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Shelf Life Tests in Cosmetic Products

  • BLOG
  • Shelf Life Tests in Cosmetic Products

Stability Tests are performed to ensure product safety of cosmetics, which are an integral part of our daily lives. Stability Tests are indicative of any changes in the physical, chemical and microbiological criteria of the product during the specified shelf life.

Apart from the functional uses of cosmetics, it is extremely important that they are stable. Stability tests enable us to learn the physical, microbial and chemical quality of the product as well as the adequacy of the packaging during storage, transportation, sales and consumption of the end user.

Stability Tests are applied in two ways: Real Time and Accelerated Aging Tests.

In the real-time stability test, the product is kept in an environment that meets the normal sales conditions and the physical, microbiological and chemical changes that may occur in the product are monitored. Accelerated Aging Tests, which utilize mathematical modeling, are widely applied today, since there are difficulties in performing real-time stability tests on products with a shelf life of 1-2 years or more covered by durable consumer goods.

Accelerated aging tests are carried out in artificial environments containing temperature and humidity outside normal sales and consumption conditions. After accelerated aging tests, the necessary physical, microbial and chemical analyzes of the product are made to ensure that we have prior knowledge of the stability of the product.

Before starting accelerated aging tests, all the necessary information about the content, packaging and physical structure of the product must be obtained and the information must be notified by the manufacturer in advance. Temperature and times vary from product to product.

For example, for a wet wipe with a shelf life of 2 years, the Accelerated Aging Test at 40 and 50 degrees is applied. For a shelf life of 2 years, the product has a waiting time of 40 days at 210 degrees. The shelf life of the same product is 50 days for a shelf life of 2 years105 days. As you can see, the Accelerated Aging Test is inversely proportional to the temperature. The higher the temperature, the shorter the time. However, it should be noted that at the end of this period, there should be no physical, chemical or microbiological problems. Therefore, when determining this temperature, the softening temperature of the product packaging, the decomposition temperature of the product content, etc. should be taken into consideration.

There is no international standard for cosmetic shelf life in the sector. Therefore, shelf life tests performed in cosmetic products to be put on the market are carried out as 90 days at 40 degrees.

At the end of the holding period, the products are subjected to color, odor, appearance, pH, weight change, viscosity, microbial load and, if necessary, antimicrobial efficacy and packaging tests according to international pharmacopoeia analysis methods. Breaking, cracking and sealing tests of packaging materials are just as important as product tests.

In accelerated aging studies, it should be understood that the analysis parameters determined according to the type of the product can not maintain the stability of the products during the shelf life of the product if the test results show any negativity and the manufacturer should make necessary changes in both the product content and the packaging.

As a result, Accelerated Aging Tests are the tests that should be performed to prevent potential problems that may occur later on in the product and to prevent material and moral damages such as the collection and recall of the product from the market.

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