Cosmetics glossary

Advising consumers

The language of labels

Basics:Cosmetics glossary

Green Dot

Logo indicating that the manufacturer of the product on which it is affixed contributes financially to the collection, sorting and recycling of its packaging.

IFRA

Founded in Geneva in 1973, IFRA is the International Fragrance Association, the official international body representing the fragrance industry. Its main goal is to ensure the safety of fragrance raw materials for health and the environment through a dedicated scientific program.

CMR

An acronym for substances that are Carcinogenic, Mutagenic (inducing permanent changes in the number and/or structure of the body’s genetic material) or toxic to Reproduction (e.g. by causing malformations of the sexual organs or impairing sperm quality).

Cosmetic Product

What is a cosmetic product? We all have the feeling that we know this… but we can also make mistakes sometimes! And the question is not insignificant, since the status of a product determines the regulations, and the obligations, that apply to it. In Europe, a cosmetic product is governed by Regulation 1223/2009, and it is in this text that its definition must be sought.

EthicAdvisor

This logo, awarded by the private company EthicAdvisor, aims to distinguish ethical products in three dimensions: the health, the social and the planet.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Skin ageing is an unavoidable phenomenon … Wrinkles and fine lines, as any other cutaneous change, are only an image on our face of the passing of tim...

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

In the cosmetics vocabulary, a serum has a fluid texture, and is more concentrated in active agents than a standard care product, for an increased eff...

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

A plasticizer softens and makes supple another substance that otherwise could not be easily deformed, spread or worked out. They are widely used for e...

Saturday, April 2, 2011

US Food and Drug Administration

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Hydrolipidic film

Skin is not directly in contact with the outside world: in fact, it is covered with a protective film, which allows skin for the maintaining of its mo...

Monday, March 21, 2011

A chronic skin disease, considered as benign, leading to thick patches of skin with dander (dead skin flakes) that may become whitish skin lesions.

Monday, March 21, 2011

A skin disease, also known as atopic (a term describing a genetic predisposition to develop an allergy) dermatitis, characterized by dryness of skin a...

Monday, March 21, 2011

Atopic Dermatitis

A chronic skin disease, also known as atopic (a term describing a genetic predisposition to develop an allergy) eczema, characterized by dryness of th...

Monday, March 21, 2011

A chronic skin disease due to an abnormal thickening of the stratum corneum, and leading to a severe dryness of skin and to a scaly skin (dander, i.e....

Friday, March 18, 2011

An abrasive agent removes materials from many body surfaces or helps for the mechanical teeth cleaning or enhances gloss.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Hair is considered as an annex of skin, made of keratin. Colour, thickness or apperance may be different; hair is an image of our culture or our origi...

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Nail is a skin annex. It comes as a hard, smooth and translucent "blade" protecting the end of the upper face of fingers and toes. For centuries,nail...