Safety Assessment for Children’s Cosmetics

Safety assessment for cosmetics for children

Children are not scaled-down adults, and children’s cosmetics are not scaled-down adult cosmetics. Lower body weight raises the internal dose from the same applied amount; play patterns mean products get used more heavily, more often and in places they were not designed for; and children’s make-up and glitter products carry ingestion risks that the adult equivalents do not.

This is a full CPSR with the toxicological evaluation and exposure assessment rebuilt for a paediatric user, which is why it sits above the standard tier.

What we look at in a children’s cosmetic

• Body-weight-based exposure for the stated age range, which is what actually drives the margin of safety.
• Realistic use patterns. Children apply more, more often, and less carefully. The assessment models that rather than an idealised adult routine.
• Ingestion. Face paints, glitter gels and children’s lip products end up in mouths, and the exposure model has to say so.
• Sensitisation potential. Fragrance and preservative choices are assessed more conservatively than for an adult product.
• Glitter and effect pigments, including synthetic polymer microparticles restricted under Regulation (EU) 2023/2055.
• Toy-cosmetic overlap. Play make-up sets can engage the Toy Safety Directive alongside cosmetics law — two regimes, not one.

What you receive

A complete Cosmetic Product Safety Report in two parts, prepared and signed by a qualified Safety Assessor:

• Part A — safety information. Composition, physicochemical characteristics and stability, microbiological quality, impurities and packaging, the exposure assessment for your children’s cosmetic, the toxicological profile of every substance, and any undesirable effects.
• Part B — safety assessment. The assessor’s reasoned conclusion on whether the product is safe, together with any warnings or usage restrictions that must appear on the label.

Which laboratory tests you actually need

A children’s cosmetic normally contains a water phase, so the microbiological side of the file matters. The list below is the usual starting point — we confirm it against your actual formulation.

Testing is arranged through our partner laboratories. If you already hold valid reports, we use yours — you are not asked to repeat work.

Typical required documents

This is what we normally ask for to start a children’s cosmetic safety assessment. You do not need every item on day one — send what you have and we will tell you what is missing.