Beauty Market News: China Cosmetics Regulations Modernized, Florida Stops Local Oxybenzone Bans, More

Following delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, China’s State Council made the country’s updated cosmetics rules official, putting foreign companies on an equal playing ground with domestic entities and emphasizing a risk-based approach to regulation. The State Council approved the Cosmetics Supervision and Administration Regulation in January, revising its framework to align closer with cosmetics regulations in other modern countries. (Also see "Cosmetics Industry Awaits ‘Critical’ Safety Assessment Clarification Under China’s New Framework Reg" - HBW Insight, 24 February, 2020.) It published the text for the regulation on 29 June. Under the rules which go into effect in January 2021, manufacturers will be responsible for registration, product safety, quality and efficacy, and penalties will be imposed on those who are noncompliant.

Attorney Katherine Wang, a partner with Ropes & Gray LLP in Shanghai, says firms using new cosmetic ingredients may receive a reprieve from the previous regime’s protracted approval process as the CSAR lays out a simplified approval for many ingredients, except for those in the high-risk category, such as preservatives, sunscreen filters, hair dyes and whitening agents. The CSAR additionally may open avenues for ordinary cosmetics to avoid animal testing