Phthalates Safety in Cosmetics
What are Phthalates?
Phthalates are ingredients that provide a unique benefit when used at trace levels in cosmetics because they allow fragrances to last longer. P&G Beauty & Grooming only uses two members of the phthalates family, diethyl phthalate (DEP) and dimethyl phthalate (DMP), present at only trace levels, usually as a component of the fragrance. Not all phthalates are used in personal care products. Three types of phthalates dibutyl phthalate (DBP), benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), and diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) are banned from use in cosmetic products in Europe. P&G Beauty & Grooming does not use any of these banned ingredients.
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Did You Know... Not all phthalates are the same? Phthalates are a broad class of ingredients and each has its own benefit and safety profile. Contrary to groups that attempt to characterize all phthalates as unsafe, each type must be evaluated for safety separately based upon its own unique profile. For example, mushrooms are a family in nature that has species that are safe and tasty to eat (such as portobello), but also has other species that can cause significant safety concerns if consumed in sufficient amounts. In the past several years some members of the phthalate chemical family have been shown to impair the fetal development of male laboratory animals at high doses, which led to their ban from use in cosmetic products in Europe. However, other phthalates did not show these effects, such as diethyl phthalate (DEP) and dimethyl phthalate (DMP). When tested at extremely high doses, DEP has not produced the adverse effects characteristic of the banned phthalates in either in vitro assays, short-term or long-term animal studies. DMP has not activated the same gene array linked to the toxicity observed from the banned phthalates. |
Phthalate Safety
All phthalates break down rapidly in the environment and in living organisms and do not accumulate in the body. DEP has been confirmed as safe for use in cosmetics by E.U. and U.S. expert panels, including the E.U.'s own scientific advisory panel the SCCP (Scientific Committee on Consumer Products) which convened in 2007 to review proposed phthalate bans. This panel noted that even with DEP levels at 321 times higher than the maximum levels allowed in fragrances, there were no adverse effects in safety studies. DEP and DMP have also been reviewed and confirmed as safe for use in cosmetics by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel. An updated statement from the U.S. FDA in 2008 also affirms their safe use in cosmetic products.
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FDA Opinion of Phthalate Use The FDA conducted its own evaluation to determine whether exposure to DEP and DMP contained in cosmetics products presents a human health risk and updated its position in 2008. Based on its review of safety data and recently published studies, the FDA indicated that current DEP and DMP levels used in cosmetics and fragrances do not pose a safety risk. Phthalates and Cosmetic Products » |
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Controversial Studies on Phthalates E.U. Opinion of Phthalate Use You may have heard about recent studies regarding male reproductive birth defects and possible linkage to phthalate exposure from the 2005 report from Swan, which correlated anogenital distance in male infants with phthalate exposure. In light of these recent controversial studies, the E.U.'s own Scientific Advisory Panel for cosmetics, then termed the SCCP, convened in 2007 to review proposed phthalate bans on a number of different phthalates, particularly DEP. Not only did the SCCP reaffirm their overall conclusion on the safety of DEP from their previous 2002 report, but they questioned the scientific validity of the Swan study and dismissed the study's relevance to DEP. The SCCP further noted that all boys included in the study were considered anatomically normal, and that since DEP's safety profile was different from the other phthalates, there was no scientific support for the conclusions drawn from the Swan study. |
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