Unsure about the words and claims that you can make on your cosmetic products, how to substantiate these claims and who is legally responsible if these are incorrect? In this article, we cover these topics in detail and highlight some common misunderstandings such as claims regarding ‘medical benefits’ and statements such as “not tested on animals” or “free-from”. 

For cosmetic claims on products being sold in the EU and the UK, both follow a Common Criteria, and comply with Regulation 655/2013 (in Article 20 of the EU Cosmetics Products Regulations and Schedule 34 of the Product Safety and Metrology Statutory Instrument – Article 20 of the UK Cosmetics Regulation). 

Both regulations state: “in the labelling, making available on the market and advertising of cosmetic products, text, names, trademarks, pictures and figurative or other signs shall not be used to imply that these products have characteristics or functions that they do not have”.

The Regulation indicates that a product should not claim that it has characteristics which it does not. For a claim to be made, it should not breach truthfulness, honesty, legal compliance, fairness, evidential support or informed decision making. Any claim which breaches these common criteria should not be made. 

Claims made on cosmetic products are the responsibility of the Responsible Person, in terms of both claim substantiation and claim wording. Inter Scientific offers ‘Responsible Person’ services to clients selling products both in the UK (GB) and the EU 27 through UK and EU based offices.

There are variety of claims, including:- 

If a product claims to have a particular characteristic, proof should be supplied. Claims can be substantiated using experimental studies, formulae, published information and/or consumer perception tests. Experimental studies are required to have a protocol, a reproducible and reliable method, and monitoring system, processed data and interpreted results. Consumer perception tests must be based on appropriate study protocols, questionnaire wording, statistical and ethical principles, processed data and interpreted results. Claims which are made should be substantiated at the time of the claim, where the level of evidence provided is dependent on the class of the claim. It is important not to select evidence or present it in a manner in which it is not misleading or falsely positive.

Claims pertaining to medical benefits are prohibited on Cosmetic Products. Cosmetic products differ from medicines in that their primary function is not to treat or prevent disease and they do not contain ingredients which are regulated as medicines. Though medicines and cosmetic products may be similar in their use, there are distinct differences between their regulation. 

Care should also be taken with certain words and claims, such as “not tested on animals” or “free-from” claims. For example, saying a product is “free from-”: a prohibited ingredient would be wrong or saying that a product has not been tested on animals would be wrong, since use of prohibited ingredients and animal testing is banned are the EU and the UK, and so using these claims could be considered a breach of Common Criteria. Cosmetic claims are tightly regulated by Commission Regulation 655/2013 on Cosmetic Claims and by a combination of industry best practices, self-regulation and legislation. 

If the list of regulatory requirements for cosmetics claims seems overwhelming, help is at hand. 

To discover more about how we can support you to sell your cosmetic products safely and legally, read about our cosmetic regulation services here or email cosmetics@inter-scientific.com. For regular updates, follow us on LinkedIn.

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