Cosmetic Coloration: A Review

Colorants for cosmetics appear to be more strictly regulated than any other cosmetic ingredients. Most countries have adopted a positive regulatory system for colorants used in cosmetics. Although there have been many reports on colorants that are used in food products from regulatory perspectives, reports on colorants used in cosmetic products have been limited. The objective of this report is to provide different countries' regulatory requirements and to encourage the cosmetic industry to export products in compliance with global regulations through a comparative analysis of cosmetic colorant regulatory systems in major countries. We first provide an overview of cosmetic colorant regulatory frameworks of the European Union, the United States, China, and Korea. Then the cosmetic colorants were divided into three sectors: synthetic, inorganic, and natural. Each chapter describes the colorants' general characteristics and explains the regulatory differences. Additionally, synthetic colorant labeling with a different nomenclature system is discussed.