Fragrance

Education

Regulation

It is well known that a very small segment of the consumer population who use cosmetic products may experience a skin reaction to a product. If this happens, the cosmetic user may seek treatment by a dermatologist who, in turn, may seek information - from the product manufacturer - about the product composition.
If the cosmetic product contains a fragrance compound that may be considered as a possible cause for the skin reaction, it is to the benefit of both cosmetic manufacturer and fragrance supplier, to have a mechanism in place that allows for speedy provision of the required information to the dermatologist about ingredients contained in the fragrance.

PROCEDURE
STEP 1
The dermatologist tries to obtain all the necessary details from the patient about the product that is supposed to be the cause of the skin reaction. An initial step is to check the product’s ingredient declaration (INCI names) in order to identify ingredients that might have been causative. This will also show whether, in fact, the product contains a fragrance; this is indicated by the term ‘Fragrance’ or ‘Parfum’ in the ingredient listing. It should be noted that it is proposed that in future, in the European Union, some selected fragrance ingredients will also be found as part of the ingredient declaration.

STEP 2
The dermatologist may seek further information regarding the product (including specific information about the fragrance).

A first entry could be the consumer affairs department, which should then be able to route the request to the appropriate person.
The more details can be given regarding the concerned cosmetic product, the easier it can be identified. Information that should be available when contacting the cosmetic manufacturer comprises:
- Name of the product
- Name of the brand
- Product code or reference
- Batch code
It is recommended that the consumer keeps the original product that he suspects to be the cause of the skin reaction not just for identification purpose but also in case that further investigations are necessary.

STEP 3
If based on the information received from the dermatologist the fragrance is suspected to be the cause of the skin reaction, the cosmetic manufacturer can identify the fragrance that forms part of the cosmetic product of concern and its supplier. At this step the manufacturer and the dermatologist should agree whether:

a) fragrance information will be provided to the dermatologist through the manufacturer; or
b) the name of the fragrance supplier company (and an experienced contact person) will be given to the dermatologist so that direct contact can be established.

STEP 4
Depending on the agreement made in step 3, the fragrance manufacturer or the cosmetics manufacturer gets back to the dermatologist with the agreed information. If the dermatologist needs samples for further testing the details should also be agreed at this stage and the samples promptly despatched.

STEP 5
Further testing by the dermatologist to investigate the real cause for the skin reaction is to be carried out.

STEP 6
As far as fragrance materials are concerned, the dermatologist should supply the cosmetic and fragrance manufacturer with the results of his investigations (material that caused the adverse reaction, type of application, etc.). This enables the manufacturers to build up a database of important information for their safety evaluations.

Source: International Fragrance Association

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