Recently, there was news about Sudan Red IV sneaking into cosmetics, and everyone should have seen it. Common brands such as Keyan's and Huaxizi have been affected. The face cream and makeup remover originally used for skin care hide dyes that should be used in the industrial field. While this matter is heart wrenching, we should also have a good conversation about how to determine the safety of the ingredients in the cosmetics we use on our faces every day? Actually, there's no need to just focus on banned ingredients. Even many common ingredients, such as cosmetic emulsifiers, can pose risks if chosen incorrectly.
Why can Sudan Red lurk in cosmetics?
Sudan Red was originally an industrial coloring agent commonly used to color industrial products such as plastics and oils, but it has been mixed into cosmetic ingredients by illegal merchants and impersonated as natural plant extracts. The core reason why it is targeted by unscrupulous merchants is that it has excellent performance but no guarantee of security.
The appearance color of cosmetics is very important. For example, face cream should be natural meat pink, and essence should be transparent amber. Natural pigments are either expensive or have poor stability. For example, beet red is prone to fading when exposed to heat, while carmine is expensive and raw material suppliers usually do not add large amounts. Sudan Red only needs to be added a little bit to make the product bright and long-lasting, with a cost only one tenth of natural pigments. It also has the characteristics of sun and heat resistance, making it a poor choice for unscrupulous merchants.
But its harm should not be underestimated. Dermatologists say that Sudan Red molecules are extremely small and easily absorbed by the skin when applied to the face. Its metabolites can damage cells, and long-term use may damage the liver and even pose a risk of cancer. In the products involved this time, some Sudan Red content is close to 2000 μ g/kg, and the national regulations for such ingredients are zero tolerance and are not allowed to appear in cosmetics at all.
The Sudan Red incident reminds us that the safety of cosmetic ingredients should not only depend on whether there are banned ingredients, but also on the sources and uses of commonly used ingredients. Take the cosmetics emulsifiers that are not very attractive at ordinary times. There are both oil and water in products such as face cream and lotion. The emulsifiers are all used to blend the two. Otherwise, they will be oily and thin when applied, and difficult to be absorbed by the skin.
Emulsifiers also have advantages and disadvantages. Poor quality emulsifiers may irritate the skin, and sensitive skin may experience discomfort such as redness and itching after use; And compliant emulsifiers, such as ceteareth 20, not only make the product texture more delicate, but also have a high degree of mildness, suitable for most people to use. In this Sudan Red incident, some of the involved raw materials were questioned due to inadequate traceability of their ingredients, leading to doubts about compliant emulsifiers. Ultimately, it was the merchants' failure to properly control the procurement of raw materials.
Another example is peg-60 hydrogenated castor oil, which is found in many essence liquids and makeup removers. Its core function is a solubilizer - it can evenly disperse insoluble ingredients in the product, make the texture more transparent, and help the skin better absorb effective ingredients. But if it is
PEG 60 HYDROGENATED CASTOR OIL of unknown origin, impurities may be mixed in, which may actually pose a safety hazard to the product. So when choosing cosmetics, don't just look for banned ingredients, pay more attention to these commonly used ingredients, which are actually more practical.
Help you avoid the cosmetics safety minefield
Ordinary consumers cannot test product ingredients like in a laboratory, but remember the following three points to greatly reduce the risk of stepping on landmines.
Choose reliable brands and legitimate channels: Try to choose brands with good reputation and purchase through legitimate channels such as counters and official flagship stores. Don't choose products that are so niche that you can't find any information just to save money. These reliable brands have stricter control over raw materials, such as using cosmetic emulsifiers that have undergone safety certification and will not use raw materials from unknown sources indiscriminately.
Pay attention to ingredient traceability information: Nowadays, many big brands actively disclose the source of raw materials, such as indicating which compliant manufacturer the
Emulsifier comes from and whether the hydrogenated castor oil has undergone purity testing. If a product only vaguely claims to contain natural ingredients without specifying the specific source of the raw materials, it is necessary to be cautious.
Skin testing for sensitive skin in advance: Regardless of whether the product contains emulsifiers or hydrogenated castor oil, before using for sensitive skin, apply a small amount behind the ear and wait for 24 hours. If there are no discomforts such as redness, swelling, itching, etc., then use normally. After all, everyone has different skin types, and it doesn't mean they are also suitable for others to use it.
Safety is more important
The reason why the Sudan Red incident has attracted widespread attention is that it touches on people's core concerns - we use cosmetics to enhance our appearance and care for our skin, rather than causing harm to our skin. Those merchants ignore the safety of raw materials in order to make their products look good in color and reduce costs, which is completely putting the cart before the horse.
In fact, many compliant raw materials nowadays can meet the performance requirements of cosmetics while ensuring safe use. For example, high-quality cosmetic emulsifiers can make face cream delicate and easy to absorb. Reliable hydrogenated castor oil can make makeup remover mild and have excellent cleaning power. There is no need to use ingredients that pose safety risks in order to save costs and pursue surface effects.
Summary
The appearance of Sudan Red IV in cosmetics is essentially a compliance deficiency caused by a performance oriented mindset. When the coloring ability of industrial dyes is used to impersonate natural ingredients, the industry needs to re-examine the value of raw material performance, which must always be based on safety.
The laboratory's compounding and packaging technology has proven that the performance shortcomings of natural colorants are not irreparable. As long as the enterprise is willing to invest costs and improve the testing process, safety and effectiveness can be fully balanced. For the industry, the real challenge may be how to prioritize safety as a more important competitive advantage than bright appearance.
In the future, with the implementation of the "Management Measures for Safety Information of Cosmetics Raw Materials", full ingredient traceability of composite raw materials will become the norm in the industry. And consumer choices will also prompt brands to shift from overly pursuing visual effects to delving deeper into the field of safety. After all, no consumer will take the risk of damaging their health for a beautiful face cream.
Yichang Mingya New Material Technology Co., Ltd.
