The Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS), an independent expert committee of the European Commission, has just issued its final opinion on the use of aluminum in cosmetic products: it considers the use of aluminum in antiperspirants, toothpastes and lipsticks, in the usual concentrations of marketed formulas, as safe.
Taking into account all routes of exposure (oral, dermal, respiratory) for these three types of combined products, the calculated margin of safety is always greater than 2,000. This means that the amount of aluminum to which the consumer is exposed is at least 2,000 times lower than the dose identified as causing no toxicological effects.
The SCCS considers that exposure to aluminum through the daily application of cosmetic products does not significantly increase the daily intake of aluminum.
This advisory complements and updates the previous 2014 advisory. It analyzes the latest scientific data including those obtained from three studies, two of which date back to 2020. These latest results show, among other things, that the aluminum contained in antiperspirant products is neither absorbed nor stored by the skin. In addition, all the latest evaluations and bibliographies carried out until 2017 by other scientific committees were reviewed and confirm that aluminum in cosmetic products does not play a role in breast cancer.
The Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety is an independent committee of the European Commission, composed of seventeen members who are experts in chemistry and toxicology and known for the rigor of their scientific analyses.
For Anne Dux, Director of Scientific and Regulatory Affairs at FEBEA This study brings to an end more than ten years of anxiety-provoking controversies for consumers who use antiperspirants. The European opinion, which has just been issued after an extremely rigorous procedure, can completely reassure users of these products that are both safe and effective."
