Consumers' lack of understanding of customized cosmetics made on the spot and implications for regulations and controls.

Customized cosmetics immediately made on the spot are now in the market. The present study surveyed 1084 consumers to obtain general insights into their perceptions and perspectives on this novel type of cosmetic. Over half of the total respondents (57.2%) answered they were likely to purchase customized cosmetics; however, a large proportion of consumers also thought microbiological (59.2%)/chemical safety (69.4%) of cosmetics were not good. This reflects consumer anxiety regarding safety issues concerning the customized cosmetics. Even customized cosmetics are regulated by the cosmetic act in each country (i.e., the Cosmetic Act in the Republic of Korea, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act in the USA, and EC Cosmetic Regulation 1123/2009 in Europe), there have been no specific regulations for customized cosmetics made on the spot worldwide so far. To dispel consumer concerns and establish a principled market for the new cosmetics in the field, proper management plans should be established based on consumer surveys. This study indicated that consumers thought it was important to manage the facility/equipment and safety of raw materials (19.7%, each). We believe this study provides a valuable resource for understanding consumers' perceptions and requirements on customized cosmetics, which contributes to establishing future regulations and guidelines.

Synergistic staphylocidal interaction of benzoic acid derivatives (benzoic acid, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid and ß-resorcylic acid) and capric acid: mechanism and verification study using artificial skin.

OBJECTIVES: The present study was designed to investigate a synergistic staphylocidal interaction of antimicrobials. METHODS: The widely used preservative benzoic acid (BzA) and its derivatives [4-hydroxybenzoic acid (HA) and ß-resorcylic acid (ß-RA)] combined with capric acid (CPA) were investigated. RESULTS: ß-RA was identified as the most effective antimicrobial exhibiting synergistic action with CPA against both Staphylococcus aureus and MRSA. For example, a complete reduction of bacteria (>7.3 log reduction) was obtained within 5 min after treatment with 5.0 mM ß-RA (0.079%) plus 0.20 mM CPA (0.004%), while treatment with each material individually showed low bactericidal effects (<1.5 log reduction). Flow cytometry analysis identified membrane disruption related to the synergistic mechanisms, including the following: (i) membrane disruption by CPA (69.2% of cells were damaged by 0.20 mM CPA treatment); (ii) antimicrobial entry through the damaged membrane; and (iii) cytoplasmic ion imbalance resulting in cell death. We verified that the synergistic combination was also effective against MRSA on artificial skin (99.989% elimination after 5 min). CONCLUSIONS: We used only consumer-preferred natural-borne antimicrobials and a very small amount of material was needed based on the synergistic effects. Therefore, these antimicrobials can be widely used as alternative anti-MRSA compounds in healthcare products, cosmetics, pharmaceutical products, foods and for environmental hygiene.