Human skin is a protective barrier against the toxic effects of cosmetics. Marketing of cosmetic products with ingredients tested on animals was prohibited in 2013. Since then, safety evaluation of cosmetic products is performed by using alternative in vitro toxicity tests. In vitro 3-D reconstructed human epidermis (RhE) tissue models are now used to define skin irritation/corrosion potentials of cosmetic ingredients and end-products. The main aim of this study was to evaluate skin irritation potentials of topically used cosmetic end-products which were marketed in Turkey during 2015-2017, by using the EpiDerm in vitro 3D-human skin model. Sixty widely used cosmetic products were collected from different markets/cosmetic shops. Among hair care products, only one shampoo was found to be strong/severe skin irritant/possible corrosive while 22 shampoos were moderate skin irritant and 11 shampoos were moderate to mild skin irritant. Among 6 skin care products, one was found to be moderate to mild skin irritant. We can suggest that alternative in vitro tests should continuously be used to test both the ingredients and the final cosmetic formulations.
Keywords: Cosmetics; EpiDerm; In vitro toxicity test.
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