rockiop.blogg.se

Like the food industry, the cosmetics industry is subject to mandatory labelling requirements by Australian government regulations. This regulation requires that all intentionally added ingredients are listed on the product label, and is enforced by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). Where appropriate, NICNAS sets limits on the level at which a chemical can be used in a product and also conducts reviews on chemicals when new evidence arises.Ĭosmetic products that make an additional therapeutic claim (such as moisturisers that also lighten the skin) are regulated by a different organisation-the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).Ĭosmetics and other personal care items must also be labelled in accordance with the Trade Practices (Consumer Product Information Standards, Cosmetics) Regulations 1991. In the case of cosmetics, every ingredient contained within the product must be scientifically assessed and approved by NICNAS before being manufactured or imported into Australia and before they can be used in consumer products. NICNAS works to ensure that chemicals used in consumer products do not cause significant harm to users or to the environment.

In Australia, the importation, manufacture and use of chemicals-including those used in cosmetics-are regulated by the Australian Government’s National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS). This distinction means that shampoos and deodorants are placed in the cosmetics category, whilst anti-dandruff shampoos and antiperspirants are considered to be therapeutics. In contrast, products that claim to ‘modify a bodily process or prevent, diagnose, cure or alleviate any disease, ailment or defect’ are called therapeutics. We use cosmetics to cleanse, perfume, protect and change the appearance of our bodies or to alter its odours.

In Australia, a cosmetic is defined under the Industrial Chemical (Notification and Assessment) Act 1989 as ‘a substance or preparation intended for placement in contact with any external part of the human body' (this includes the mouth and teeth). Cosmetic advertising, previously directed mainly at women, is now targeting a wider audience than ever. According to the 2011 Household Expenditure Survey, conducted every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australians spend around $4.5 billion on toiletries and cosmetic products every year. Clays were ground into pastes for cosmetic use in traditional African societies and indigenous Australians still use a wide range of crushed rocks and minerals to create body paint for ceremonies and initiations. By 3000 B.C men and women in China had begun to stain their fingernails with colours according to their social class, while Greek women used poisonous lead carbonate (PbCO 3) to achieve a pale complexion. Women in Ancient Egypt used kohl, a substance containing powdered galena (lead sulphide-PbS) to darken their eyelids, and Cleopatra is said to have bathed in milk to whiten and soften her skin.

Humans have used various substances to alter their appearance or accentuate their features for at least 10,000 years, and possibly a lot longer.