Classification of perfumery and cosmetic products

According to the official website of the Federal Accreditation Service, 1,461 perfumery and cosmetic products (PCP – if shortly) names have been certified in the territory of the Russian Federation and have the status of “Valid”. Which categories do declared products refer to? How are the PСP generally classified? Answers to these questions will be provided in this article.

Customs Regulation TR CU 009/2011 does not classify PCP as a whole, but PCP are divided into groups in the Annexes to the Regulation. For example, the assessment of microbiological indicators divides PCP into three groups:

• Cosmetics for children, cosmetics for the eyes, lips, intimate cosmetics, oral hygiene products;
• Other cosmetics;
• Ampoule cosmetics.

In the case of toxicological tests, 21 groups of PCPs have different requirements.

There are also other regulatory documents, according to which the “check” of compliance with the requirements of TR CU 009/2011 is carried out. These are a variety of GOSTs: GOST 31679-2012 (Cosmetic liquid products), GOST 31695-2012        (Cosmetic gels. General specifications), etc. Depending on the group/category of PCP the applicable standard is selected.

Typically, the declaration of conformity contains information on the applicable GOST (s) in the Additional Information section and reads as follows: “Compliance with the requirements of the technical regulations of the Customs Union TR CU 009/2011 is ensured as a result of the application of GOST ХХХ-ХХХХ “Cosmetic Products ХХХХ.”;

What conclusion can be drawn from the first part of the article? First of all, the conclusion is that the normative documents do not have uniform classification criteria for the PCP. PCP are divided into categories depending on the checked safety indicators (groups in TR CU 009/2011) and depending on the applicability of one or another GOST.

In the scientific literature, there are several approaches to the classification of the PCP:

• by target groups (PCP for children/adults; male/women).
• dosage (“physical”) form (liquid – lotions, tonic; semisolid – creams, gels; solid – capsules, pressed powders, etc.)
• by application area (PCP for face, lips, eyelashes, body, etc.)
• functional purpose (cleansing – shampoos, soaps; moisturizing – creams, body lotions; protection – sunscreen; decorative cosmetics – lipsticks, foundation creams, etc.)

It is worth noting that in the cosmetic industry it is customary to combine PСP into 5-6 groups depending on their functional purpose and application area. The most popular grouping of the PСP includes the groups shown in Figure 1:

Picture 1. (a) Classification of decorative cosmetics. (b) Classification of hygienic supplies. References: 1. GABRIELLA B., KENNETH S. A. Introduction to Cosmetic Formulation and Technology/B. GABRIELLA, A. KENNETH S., 2015.

Picture 1. (a) Classification of decorative cosmetics. (b) Classification of hygienic supplies. References: 1. GABRIELLA B., KENNETH S. A. Introduction to Cosmetic Formulation and Technology/B. GABRIELLA, A. KENNETH S., 2015.

The figure shows that according to this classification PCP includes two large groups – decorative cosmetics and hygienic products, which in turn are divided into smaller subgroups.

Thus, there are different approaches to the classification of the PCP, and each has its own advantages in carrying out specific tasks. From a regulatory point of view, it is important to take into account the PCP category when declaring, so that products are tested according to the relevant standard and, accordingly, the information provided in the compliance, was correct.

GABRIELLA B., KENNETH S. A. Introduction To Cosmetic Formulation and Technology/B. GABRIELLA, A. KENNETH S., 2015.
TR CU 009/2011