ABSTRACT
The dramatic boom in the development of the color industry led to numerous new colorants and pigments. Because it had become clear that it was not only heavy metals that were dangerous but also colorants themselves or their initial products could pose a threat as well. After World War II, scientific organizations (2) increased their systematic efforts to compile and publish (3) the results of toxicological and dermatological research and encourage further studies. Unfortunately, international cooperation was less intense then, than it is today. This means that there are significant differences between the approved colorants for cosmetics in the European Union (EU), the United States, and Japan, for example. An illustration of this is the colorant patent blue V (C.I. 42051) (4), which is approved in the EU for all cosmetic products (5), but not in the United States or Japan. The same is true of fast yellow (C.I. 13015) and many other European cosmetic colorants. Furthermore, to some extent even approved colorants have different restrictions on their use,b especially for use in the area around the eyes. Table 1 shows the cosmetic colorants in the EU that are also approved for use in the United States and/or Japan. Because they lack fastness, natural colorants (e.g., carotenoids, anthocyans, and chlorophylls) play only a minor role in the process of coloring cosmetics. Carmine is an exception (C.I. 75470); the classic red pigment for lipstick is also the only red pigment in the United States that can be used for the eyes.
