Not recommended for children! State Food and Drug Administration urgently reminds

The website of the State Food and Drug Administration recently issued a consumer reminder on children's hair dyeing and perming cosmetics, and it is not recommended for children to use hair dyeing and perming cosmetics.

At present, some parents dye or perm their children's hair to beautify their image in pursuit of fashion or stage performance effects. However, for children, using hair dye and perm cosmetics will bring certain safety risks. The website of the State Food and Drug Administration issued a reminder on July 21 that children should be beautiful in moderation and use cosmetics safely. It is not recommended for children to use hair dye and perm cosmetics.

The reasons are mainly the following three aspects:

1. Hair dye and perm cosmetics are special cosmetics with higher safety risks

In my country, hair dye and hair perm cosmetics are special cosmetics and can only be produced and imported after being registered with the State Food and Drug Administration. Common hair dye cosmetics on the market generally produce pigment macromolecules that can be fixed in the hair through oxidative polymerization reaction of dye precursors and coupling agents under the action of strong oxidants, thereby changing the color of hair. Common hair perm cosmetics on the market generally use reducing ingredients to destroy chemical bonds such as disulfide bonds in the hair, then use external forces to curl or stretch the hair, and finally repair the previously destroyed chemical bonds to shape the hair, thereby achieving the effect of changing the curvature of the hair. The main functional ingredients of hair dye cosmetics are hair dyes, and the main functional ingredients of hair perm cosmetics are perming agents, which are subject to stricter management in my country. In the "Safety Technical Specifications for Cosmetics", there are more than 70 approved hair dyes such as resorcinol, and common perming agents such as thioglycolic acid are included in the list of restricted components, all of which have clear usage restrictions.

2. Children's physiological characteristics determine that hair dyeing and perming cosmetics are not suitable for children

Compared with adults, children's skin has the characteristics of incomplete epidermal barrier function, immature dermal fiber structure, and imperfect epidermal lipid gland secretion function. Therefore, children's skin has a weak tolerance to external stimuli and is sensitive to foreign substances. After using cosmetics, they may experience problems such as dry skin, redness, and itching. Moreover, children are still in a critical stage of growth and development, and various risk factors may cause more potential adverse effects on them. In addition, children's skin has a thin stratum corneum and a high degree of hydration, loose skin connections, a large surface area to body weight ratio, and strong skin absorption capacity. In addition, children's minds are not yet sound, so they are more likely to accidentally get into the eyes or mouth during use, causing safety risks.

Based on the physiological characteristics of children, the formula design of children's cosmetics should follow the principles of safety first, necessary efficacy, and minimal formula. According to the "Regulations on the Supervision and Administration of Children's Cosmetics", children's cosmetics refer to: cosmetics suitable for children under the age of 12 (including 12 years old) with the functions of cleaning, moisturizing, refreshing, and sun protection. According to the "Cosmetics Classification Rules and Classification Catalog", the efficacy claims of cosmetics for infants and young children aged 0-3 years old (including 3 years old) are limited to "cleaning, moisturizing, hair care, sun protection, soothing, and refreshing"; the efficacy claims of cosmetics for children aged 3-12 years old (including 12 years old) are limited to "cleaning, makeup removal, moisturizing, beauty modification, fragrance, hair care, sun protection, repair, soothing, and refreshing". It can be seen that hair dyeing and perming cosmetics do not belong to the category of children's cosmetics, and children are not recommended to use hair dyeing and perming cosmetics.

3. Potential risks of children using hair dye and perm cosmetics

Due to individual differences, improper use and other reasons, cosmetics may cause adverse reactions, such as "contact dermatitis" caused by allergens or irritants. Some hair dyes, such as paraphenylenediamine, are known to be common allergens. According to the "Technical Specifications for Safety of Cosmetics", product labels using hair dyes must be marked with warnings such as "hair dyes may cause severe allergic reactions" and "not suitable for consumers under 16 years old". Some common ingredients in hair dye and perm products, such as hydrogen peroxide and thioglycolic acid, are relatively irritating. According to the "Technical Specifications for Safety of Cosmetics", product labels using these ingredients generally must also be marked with corresponding warnings, such as "prevent children from grabbing" and "avoid contact with eyes". Due to the differences in children's own physiological characteristics and adults, coupled with insufficient cognitive abilities, they are more likely to ignore warnings, misuse products, or accidentally get into the eyes or mouth, etc., which increases the possibility of causing serious adverse reactions to cosmetics. ‍

Here, the State Food and Drug Administration reminds parents: love beauty in moderation and use makeup safely. It is not recommended for children to use hair dyeing or perming cosmetics.