy metals, including mercury, in half of the products tested.

Results of the investigation:

Samples: 32 fairness creams (skin-whitening creams) were tested for mercury. 30 lipsticks, 8 lip balms and 3 anti-aging creams were tested for lead, cadmium, chromium and nickel. The samples included both Indian and international major cosmetic brands, and some herbal products as well:

Health risks from these cosmetics

Clearly, it can be concluded that most of the tested skin-whitening creams and lipsticks sold in India contain dangerous heavy metals in high concentrations. However, to estimate the health risk from these chemicals, their concentration levels need to be compared against the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) limits for that specific chemical as per the regulations.

Unfortunately, India does not have any set limits for ADI of mercury. In this study, the CSE lab used the ADI set by the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to compare against the amount of mercury found in the cosmetics.

Such high levels of heavy metals make these cosmetics very unsafe for users. Mercury is a neurotoxin, and is associated with anxiety, depression, psychosis and peripheral neuropathy. It can also cause kidney damage and skin problems. Chromium on the other hand is a proven carcinogen, especially in its hexavalent form that is used in cosmetics.

Current regulations for cosmetics in India:

The three main regulations for Cosmetics products in India are:

Rules 145 D and 135 A of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules prohibit the manufacture and import, respectively, of cosmetics containing mercury compounds.

Rule 145 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules prohibits the use of lead and arsenic compounds in cosmetics as colourants.

Rule 135 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules prohibits the import of cosmetics in which a lead or arsenic compound has been used as a colourant.

The Dyes used in the manufacture of skin creams and lipstick must comply with IS 4707 (Part I) as per the Schedule Q of Drugs and Cosmetics Act and Rules. Other ingredients are required to comply with IS 4707 (Part 2).

Rule 134 of Drugs and Cosmetics Rules restricts the use of Dyes, Colors and Pigments other than those specified by the Bureau of Indian Standards (IS: 4707 Part 1 as amended) and Schedule Q. It also indicates the permissible limits for Synthetic Organic Colors and Natural Organic Colors used in the cosmetics as below

Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has provided the specifications for Skin Creams and Lipsticks in the Indian Standards (IS) 6608:2004 and 9875:1990 respectively.

Regrettably, the IS 6608:2004 states that if all the raw materials have been tested for heavy metals and comply with the requirements, then the manufacturer need not test the finished cosmetic for heavy metals and arsenic. This regulatory loophole is probably why the finished products are not tested and heavy metals are found widespread in the cosmetics industry.

Weak regulatory control and major gaps in legislation

Industry experts and CSE team leaders state that the regulatory control over the cosmetics industry in India is extremely weak and ineffective.

There are a few steps in the right direction from the Indian government regarding the cosmetics industry. The Drugs and Cosmetics Bill, 2013 , was released recently to replace the earlier and outdated version from 1940, revised in 2008. The amended bill aims to bring a comprehensive legislation to cover various aspects of drugs and cosmetics.

India has also introduced a draft notification and a soon-to-be-implemented legislative rule which will ban animal testing in all its domestic manufactured and imported cosmetics.