Influence of the container on the consumption of cosmetic products.

The container, also known as primary package or inner package, could be defined as the packaging designed to come into direct contact with the cosmetic product. To author's knowledge, no study was available regarding the effect of the primary package on the consumption of cosmetic products. The aim of the study was to assess the impact of the container on the consumption of three cosmetic products widely used, i.e. shampoo, shower gel and emollient cream. The three products were contained in a tube with a flip top cap and in a bottle with a pump. The study was conducted on 221 French adults: 108 women and 113 men. Results showed that the consumption of each cosmetic product was slightly higher when the product was packaged in tube with a flip top cap than in bottle with a pump. The difference of consumption could vary from 5 % to 23 % when calculated with mean values. This information could be interesting for safety evaluators, safety agencies and commercial services of cosmetic manufacturers.

Probabilistic exposure assessment of sun care products.

The aim of this study has been to assess the consumption and the exposure to 6 types of sun care products: sunscreen cream, sunscreen milk, sunscreen spray, sunscreen stick, moisturizing cream with SPF and after-sun milk. Consumption data were obtained from 75 clinical safety studies conducted on 3001 subjects: 371 children aged 3-9, 149 children aged 10-14 and 2481 adults aged more than 15. Exposure was assessed using a probabilistic method. Strength of the study include stratification of consumption and exposure data according to sex and age, as well as other important points such as the galenic form, the site of application and the value of the sun protection factor.

Exposure assessment of family cosmetic products dedicated to babies, children and adults.

Very few consumption and exposure data is available for family cosmetic products. The aim of the present study was to assess the consumption and the exposure to family cosmetic products used by babies, children and adults. 10 categories of products were studied: shampoo, shower gel, solid soap, cleansing lotion, emollient foam, emollient bath, cream, milk, balm and lip balm. Consumption data were obtained from 2994 participants (789 babies aged 0-3 years, 837 children aged 4-12 years and 1368 adults aged more than 18 years) included in 87 clinical safety studies. Exposure was performed using a probabilistic method. The implementation of consumption and exposure assessment by age has strengthened this work, as consumption and mainly exposure differences were shown. In fact, babies were always the most exposed to family products, followed by children and adults. These original data will be useful for safety assessors and safety agencies in order to protect consumers.