Shellac
What Is It?
Shellac is a resinous material refined from the secretions of a specific insect species. In cosmetics and personal care products, Shellac is used in hair sprays, eyeliners and mascara.
Why Is It Used?
Shellac holds together the ingredients of a compressed tablet or cake, helps to keep an emulsionA mixture of two liquids that normally cannot be mixed, in which one liquid is dispersed in the other liquid as very fine droplets. Emulsifying agents are often used to help form the emulsion and stabilizing agents are used to keep the resulting emulsion from separating. The most common emulsions are oil-in-water emulsions (where oil droplets are dispersed in water) and water-in-oil emulsions (where water droplets are dispersed in oil). from separating into its oil and water-soluble components and helps hair hold its style by inhibiting the hair’s ability to absorb moisture.
Scientific Facts
Shellac made from the resinous secretion of the insect Laccifer lacca. This insect, which is found in Asia, is also called Tachardia lacca or Karria lacca.
Safety Information
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) includes Shellac on its list of indirect food additives. It may be used as a component of coatings that come into contact with food. The safety of Shellac 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 cosmetic-grade Shellac was safe for use in cosmetic and personal care product formulations at concentrations up to 6%. In 2008, as part of the scheduled re-evaluation of ingredients, the CIR Expert Panel considered available new data on Shellac and reaffirmed the above conclusion.
CIR Safety Review:
Results of acute testing showed no adverse effects after oral, dermal, ocular or respiratory exposure. Chronic inhalation exposure produced no observable toxicity. Based on clinical data, the CIR Expert Panel concluded that cosmetic-grade Shellac was safe for use in cosmetic and personal care product formulations at concentrations up to 6%. The CIR Expert Panel’s conclusion was limited to the refined wax-free bleached or cosmetic-grade Shellac.
Link to FDA Code of Federal Regulations for Shellac http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?fr…
Shellac may be used in cosmetics and personal care products marketed in Europe according to the general provisions of the Cosmetics Regulation of the European UnionUnder the general provisions of the cosmetics regulation of the EU, ingredients appearing on the following function-specific annexes must comply with the listed restrictions and/or specifications: colorants (Annex IV), preservatives (Annex V), UV filters (Annex VI) and other ingredients with specific concentration limits and/or other restrictions (Annex III). Ingredients specifically prohibited from use in cosmetic products are listed in Annex II. Other ingredients listed in the EU cosmetic ingredient database (CosIng) may be used without restrictions..
Link to the EU Cosmetic Regulation: http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/consumers/product_labelling_and_packaging/co0013_en.htm
More Scientific Information
Cosmetic-grade Shellac is a mixture of hydroxyaliphatic and alicyclic acids and their polyesters.
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/default.htm
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/