According to FDA regulations, if a product is intended to be applied to a person’s body to make the person more attractive, it’s a cosmetic under the law, for instance perfumes, colognes and aftershave should all be regulated as cosmetics. However, some products add fragrances for therapeutic purposes, such as aromatherapy products that could relieve muscle pain or headaches, and fragrance products that help sleep. These kind of fragrance products are generally regulated as pharmaceuticals. Other products that may contain fragrance ingredients, but are not applied to the body, including detergent, fabric softener and carpet freshenerare, are under the administration of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

We have collected the latest FAQ on the ordinary cosmetics filing from the Guangzhou Administration for Market Regulation and translated them into English for your reference.

On July 4, 2023, the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) of Malaysia issued Announcement No. 2/2023, to revise the Guidelines for Control of Cosmetic Products in Malaysia.

On July 4, 2023, the European Union Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) published the preliminary opinion on water-soluble zinc salts (SCCS/1657/23). The deadline for comments is set for September 8, 2023.

On June 9, 2023, the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) of the European Union issued final opinion on salicylic acid (SCCS/1646/22). The preliminary opinion on the safety of salicylic acid in cosmetics was released on December 15, 2022.

On June 8, the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) issued preliminary opinions on Methylparaben (CAS No. 99-76-3, EC No. 202-785-7) and Butylparaben (CAS No. 94-26-8, EC No. 202-318-7). The deadline for public consultation is August 21, 2023.

On June 13, 2023, the European Union Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) published the preliminary opinion on the fragrance ingredient "Benzyl salicylate" (CAS No. 118-58-1, EC No. 204-262-9) (SCCS/1656/23). The deadline for comments is set as August 4, 2023.

On June 26, 2023, the European Union Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) released the "Guidelines for the Safety Assessment of Nanomaterials in Cosmetics (Second Edition)" (SCCS/1655/23). The previous "Guidelines for Safety Evaluation of Nanomaterials in Cosmetics (First Edition)" (SCCS/1611/19) was released on October 30-31, 2019.

On May 23, 2023, the European Union issued a notification to the World Trade Organization (WTO) on G/TBT/N/EU/872/Rev:1, proposing to revise the list of prohibited substances (Appendix II) and restricted substances (Appendix III) for cosmetics in the EU Cosmetics Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009. This revision mainly aimed at the use of some nanomaterials in cosmetics, adding the proposal to ban colloidal silver (nano) and limit hydroxyapatite (nano). The deadline for soliciting opinions is July 22, 2023, and the proposed effective date is 20 days after its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

On May 24, 2023, Guangzhou Administration for Market Regulation Released the Cosmetics Re-inspection Process. The main content includes re-inspection application materials and processes, re-inspection fees, application of re-inspection conclusions, forms of non re-inspection, and answers to common questions.