[Exclusive] "7,000 Ingredients and 10-Step Filter Verification"... Cosmax Develops First Cosmetic Safety System

Over 7,000 Raw Material Inspections and a 10-Step Verification Filter System
First in Korea's Cosmetic ODM Industry to Introduce QSAR Program
Launch of Genuine Sensitive Skin Cosmetics... Supporting Overseas Exports to the US, China, India, and More

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] Cosmax, the world's number one cosmetics research, development, and manufacturing (ODM) company, has developed a global-level cosmetics safety program and is launching truly verified sensitive skin cosmetics.

The First Cosmetics Safety Program Developed in Korea

On the 1st, Cosmax announced that it has created a product development system suitable for sensitive skin, covering everything from raw materials and formulations to post-management.

Recently, regulations on cosmetics quality and safety have been tightening mainly in the United States and Europe. As sustainability has emerged as an important issue, not only the effects on the human body but also cosmetic ingredients that may cause environmental pollution or ecosystem destruction are being scrutinized.

This is due to the establishment of a consumer culture called Checksumer, who thoroughly searches product ingredients, raw materials, and user reviews before deciding on a purchase. Clean beauty, which completely excludes harmful ingredients, and vegan beauty, which excludes animal testing and animal-derived ingredients, have emerged as global trends, raising consumer expectations.

Currently, products released as sensitive skin cosmetics in the market mostly select ingredients from a marketing perspective according to market trends such as minimal formulations and single ingredients. Safety verification is also at a level no different from general products, such as skin irritation tests or non-comedogenic tests that evaluate acne-causing potential.

Cosmax has strengthened standards from the ingredient selection stage with the goal of developing truly sensitive skin cosmetics for the past two years. It completely blocks prohibited and restricted ingredients from major countries such as Korea, China, and Europe and uses only verified ingredients to develop the SensiFilter™ system. To develop the program, more than 7,000 ingredient components were reviewed, including cosmetic regulatory ingredient reviews by country and safety standards of global clients, reflecting the diverse needs of various customers.

In particular, Cosmax introduced and applied QSAR (Quantitative Structure Activity Relationships), which analyzes the physical and chemical structure of ingredients to predict not only allergies but also toxicity in advance, for the first time in the Korean cosmetics ODM industry. Patch tests are also conducted to check for irritation reactions when high doses of ingredients contact the skin.

Park Saerom, head of the Safety and Efficacy Research Team, said, “We made great efforts to develop products with high formulation stability and efficacy while excluding fragrances, essential oils, and surfactants that can irritate the skin,” emphasizing, “Experimental results showed a 150-200% improvement in moisture retention compared to existing products, along with an increase in durability by more than 8 hours.”

Launching Sensitive Skin Cosmetics... Spreading K-Beauty

Cosmax focuses on the formulation development stage to launch properly verified sensitive skin cosmetics for the first time in Korea. First, the products undergo seven stages of safety verification, including ▲usability tests ▲allergy tests ▲animal alternative tests. High standards are also applied in efficacy evaluation stages such as moisturizing durability and skin soothing to enhance product quality.

Cosmax plans to actively support overseas exports for clients using this system. Last year, it changed and expanded its existing Safety and Efficacy R&I (Research & Innovation) to SRE (Safety, Regulation, Efficacy) R&I and established a system that supports market trends, regulations, policies, and export procedures of overseas markets all at once.

A Cosmax official explained, “By confirming regulations and safety verifications of each country in advance at the formulation stage, product development speed has greatly improved,” adding, “It contributes not only to products with concepts desired by clients but also has high utility from a marketing perspective.”

Now, by simply inputting cosmetic formulations into Cosmax’s SensiFilter system, one can instantly check ▲ingredient safety ▲cosmetics-related laws of major export countries ▲compliance with global client standards.

Park Myung-sam, director of Cosmax R&I Center, said, “We operate safety research according to global standards to develop and produce products of quality that consumers worldwide can trust and use,” and added, “Based on high reliability, we will strive to ensure that K-Beauty (Korean cosmetics wave) successfully settles worldwide.”

Meanwhile, the sensitive skin cosmetics developed by Cosmax are scheduled to be launched through clients in the second half of this year, consisting of three basic line products: toner, cream, and essence.