Beauty Care Topics

Cosmetic products are exempted from the obligations to label under chemicals law and to transmit safety data sheets. Cosmetic products are products which correspond to the definition referred to in the EC Cosmetics Regulation and are available in a form that is supplied to end consumers. Cosmetic raw materials, raw material mixtures as well as bulk products are not covered by this exemption.

In accordance with Section 3 of the German Hazardous Substances Ordinance (§§ 6 f.) an employer in whose company cosmetic products are handled must, however, carry out a risk assessment for his employees. The manufacturers of cosmetic products are obliged to make available, on request, sufficient information on the safe handling of their products in commercial uses.

The Group Data Sheets of IKW include – in addition to the instructions for use made available with the products – all necessary further information in view of a safe handling of cosmetic products in commercial uses (e.g. during storage by trade, at the hairdresser’s, in the cosmetics or nail care studio). For the employer they are an important means in order to meet his duty of investigation in the field of safety at work in accordance with § 6 of the German Hazardous Substances Ordinance.

IKW published a brochure entitled “Group Data Sheets for cosmetic products” for the first time in 1999, followed by a series of additional specific brochures for hairdresser cosmetics (hairdresser salons), skin products (skin protection, cleansing and care products for application at workplaces) as well as nail modelling agents (nail studios). These brochures include only the data sheets of the products usually applied in the corresponding industries. The foreword to these brochures provides more detailed specific explanations on the safe handling of cosmetic products in the respective field but also additional group data sheets of products which are used exclusively on a professional basis in these fields.

Since November 2010 all editions of the Group Data Sheets as well as individual compilations can be downloaded – also in English language – free of charge as pdf files on the website <link gmb.ikw.org/index_en.php - external-link-new-window "Opens external link in new window"">http://gmb.ikw.org/index_en.php</link>."