As European industry’s concerns grow about “politicization” of regulatory programs, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s cosmetics annex directs regulatory authorities pursuing new rules to give due consideration to scientific and technical guidance documents developed through international collaboration.

Canada has agreed to end its practice of quarantining and retesting certain cosmetic-OTC drug products from the US, as part of a cosmetics-specific annex to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. “There will be a very significant and immediate benefit to US exporters of OTC products to Canada,” a Personal Care Products Council exec said.

There are signs of progress in US trade relations and tariff disputes in the EU and China, but visibility is never assured under the administration of President Donald Trump in a volatile global climate.

The International Fragrance Association has given its ingredient safety standards a major overhaul based on a new methodology that accounts for aggregate exposure and an updated Quantitative Risk Assessment model for dermal sensitization.

Analyzing data from around 47,000 women enrolled in its Sister Study, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences found that regular users of permanent hair dye were 9% more likely to develop breast cancer compared with less frequent users. The increased probability reached 60% for African American women who dye their hair every five to eight weeks. Industry and NGO EWG respond.

By shifting to less reactive VOCs, the personal-care industry could reduce its contribution to ground-level ozone without sacrificing product efficacy, which stakeholders say is a virtual certainty under mass VOC reductions proposed in November by the California Air Resources Board.