Personal care product and cosmetic stability testing ensures that novel or modified products meets physical, chemical and microbiological quality standards.

Intertek personal care and cosmetic product stability testing helps ensure the product's functionality and aesthetics are not adversely impacted during its intended shelf life and consumer use. Testing can be undertaken under controlled accelerated or real-time conditions. Demonstrating the stability of a cosmetic is a requirement under various global regulations. For example according to Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, in order to demonstrate that a cosmetic product complies with requirements for safety (Article 3), prior to placing on the market, the product must undergo a safety assessment including assessment of the stability of the cosmetics product under reasonably foreseeable storage conditions.

Appropriate testing helps ensure:

  • Stability and physical integrity of the products under appropriate conditions for storage transport and use.
  • Chemical stability
  • Microbiological activity
  • Compatibility between the product and packaging employed

Beauty Product Stability Testing:

  • Accelerated conditions (Temperatures and Relative Humidity)
  • Freeze Thaw studies
  • Durability testing
  • Photostability studies
    • Accelerated Light
    • Resistance to UV radiation
  • Period after opening
The conditions that can be employed include: room temperature light, room temperature dark, 30ºC, 37ºC, 44ºC, and freeze thaw. Various physical characteristics can be monitored e.g. microbiology, pH, viscosity, appearance / colour and odour. These properties can be compared against a control sample. When appropriate, additional chemical testing can be employed to monitor the level of active ingredients for example, vitamins, sunscreens. Testing protocols can be designed to fulfil the specific needs of the client covering a wide range of products and applications. 

 

 

 

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