화장품 색소 성분의 안전성과 소비자 피해 사례에 관한 고찰 = Review of Safety of Cosmetic Colorant Ingredients and Consumer Damage Cases

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

In this study, we reviewed the safety of cosmetic colorants and the associated consumer damage cases. We propose recommendations to improve the safety management of these ingredients. To achieve this, we conducted a literature review using domestic and international academic publications, reports from public institutions [eg. the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the Korea Cosmetic Association (KCA)], and safety assessment materials published by the EU Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Our analysis demonstrated that cosmetic colorants are classified into tar dyes, inorganic pigments, organic pigments, lake colorants, natural colorants, and special-effect colorants. There are distinct safety concerns for each group.
Specifically in lip and eye-region products, tar dyes were found to be associated with possible links to allergic contact dermatitis, cheilitis, and pigmented contact dermatitis. Inorganic pigments raised important concerns regarding heavy metal impurities and repeated exposure. Further assessment of the structural and substrate-related characteristics of organic pigments and lake colorants were required. There were ingredient-specific evaluations of natural colorants and special-effect colorants with regard to allergic reactions, application on sensitive areas, and exposure pathways.
Consumer damage cases were reported mainly in lip products and eye cosmetics. The major types of damage, included allergic and pigmented contact dermatitis, irritation of the eye area and mucosa, safety concerns related to heavy metal impurities, insufficient labeling of colorants, and disputes arising from discrepancies between labeling or advertising claims and actual ingredients. The major factors aggravating consumer damage, include limitations in labeling of ingredients; consumer misinterpretation of marketing claims, such as “natural,” “mineral,” and “lowirritation;” and regulatory blind spots involving overseas direct-purchase products. From our findings, we recommend that the safety management of cosmetic colorants should move beyond simply maintaining a list of permitted ingredients and should be expanded to include consumer-friendly ingredient information, strengthened safe-use guidelines for products applied to sensitive areas, improved systems to collect adverse event data related to colorants, and refined management systems aligned with international regulatory standards.