Who worries about putting their fingers into a cream pot every day? Hopefully for us, as consumers, the cosmetic industry has verified that its formulations do not allow the development of the micro-organisms that we introduce into a product during use.
Indeed, after opening, cosmetics are in contact with the domestic environment and the consumer’s hands and body, which introduce a permanent, variable and cumulative microbial contamination into the product. This may become of particular concern when cosmetics are used on specific parts of the body like damaged skin, mucous membranes and around the eyes, or on sensitive groups of people like children under three years, elderly people and persons with weakened immune systems. So, during the development process of cosmetic products that may become an infection risk, cosmetic companies are required to perform challenge tests, or preservative efficacy testing, in order to ensure the microbial safety of products during storage and use.
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