What are cosmetics?

At present, there is no unified definition of the concept of cosmetics in the world.

The EU’s current “Cosmetic Regulations” define cosmetics as contacting the external organs of the human body (epidermis, hair, nails, lips and external genitalia), or teeth and oral mucosa in the oral cavity, in order to clean, emit fragrance, improve appearance, and improve the body Substances and preparations whose main purpose is to protect the body and keep it in good condition.

The US Food and Drug Administration defines cosmetics as articles that are applied to the human body by smearing, spreading, spraying, or other methods that can clean, beautify, promote charm or change appearance.

The Japanese definition of cosmetics is: articles that are applied, spread on the body or used in a similar way for the purpose of cleaning and beautifying the human body, increasing charm, changing the appearance, keeping the skin and hair healthy, and are substances that have a relaxing effect on the human body.

In my country’s “Hygiene Standards for Cosmetics” (2007 Edition), cosmetics are defined as: spreading on any part of the human body (skin, hair, nails, lips, etc.) by rubbing, spraying or other similar methods to achieve cleanness, Daily chemical industrial products for eliminating bad odors, skin care, beauty and cosmetic purposes. This definition is a more comprehensive summary from the three aspects of cosmetics use method, application site and cosmetic use purpose.

Although the definition of cosmetics varies from country to country, they are similar and have no essential differences. At the same time, it needs to be pointed out that the role of cosmetics is the surface of the human body, including the surface of the skin, the surface of the hair and the surface of the nails, hyaluronic acid (for subcutaneous injection), whitening needles, and botulinum that are sold on the market or used by some beauty institutions. Etc. are not in the category of cosmetics.

What are the types of cosmetics?

There are many types of cosmetics, and there is no unified classification method at present. Here is a brief introduction to the main classification methods.

(1) Classified by function

According to the function of use, it can be divided into two categories: special purpose cosmetics and ordinary cosmetics. Among them, non-special purpose cosmetics can be divided into cleaning cosmetics (such as shampoo, cleansing milk, shower gel, makeup remover, etc.), care cosmetics (such as eye cream, essence, lotion, etc.), and beauty cosmetics (such as Eye shadow, lipstick, etc.).

(2) Classified by part of use

Can be divided into skin cosmetics (such as makeup remover, moisturizer, etc.), hair cosmetics (such as shampoo, perm, etc.), oral cosmetics (such as toothpaste, mouthwash, etc.), and nail cosmetics (such as nails) Oil, nail polish remover, etc.).

(3) Classified by cosmetic formulation

Can be divided into liquid products (such as lotion, perfume, etc.), oil products (such as sunscreen oil, massage oil, hair oil, etc.), emulsion products (such as cleansing cream, moisturizer, lotion, etc.) , Powder products (such as powder, talcum powder, etc.), block products (such as pressed powder, rouge, etc.), suspended products (such as liquid foundation, etc.), surfactant solvent products (such as shampoo, hand sanitizer, etc.) ), gel products (such as cleansing gel, sleeping mask, etc.), aerosol products (such as hair spray, mousse, etc.), cream products (such as shampoo, cream mask, etc.), lozenge products (such as lipstick) , Lip glaze, etc.) and pen-like products (such as eyebrow pencil, eyeliner, lip liner, etc.).

How to interpret the cosmetic ingredient list?

The labeling of the cosmetic ingredient list has the following rules.

(1) The names of the chemical ingredients identified on the cosmetics label will be in descending order of their content in the formula, meaning that the higher the ranking, the higher the content of this chemical ingredient in the cosmetic. For example, water is the most commonly used solvent in most cosmetics, and in many cases it is the most contained ingredient, so it is generally at the top of the ingredient list.

(2) For the ingredients whose content is less than or equal to 1% in the product, they can be arranged in any order after the ingredients whose added amount is greater than 1%, that is, there is no particular order between such ingredients.

(3) Although flavors and fragrances are a mixture of multiple flavors, they are only used as an ingredient in the formula table, marked with the word “flavor”, and are listed in the ingredient list in the order of the added amount together with other ingredients.

