Laboratory analysis of cosmetic contaminants

A contamination is characterized by the unexpected presence of substance having a negative impact on the production of a cosmetic product. A contaminant can be found both in raw materials and in the finished product or can appear at any point during the production process. The issue of contamination is closely related to the issue of size. This is because contaminants are often very small and cannot be seen with the naked eye.

In what context should you search for contaminants in your cosmetic products ?

The analysis of contaminants found in cosmetic products is useful in two cases :

• Compliance testing : in this case, the analysis are carried out to verify that a product complies with relevant regulations (heavy metal analysis, nanomaterial analysis, chemical determinations…)
• Failure analysis : when a contamination appears during the production process, compromising the release of entire batches of product (dust contaminants, cross contamination, deposits, discoloration…)