Mercury has been banned in cosmetics by regulatory agencies, but it persists in some formulations of cosmetic products. Despite the serious health risks associated with its use, mercury is still an attractive ingredient of cosmetic products claiming to lighten skin and remove blemishes. Fraudulent creams and cosmetic products take advantage of mercury's cost-effectiveness and ability to extend shelf life. Because of these properties, mercury in its toxic form, methylmercury, can also be added later to products that have already been manufactured.

The Need for Regulation and Analytical Methods

The identification of such substance is central to the various regulatory frameworks. ISO has addressed this issue by introducing ISO 23674:2022, which emphasizes the use of direct mercury analysis and the ISO 23821:2022 which involves sample preparation and CV-AAS.
Together with our guest speaker Dr. Maximilian Orlandi, Chemistry Lab Manager at Complife Group who has deep knowledge of the analysis of cosmetics and the ISO procedures and Iacopo Avolio, Product Specialists at Milestone, we will review the benefits of these methods.