(4) Pigments are generally marked with the colorant number (ie index number). If there is no number, the colorant’s Chinese name, such as “pigment yellow”, will be used.

It can be seen that the order of the ingredients does not represent their importance. For example, water and other substances such as glycerin and propylene glycol are frequently used solvents. In addition to their basic moisturizing effect, they are more As a solvent, it helps to disperse and dissolve other active ingredients in cosmetics, and help these active ingredients come into contact with our skin or hair to exert their related effects. The content of many active ingredients may not be as high as the content of water, and they are listed behind the water in the ingredient list, but they are an important factor in the effectiveness of this cosmetic.

What are the effects of the various ingredients in the cosmetic ingredient list?

The full ingredient list of cosmetics allows us to know which ingredients are added to the products used, but these ingredients are usually marked with the standard Chinese name of the standard cosmetic raw materials. For ordinary consumers without a background in chemistry, even if they see the ingredients in the list The standard Chinese names of cosmetic raw materials in China may not be able to know what these ingredients are and what their effects are. In fact, the standard Chinese name of a complex cosmetic raw material actually represents a simple ingredient. The following briefly introduces some of the more commonly used cosmetic ingredients.

(1) Matrix ingredients

The amount of this type of ingredient is relatively large, and it is usually the first ingredient in the full ingredient list. Because they are the medium of effective ingredients in cosmetics, the content is relatively large, and they are usually ranked in the top of the ingredient list, such as water, ethanol, and mineral oil. , Vaseline, etc.

(2) Skin care ingredients

There are many ingredients in cosmetics that have a care effect on the skin, and their chemical properties are diverse. They work through their different principles to care for our skin and help the skin be more moisturized, firm, smooth, and bright. For example, butylene glycol, glycerin, hyaluronic acid, collagen hydrolysate, etc. which have moisturizing and moisturizing effects, can repair the stratum corneum, Ceramides, vitamin E, etc., can help exfoliate salicylic acid, keratinase, etc., can resist Oxidized superoxide dismutase (SOD), vitamin C derivatives, etc., jojoba oil and shea butter that can moisturize the skin.

(3) Hair care ingredients

Including ingredients that help hair softening, such as polydimethylsiloxane (silicone oil), quaternary ammonium salt, vitamin E, etc.; ingredients that help anti-dandruff, such as zinc pyrithione, salicylic acid, etc.

(4) pH adjustment ingredients

Our skin and hair are weakly acidic under normal conditions, and the pH value of the skin is about 4.5-6.5 (7 is neutral, less than 7 is acidic, and greater than 7 is alkaline). The pH of the hair is neutral and weakly acidic. . In order to maintain the normal pH of the skin and hair, cosmetics need to maintain a certain pH, but this does not mean that cosmetics must be within the pH range of the skin. Some alkaline products can clean better, and some acidic products can better help the skin to renew itself. The principle is that cosmetics should not excessively destroy the skin’s own acid-base balance. Commonly used acid-base regulators are citric acid, phosphoric acid, tartaric acid, sodium dihydrogen phosphate, triethanolamine and so on.

(5) Preservative

Commonly used are methyl paraben, butyl paraben, ethyl paraben, isobutyl paraben, propyl paraben, potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate, triclosan, benzalkonium chloride, methyl chloroisothiazole Linone, Methylisothiazolinone, phenoxyethanol, chlorophenol glycerol ether, sodium dehydroacetate, etc.

(6) Coloring agent

The pigment in cosmetics is not marked with a specific name, and is usually identified by a number, such as CI77491, etc. If the colorant does not have an index number, its Chinese name can be used.

(7) Cleaner

Cleansing is a big category of cosmetics. It is mainly surfactants that play a role. Such as cocamidopropyl betaine, sodium laureth sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate commonly used in shampoo products and shower gels; sodium lauroyl glutamate and lauroyl sarcosine commonly used in amino acid facial cleansers Sodium and sodium lauroyl collagen amino acid, etc.; natural oils (fatty acids) and sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide (soap produced by the reaction of fatty acids with sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide during preparation as a cleaning agent) are commonly used in cleansing creams.