Abstract
Many recommended stability practices have been unchanged for decades and yet the retail landscape has considerably evolved during that time. First, as a result of the rise of social media and second in the wake of the COVID-19 global pandemic. This article reviews the published guidelines available to the cosmetic scientist when developing a suitable stability protocol and considers them in the context of a changing retail landscape. It sets the context with a background to stability testing and a summary of the relevant regulations across different territories. It outlines the current recommended guidelines for stability testing as stated in publications, including the International Federation of the Societies of Cosmetic Chemists (IFSCC) monograph and Cosmetics Europe. Modern advances in stability testing are also considered including early stability prediction techniques. The article concludes that accelerated stability testing is not a precise science, rather a prediction of shelf life. Scientists must consider the various modes of transport, sizes of shipments and regulation in the country of destination as well as the new and emerging ways of consumer production interaction when developing a suitable stability protocol for their formulation.
Highlights
Many recommended stability practices have been unchanged for decades and yet the retail landscape has considerably evolved during that time
Postles established in a review of the current stability testing guidance that the techniques involved in accelerated stability testing are generally unreliable, concluding that the methodology is inappropriate for predicting long-term shelf life [22]
The varied retail approach coupled with the need for pristine product condition highlights the challenges involved in designing a suitable stability protocol
Summary
Stability is defined in Cambridge dictionary as a situation in which something is not likely to move or change [4]. Specification might include various characteristics like appearance, pH, viscosity or efficacy They need to be measurable and applicable to a product type. Following the exit of the United Kingdom from European Union in 2020, cosmetic products in the UK are regulated by Schedule 34 of The Product Safety and Metrology, etc. Products which fall under the category of an Over-the-Counter Drug in US, like sunscreen or anti-acne treatments, must conform to Current Good Manufacturing Practice for Finished Pharmaceuticals that provides some specifics regarding testing [11]. Cosmetic Regulation, in the Guidelines for the safety assessment of a cosmetic product specifies stability needs to be considered [14].
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