Abstract
Nanosystems exhibit various innovative physico-chemical properties as well as a range of cosmetic functions, including increased skin retention for loaded compounds. The worldwide nano-market has therefore been consistently extensive in recent decades. This review summarizes the most important properties of nanosystems that are employed in cosmetics, including composition, functions and interactions with skin, with particular attention being paid to marketed products. Moreover, the worldwide regulatory landscape of nanomaterials used as cosmetic ingredients is considered, and the main safety concerns are indicated. In general, advanced physico-chemical characterization is preliminarily needed to assess the safety of nanomaterials for human health and the environment. However, there is currently a shortfall in global legislation as a universally accepted and unambiguous definition of a nanomaterial is still lacking. Therefore, each country follows its own regulations. Anyhow, the main safety concerns arise from the European context, which is the most restrictive. Accordingly, the poor dermal permeation of nanomaterials generally limits their potential toxic effects, which should be mainly ascribed to unwanted or accidental exposure routes.
Highlights
IntroductionPublisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations
The main evidence for the safety concerns about nanomaterials in cosmetics comes from the European Union (EU), since it has the most restrictive regulations
In order to determine whether a nanomaterial is safe for human health and the environment, a series of parameters should be evaluated, and, in particular, advanced physico-chemical characterizations should be performed
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. The current regulatory demands as to the safety of nanomaterials in the cosmetics field, as well as the relevant studies performed to assess this issue, could have implications on future pharmaceutical guidelines To this aim, it is necessary to improve the development of harmonized regulations and establish a standardized evaluation system for the assessment of the efficacy and safety of cosmetic nanomaterials, that, in the future, might be applied to nano-structured pharmaceutical preparations [10]. It is necessary to improve the development of harmonized regulations and establish a standardized evaluation system for the assessment of the efficacy and safety of cosmetic nanomaterials, that, in the future, might be applied to nano-structured pharmaceutical preparations [10] Within this context, the present review describes the most important properties of nanosystems that are used in cosmetics, such as composition, functions and interaction with the skin, and an overview of the nano-market is included, both for cosmetic ingredients and finished cosmetic products. The worldwide regulatory landscape of nanomaterials for use in cosmetic products is considered, with the main safety concerns being highlighted
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