Abstract
Cosmetics are beauty enhancing agents for which microbial quality concerns have been neglected by users who often see them as innocuous. The aim of this study was to investigate the microbiological quality of selected facial cosmetic products. Thirty (30) samples each of in-use and unused cosmetics were obtained from users and cosmetics shops in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. The cosmetics sampled were lipsticks, eye shadows and foundations. The aerobic plate count and enrichment test methods were employed to isolate, enumerate and identify microbial contaminants using conventional presumptive and phenotypic identification methods. Microbial contaminants were present in 80% of the in-use cosmetics and 46.7% in the unused cosmetics. Results revealed presence of Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus spp ., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans, Aspergillus spp. and Penicillium spp in the in-use cosmetics and Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Aspergillus spp . and Rhizopus spp. in the unused cosmetics. Results revealed higher levels of contamination for in-use cosmetics with both pathogenic and non-pathogenic microbial species compared to the unused cosmetics. Results also indicated the failure of added preservatives to effectively inhibit microbial load to acceptable levels. Cosmetic use is on the increase and this study exposes the risk of using contaminated cosmetics products. Keywords : Cosmetics, pathogenic, microbial load
Highlights
Cosmetics are beauty articles or preparations which can be rubbed, poured, sprayed or placed in contact with the human body, with the intension to enhance aesthetic morphological appearance and improve conditions (Mwambete et al, 2009; Noor et al, 2015)
Microbial contaminants were present in 80% of the in-use cosmetics and 46.7% in the unused cosmetics
For each cosmetic sample used, 15 representing inuse samples were randomly collected from female students resident in the University of Port Harcourt hostels and the other 15 representing unused samples were bought from the open market in Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Summary
Cosmetics are beauty articles or preparations which can be rubbed, poured, sprayed or placed in contact with the human body, with the intension to enhance aesthetic morphological appearance and improve conditions (Mwambete et al, 2009; Noor et al, 2015). Cosmetics are made from a range polymers and additives including proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, surface active agents, polymers, vitamins, absorbents, dyes and fragrances (Pinon et al, 2007; Jagessar et al, 2008). These cosmetics formulations and the abundance of water and other physical conditions, make them suitable media for microorganisms (Budecka and KunickaStyczyńska, 2014). Contamination of cosmetics by microorganisms may cause spoilage of the product and may present a serious health risk when pathogens are present (Rana et al, 2014). Contamination may impact on the health of users and bring about economic losses to the producers (Zhang et al, 2009)
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