Polyvinyl Acetate

What Is It?

In cosmetics and personal care products, Polyvinyl Acetate is a polymerA naturally occurring or synthetic molecule made up of repeating units called monomers. of vinyl acetate used as a binderIngredients that hold together the ingredients of a compressed tablet or cake., stabilizer and fixative in the formulation of eye makeup preparations, eyeliners and mascara.

Why Is It Used?

Polyvinyl Acetate helps keep emulsions from separating into their oil and water components. It also acts as a binder to hold together the ingredients of a compressed tablet or cake. Binders are ingredients added to compounded dry-powder mixtures of solids to provide adhesiveIngredients that unite or bond surfaces together. qualities during and after compression to make tablets or cakes. Many lipids, surfactants and polymers can be used as binders.

Scientific Facts

Polyvinyl Acetate is a polymer, which means it is made from individual monomers of vinyl acetate connected in very long chains. Polyvinyl Acetate has a variety of noncosmetic uses, including its use in veterinary medicine, as an adhesive, and in resinous and polymeric coatings in food packaging.

Safety Information

The Food and Drug Administration reviewed the safety of Polyvinyl Acetate and approved its use as both a direct and indirect food additiveIndirect food additives are additives that may become part of the food in trace amounts due to its packaging, storage or other handling. For example, minute amounts of packaging substances may find their way into foods during storage.. The safety of Polyvinyl Acetate has been assessed by the Cosmetic Ingredient ReviewThe Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) was established in 1976 as an independent safety review program for cosmetic ingredients. The CIR Expert Panel consists of independent experts in dermatology, toxicology, pharmacolgy and veterinary medicine. The CIR includes participation by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration and the Consumer Federation of America. (CIR) Expert Panel. The CIR Expert Panel evaluated the scientific data and concluded that Polyvinyl Acetate was safe as a cosmetic ingredient.

CIR Safety Review: The CIR Expert Panel noted that because of the large size of polymer molecules, they do not penetrate the skin, and exposure is therefore very low. Although available data did not completely identify all possible trace materials that may be found in Polyvinyl Acetate, the CIR Expert Panel concluded that the concentrations of arsenic and heavy metals were insignificant and presented no safety concern.

In clinical tests, 50% Polyvinyl Acetate aqueous emulsions produced no reactions, suggesting that any unidentified impurities were both nonirritating and nonsensitizing. Neither mutagenicity nor carcinogenicity data suggested any biological activity of concern for cosmetic use.

FDA: Link to the FDA Code of Federal Regulations for Polyvinyl Acetate

Polyvinyl Acetate may be used in cosmetics marketed in the Europe according to the general provisions of the Cosmetics Regulation.

Link to the EU Cosmetic Regulation:
http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/consumers/product_labelling_and_p…

More Scientific Information

Polyvinyl Acetate is the homopolymer of vinyl acetate, also called ethenyl acetate, used in cosmetics and personal care products as a binder, emulsion stabilizerIngredients that help to keep an emulsion from separating into its oil and liquid components. and hair fixativeIngredients that help hair hold its style by inhibiting the hair?s ability to absorb moisture..

Resources

Find out more about the regulation of Food Additives by the Food and Drug Administration

Food Ingredients and Packaging: http://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/default.htm

Food Contact Substances: http://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/PackagingFCS/defaul…

Substances Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS“GRAS” is an acronym for the phrase Generally Recognized As Safe. Under sections 201(s) and 409 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the Act), any substance that is intentionally added to food is a food additive, that is subject to premarket review and approval by FDA, unless the substance is generally recognized, among qualified experts, as having been adequately shown to be safe under the conditions of its intended use, or unless the use of the substance is otherwise excluded from the definition of a food additive.): http://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/GRAS/default.htm

Search the Code of Federal Regulations http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/cfrsearch.cfm

EU Cosmetics Inventory http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/cosmetics/cosing/