Personalised policy: Korea MFDS details safety specifics for custom cosmetic manufacturers

This follows the new customised cosmetic regulations which became effective on March 14 this year.

The law defines personalised cosmetics as products made on the spot by mixing ingredients required for individual customers based on skin analysis and counselling and then dividing the mix into smaller quantities.

The new draft, Regulations for Compliance for Custom Cosmetics Business​, proposed several operational requirements cosmetic retailers that offer personalised beauty services.

For starters, it stipulated that retailers must comply with safety management standards when it comes to formulating personalised cosmetics.

Ingredients and raw materials used must meet the cosmetic safety standards of Article 8 of the Cosmetics Act.

Before formulation, retailers are responsible for ensuring the contents are not beyond their expiration dates.

Additionally, ingredients and raw materials must be kept in sealed containers to prevent unintentional contamination,

Retailers should ensure the quality and safety of the final product by reviewing it in advance and are expected to confirm the skin type and preferences of the consumer before formulating.

The consultation period is set to end on June 17.

Bespoke beauty set to boost K-beauty

Players in the South Korean cosmetics industry have identified personalised beauty as its new growth driver.

In 2017, Kolmar Korea acquired a 10.76% stake in EONE-DIAGNOMICS Genome Center (EDGC), a firm specialising in genetic analysis, in order to developed personalised cosmetic products.

K-beauty giant Amorepacific recently debuted the Custom Tailored 3D Mask under the IOPE brand.

The firm had piloted the system in the IOPE Lab located in Seoul for five months from 2017 to 2018.

It was then showcased in January this year at the annual technology show CES 2020 where it was awarded with the CES 2020 Innovation Award for ‘for extending the scope of 3D printing technology from materials like plastic and silicon to liquid-type hydrogel’​.

Minister of Food and Drug Safety, Eui-kyung Lee, paid a visit​ to IOPE’s custom cosmetics lab last month during a CEO meeting involving the major players in the K-beauty industry.

Lee voiced her confidence in the potential of bespoke beauty for the industry and stressed the importance of pushing forward related regulations.

“We have established customised cosmetics as a new growth engine for the cosmetics industry, and we need to improve the system so that we can contribute to job creation and economic revitalisation by increasing corporate global competitiveness through regulatory support,” ​said Lee.

Seo Kyung-bae, chairman of the Korea Cosmetics Association, echoed Lee’s views and noted that the promising field of customised cosmetics has become especially important as the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has caused the global economy to shrink.

Seo said: “The cosmetics industry is constantly innovating and striving for the industry. It has been able to grow up to this point thanks to its aggressive regulatory improvement and support. In the post-COVID-19 era, we will explore new opportunities and become a cosmetics industry that supports the return to healthy and beautiful everyday life.”​