European cosmetic guidelines are an integral part of medical cosmetics and medical equipment production. On a national level, these guidelines are extended by additional rules and regulations. These regulative standards set clear goals for cosmetic animal testing and cosmetic ingredients in the beauty and cosmetic industry. They make clear which products have to be labelled, how and when. These relatively strict pharmaceutical guidelines have to be so straight forward to protect consumers and their rights.

 

Today, more than 6,000 different ingredients and 2,500 scents are used in the cosmetics and health & beauty producing industry, for example in bubble baths, soaps, flavoured shampoos, perfumes, body lotions or anti-aging vanishing creams. Many ingredients have for decades not been sufficiently medically tested and have caused allergies. Furthermore, people’s skins are more and more stressed by aggressive UV light and environmental pollution. Heating in winter and poor nutrition even more stress one of the most important parts of our body: the skin. Medical research has shown that allergies can be detected by effective allergy testing and can be treated by allergy care products.

 

There is a way out of chemicals and non-natural ingredients in beauty products: Cosmetics manufacturers have begun to specialise in natural cosmetics which resign the usage of aggressive chemical ingredients, dyestuffs or preserving agents. Many suppliers and producers of natural organic cosmetics inform on their website about their policies or even offer service lines for advice and information. The less harmful ingredients a cosmetic product has, the lower is the chance for an allergic reaction. However, products labelled with “sensitive skin“ do not automatically exclude the danger of allergies. Cosmetics for daily skin care such as soaps are recommended with a ph-value of 5.0 to 6.5.

 

The market for medical products, beauty and cosmetics is very fast living and undergoes several short-time changes. As in every consumer industry, product innovation cycles are getting shorter and shorter. The industry is continuously driven by research and development. A website shows greatest responsiveness to these market conditions. A paper catalogue, for example, is very time-intensive and cost-intensive to produce. A website for, for example, first aid kits, sauna furnishing or weight management products saves for this obvious reasons time and money as the latest products can be integrated and updated rather quickly and demand-oriented. Buyers and resellers benefit from this continuous information flow. Many international websites offer also a medical dictionary in which users can look up scientific or industry-related terms.