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Cosmetics and Personal Care Products Q & A



Tell the federal government about what they are doing well and about what they could do better regarding cosmetics and personal care products.

Who is responsible for cosmetics and personal care product safety in Canada?

  • Health Canada

What regulates cosmetics and personal care products in Canada?

  • The Cosmetic Regulations under the Food and Drugs Act
    • The Cosmetic Regulations require that all cosmetics be labelled with an ingredient list and that all are manufactured, prepared, preserved, packed and stored under sanitary conditions

What is the Cosmetics Hotlist?

  • List of intentional substances that are restricted or prohibited in cosmetics
    • It has no legal authority

Are there unsafe products on our shelves?

  • Yes
    • Companies have up to 10 days after their products are first sold in Canadian stores to tell the government what their products are made of which means that hazardous products can be on the shelves before the government even knows
    • US testing found hazardous formaldehyde in children’s care products and lead in lipsticks available in Canada even though both chemicals are on the Cosmetics Hotlist

How can Cosmetic Hotlist chemicals like formaldehyde and lead be in products without being shown on the label?

  • They are supposedly unintentional ingredients (e.g., impurities) and therefore do not have to be labelled
    • The Cosmetics Hotlist therefore does not apply

What happens if the company reports a Cosmetics Hotlist chemical as an intentional ingredient?

  • The company will be asked by Health Canada to voluntarily take action; this may include:
    • Removing the substance from the formulation;
    • Reducing the concentration of the ingredient to an acceptable level;
    • Considering marketing the product as a drug, with appropriate claims and apply for a Drug Identification Number (DIN);
    • Providing evidence that the product is safe for its intended use;
    • Confirming that the product is labelled as required;
    • Confirming that the product is sold in a child-resistant package.
  • If a company does not comply, then the product would be referred to Health Canada inspectors for appropriate action (e.g., seizure or in rare cases, prosecution and fines)

What else does Health Canada do?

  • It conducts random inspections and testing

What needs to be improved in Canada?

  • Manufacturer Reporting

    • Ingredient reporting needs to occur before a manufacturer or importer first sells the products in Canadian stores
  • The Cosmetic Hotlist
    • Needs to be expanded to include all chemicals that cause cancer, are mutagenic, and that cause reproductive/developmental problems (i.e., those on the International Agency for Research on Cancer lists, those on California’s Proposition 65 list, and those prohibited within European Union cosmetics)
  • Labelling
    • Unintentional ingredients (e.g., impurities) also need to be labelled on cosmetics and personal care products
    • Cosmetics need to carry warnings that tell Canadians what the health effects of the chemicals their product is made of are
  • Public Reporting
    • The public needs to be able to find out which companies have put banned ingredients into their products or which companies did/did not take action to fix the problem

Check out our list of ingredients to avoid. And if your looking for some cool additional tips, check out FemmeToxic, a youth-oriented campaign for safe cosmetics in Canada.