Colipa: European Consumer Exposure to Cosmetic Products
Case Study: Colipa
This study was carried out by CREMe Ltd. under the sponsorship of the European Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery Association (Colipa) and at the request of the European Commission's Scientific Committee for Consumer Products (SCCP), with the aim to update the Committee's current "Notes of guidance for the testing of cosmetic ingredients and their safety evaluation".In setting up this study Colipa's aim was to provide quantitative information on habits and practices of consumers in the European Union. In order to make use of the most up-to-date investigative methods of consumer habits' tracking and of the most appropriate information technology methods, CREMe Ltd. were chosen to perform the data analysis and statistical modeling project.
Methodology:
The European exposure distributions produced in this study provide a reflection of the daily amount of product used by consumers. This was achieved by combining data from two large European databases on cosmetic usage with data from a large habits and practices study, and analysing the combined data using the CREMe exposure modelling computer programme (Monte Carlo analysis), to produce a population distribution curve of exposure.The scope of the project was extremely large, in total 44,100 households and 18,057 individual habitual users of cosmetics contributed data to the study. These data were provided by TNS from the following databases: Europanel and ETCD (European Toiletries and Cosmetics Database). This data was combined with usage data from 496 individuals who took part in a detailed cosmetic usage test carried out by Ian Smith Consulting. Overall, the study generated more than 250,000 pieces of individual data. CREMe's population modelling technology was selected to specifically make use of all the raw data so as to keep the model as close to reality as possible.
Target Products:
- Shampoo
- Toothpaste
- Deodorant Spray
- Deodorant Non-Spray
- Body Lotion
- Facial Moisturiser
- Lipstick
Key Discovery:
A significant new finding of this study is that for body lotion, facial moisturiser toothpaste and shampoo there is an inverse correlation between the frequency of product use and the quantity used per application. This means that the more often a consumer uses any of these products the less product will tend to be used on each occasion: the amount of product applied declines with frequency of use.Study Results
This study brings up to date data on daily quantities of use of seven typical cosmetic products against relevant body weights. These exposure data were generated using probabilistic analysis to provide pertinent and powerful prediction for the European population.These new data reflect the up-to-date habits and practices of cosmetic use in Europe and will provide a valuable base for conducting both sensitisation and systemic risk assessments for cosmetic ingredients.
The results of the Study were presented to the European Commission by Colipa and CREMe.
Publications:
Probabilistic modelling of European consumer exposure to cosmetic products
has been accepted for publication in Food and Chemical Toxicology. The paper was written by C. McNamara et al. as part of the Colipa study.
Read the full paper here
European consumer exposure to cosmetic products a framework for conducting population exposure assessments
has been accepted for publication in Food and Chemical Toxicology. The paper was written by B. Hall et al. of L'Oreal and Colipa as part of the Colipa study.
Read the full paper here
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