Regulatory Adherence and Safety in Pigment Colours for Colour Cosmetics

 Pigment colours are one of the growth-enablers for the cosmetic industry. To sustain competition, colour cosmetic manufacturers have to innovate and find colours that can set new trends. Be it ultramarine blue or Quinizarine Green, a spectrum of colours is needed for the intended sales and marketing purposes. However, regulatory adherence cannot be overlooked in the rush for producing innovative colours. There are laws and regulatory standards to be followed for using pigment colours in color cosmetics. These stringent cosmetics regulations enable companies to offer safe-to-use cosmetics to customers while staying away from legal hassles.

 

What’s important in the manufacturing of colour cosmetics?

Following aspects are to be considered during the formulation of the right colourants for cosmetic products by cosmetic colour manufacturers:

• Performance of the colourant
• Stability of a colourant
• International compliance

Of the given three aspects, international compliance is key when it comes to selling products. If a formulation is stable and well-performing but not compliant with the laws of the country it is intended for, the formulation is a failure. For example, Cosmetic Regulation 1223/2009/EU has to be followed if the formulation is to be created for a hair colourant to be sold in the European Union.

 

Infrastructure and expertise aids regulatory adherence

The environment where colors are made is important.In reality, infrastructure empowers colour manufacturers. Koel Colours has state-of-the-art in-house facilities such as a product and application development laboratory. The lab supports Koel’s technical experts to research and create customised solutions for pharmaceutical and cosmetic companies.

Essential testing for cosmetic colors matters a lot.To indicate the quality of products, certifications are important for companies. Koel Colours is among the best cosmetic pigment colours manufacturers because of the quality standards that it follows for enabling clients to launch compliant products for different markets. Metals in Koel’s pigment colours for cosmetics are present within the safety limits of the respected regulatory authorities such as FDA.

Technical know-how of manufacturers is critical. Koel Colours is an ISO 9001:2008 company that produces colours as per schedule Q/IS:4707 Part 1:2001. As a professional manufacturing company, Koel has a Drug Master File (DMF) of all available pharmaceutical colours. Also, the manufacturing plant of Koel Colours is approved by the Indian FDA for producing iron oxides, titanium dioxides and different kinds of colours.

 

Safety and Ethics

Cosmetic colour manufacturers who advice cosmetic brands should be able to assess the risk of using specific colours in suggested formulations. This knowledge will ensure that the efforts put into producing a colour pay off with the necessary go ahead from concerned authorities. Respected cosmetic colours manufacturers follow ethical ways to produce colours. Ethics is not limited to following the regulatory guidelines of export-oriented colourants. Safety of the end-user is equally important for responsible colour manufacturers.

By adhering to Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), ethical businesses develop colourants that are safe for end users. In the United States, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sets the guidelines and safety standards for cosmetic products. Cosmetic products for Canada have to be developed in line with the Food and Drugs Act along with the cosmetics regulations. In India, Drugs and Cosmetics (D&C) Act 1940 along with Rules 1945 is applicable for creating compliant cosmetic products for Indian consumers.

The regulatory laws and safety standards are created by government authorities to ensure the safety of consumers. These initiatives also make sure that the consumers get superior quality products by top cosmetic brands.

 

For more information on regulatory adherence and safety pertaining to pigment colours for your cosmetic brand, contact Koel’support specialist sales@koelcolours.in / sales.int@koelcolours.in.

All You Need To Know About Dyes and Lakes

 Food colour is divided into two broad categories, artificial and natural. The former is also known as certified colour and each batch of this colour when manufactured is tested by the FDA (Food and Drug Organization). When this institute approve of the sample tested, the product obtains certification which declares it fit for consumption according to the predefined standards set by the government. Therefore, it is known as certified colour; however, there are some colours which can be used for drugs and cosmetics dyes but not for food products.

There are numerous groups which are interested in natural colours however; most food and confectionery products are now created using artificial colours. Listed below are the seven dyes commonly used for food products.

• FD&C Red 3 – It offers a pink shade when dissolved in water.
• FD&C Red 40 – It provides a red shade when dissolved in water.
• FD&C Yellow 5 – This dye offers a yellow shade after being dissolved in water.
• FD&C Yellow 6 – This dye on being dissolved in water offers orange shade.
• FD&C Blue 1 – This dye offers sky blue shade on being dissolved.
• FD&C Blue 2 – This dye creates dark blue shade on being dissolved in water.
• FD&C Green 3 – With this dye one can get a bluish green shade on dissolving it in water and it is one of the most rarely used food colours. It is also the most expensive dye and is not exactly a green shade. It is much closer to aqua and can be created using Yellow 5 and Blue 1, without having to such a high price for the original dye. By adding the above mentioned colours in combinations one can create almost any shade of cosmetic lake colours.

All the FD&C colours are created by using dyes or aluminium lakes. Listed below are some prominent differences between Dyes and Lakes.

Dyes are distinct chemicals which on being dissolved in water display their colouring power. They are water soluble, do not mix with oils and can be purchased as power format granular form which is comparatively less dusty.

Aluminium lake colours are insoluble substances which offer tints on being dispersed. Lakes are created using dyes and can be dispersed in oil. However, they are not soluble in oil and therefore are often mixed with oils and fats. These substances can also be dissolved in other carriers including sugar solution and glycerine.

Application of Lakes

• Colouring a fat based product – Chocolate and other compound coatings are some of the products used, and for creating the colour, lakes are dispersed in highly stable and premium quality vegetable oil. This dispersion is then added directly to the chocolate to dye it according to the colour one requires.
• Resistance in bleeding – Dyes are soluble and therefore bleed, and move from part of the product to another. This is problematic in case of products with multiple colours and well defined boundaries. If bleeding is an issue lakes might be substituted instead of dyes.
• Hard panning – This is the technique used for dyeing the outside layer of pills or gum balls. For this purpose a sugar and water dispersion is created.