Cosmetics refers to a substance that can be rubbed, sprinkled, sprayed or poured or introduced to or otherwise applied to the human body or any other part of the body for cleansing, promoting, altering or beautifying the appearance and involves any article to be used as components of cosmetics.
The Drugs and Cosmetics Rules are those rules that the Government of India established through the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. These rules are responsible for classifying the drugs under the existing guidelines for storage, selling, display and prescription.
All cosmetics and soaps consist of dyes, pigments and colours. For the manufacture of cosmetics and soaps, only those colours that are approved by CDSCO should be used. Colour that does not have approval by BIS cannot be utilized in manufacturing cosmetics and soaps.
Here is a list of colours (their common name) that have been approved to be used in manufacturing soaps under the new cosmetic rules 2020, part II, Tenth Schedule:
- Phthalocyanine Blue
- Citrus Red No 2
- Aqueous Green Paste
- Pigment Yellow 3
- Irgalite Carmine F-P Powder or Pigments Red 5
- Monolite Red 4R HV Paste or Pigment Red 7
Similarly, for other cosmetics, there is a specific list of colours that should be used. But that’s a part of a different discussion.
The inclusion of colours in the list is amended from time to time by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). These colours have been included depending upon their reactions to the human skin ensuring that their use does not harm the consumer.
In case any amends are made to this list by the BIS, the new amend standards should become mandatory for the manufacturing of soaps after six months from the date of publication. A soap being a cosmetic is also required to have a cosmetics license for manufacture, import and sale in the Indian market.