Asian cosmetics - safety and testing

Asian cosmetics (especially Korean and Japanese) have become very popular in Europe and in the US recently. I'm not going to talk about if they're worth the hype or not, since that is not the purpose of this post. In few words : Asian brands tend to cater more for asian skin. For instance, asians are very prone to pigmentation, that's why whitening products are highly sought after, which is the focus of many asian brands. In terms of performance, I think you can find good/bad products whether they're Asian/Au/European or US products. It all depends on what the needs of your skin are. 


What I'm concerned about:  

If you take a look at the ingredients they are pretty much the same thing you find on european/american labels and the list of ingredients is one of the things I look into when I buy a product. I've already made a post on which ones you should look out for when you purchase a product so you can check it out here.
Now, to examine all the ingredients one by one isn't convenient at all, so luckily for us there are some websites that serve this purpose.

-After some research I found out a website similar to the Environmental Working Group's  Skin Deep Database and Good Guide for asian products.


 CosDNA
Here's the link : http://www.cosdna.com/eng/

  • You can search products by name. (Product search)

  •  You can search by ingredients. (Ingredients)

  • If you can't find a product, you can write the ingredients. (Analyze Cosmetics)


It shows the ingredient, its function, if it can cause acne or irritation ( if the number is higher than 2 it is likely it causes acne/irritation) , and its safety.



Animal testing (Korean brands)

There is a list of cruelty free Korean brands on KARA (Korea Animal Rights Advocates) website. 


The list includes cosmetic and household products.

"I can't find the company I want to purchase from."
If the company you want to purchase from is not listed, what you can do is to
email them and ask very specific questions. Ask if the company tests final product, commissions testing of product or ingredients, and whether they have 100% clarity from their suppliers about whether they test or commission.- (animal testing)




Asian cosmetics - safety and testing Asian cosmetics - safety and testing Reviewed by Anna B. on April 08, 2013 Rating: 5

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