Grimas uses legally permitted and REACH-registered raw materials for its cosmetics. Of the permitted pigments and colorants, Grimas only uses those that may also be used near the eyes and the mucous membranes.
The EU Cosmetics Directive indicates which raw materials or ingredients may and may not be used in cosmetic products. We work both with positive lists (which substances are permissible) and negative lists (prohibited substances).
These lists are presented as appendices.
Ingredients are indicated by their INCI names. INCI is the abbreviation for the International Nomenclature for Cosmetic Ingredients. This international naming convention ensures clarity. It allows end users to see which ingredients have been processed in a product. This may be useful if you are allergic to a certain compound.
The European Union determines in some cases how high the concentration of a colorant in a cosmetic product may be.
Types of colorants
Pigments are opaque whereas colorants give a transparent effect. Because Grimas makes decorative cosmetics that therefore have to create a covering layer, we mostly use pigments.
Pigments have the property of being insoluble in water. They also do not penetrate the skin as a colorant might.
In addition to pigments, Grimas also uses colorants that have been treated so that they almost have the same properties as pigments. Certain pigments can for instance contain too much of a heavy metal, such as cadmium in cadmium yellow.
Pigments and colorants have a CI code. CI is the abbreviation for 'Colour index'.
