Overview

The South African cosmetic industry is regulated by a very powerful self regulation system.

The industry abides by the requirements as set out in the CTFA - Cosmetic, Toiletry & Fragrance Association of South Africa Compendium. These requirements have been developed by industry, government, the CTFA and SABS (South African Bureau of Standards) and are based on the EU Directive. The EU Directive lays down the requirements for cosmetics sold in the European Union.

The reason that self regulation is very powerful is that industry itself becomes the “watchdog”, so to speak. No manufacturer or distributor wants any other company to have the competitive edge. Should a company, or a consumer for that matter, feel that a cosmetic is making unsubstantiated claims, using ingredients that are not allowed, or that they are selling a substandard product they can raise a complaint through the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority). Companies try to avoid ending up in wrangles through the ASA, as this causes bad publicity for the company and can be detrimental to their business if they are found to have contravened the self regulatory code.

When is a product considered a cosmetic?
If it fulfils the definition of a cosmetic:

• “A Cosmetic Product shall mean any substance or preparation intended to be placed in contact with the various external parts of the human body (epidermis, hair system, nails, lips and external genital organs) or with the teeth and the mucous membranes of the oral cavity with a view exclusively or mainly to cleaning them, perfuming them, changing their appearance and/or correcting body odours and / or protecting them or keeping them in good condition” except where such cleaning perfuming, protecting, changing, keeping or correcting is wholly for the purpose of treating or preventing disease.
• Contains only allowed cosmetic ingredients in the stipulated concentrations
• Does not make any medicinal claims

CTFA Compendium
The CTFA Compendium consists of a number of Codes of Practice and Standards pertaining to various aspects of the cosmetic industry, as well as seven Annexes which deal with the ingredients for cosmetic products. This ensures that very stringent requirements in terms of ingredients allowed to be used, is in place.