The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has identified 285 cosmetic products containing chemicals banned in Europe.
From the inspections carried out during a pilot project of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) it was found that about 6% of cosmetic products contained dangerous substances prohibited according to European rules. ECHA announced that national agencies in the 13 member states of the European Economic Area (EEA) – which includes Germany – had checked around 4,500 cosmetic products and found banned substances in 285 of them.
Regardless of brand and price
The European Chemicals Agency, based in Helsinki, found most of the banned substances by looking at ingredient lists.
"Inspections were mainly carried out by checking the list of ingredients - which can easily be done by consumers," the European Chemicals Agency said in a statement.
Perfluorononyl dimethicone, which degrades into PFOA and PFCA, was frequently found in eye and lip pencils, while D4 and D5 were frequently present in balms, conditioners and hair masks.
"Consumers should be aware that the banned substances were found in different types of cosmetic products, produced by different companies and in all price categories," the European Chemicals Agency said in a statement./DW