Stability and compatibility test

About the stability and compatibilty test

The cosmetic product stability and compatibility test is required by EU Cosmetics Regulation 1223/2009 and the UK Schedule 34 to the Product Safety and Metrology etc. (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. It is mentioned in part A of annex I of the regulation and is therefore a part of the cosmetic product safety information.

The primary objective of conducting stability testing is to indicate the relative stability level of a product under the various conditions that it can be subjected to from the moment it is manufactured until the end of its validity.

The purpose of the test is to evaluate whether the product will meet the prescribed physical, chemical and microbiological quality standards, and assess its functionality, safety and aesthetics over a period of time during handling, transport and storage under appropriate conditions.

Based on the stability test results, we also assign the shelf life or the period after opening to the product.

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The type and quality of packaging used also affects the stability of the product, as it protects the cosmetic product from the external environment.

On the other hand, potential leaching of substances in the packaging into the product must be evaluated. For this reason, compatibility between the packaging and its contents must be investigated, in order to ensure that no quality problems are introduced by the type of packaging material used.

All cosmetic products should be subjected to the stability and compatibility test; there are no exceptions as for the preservative efficacy test. Stability and compatibility tests must be repeated every time there is a change in the formula, packaging or manufacturing process.

How is the cosmetics stability test performed?

The cosmetics stability test can be performed:

In real time

accelerated

The time that it takes to complete the test and the conditions under which it is performed can vary, as can the parameters that are monitored during the stability and compatibility test.

Real-time stability tests are usually performed at room temperature and take as long as the claimed shelf life on cosmetic product labels.

Due to time constraints, most companies decide to perform the accelerated stability test, which normally includes keeping the samples at elevated temperatures (37, 40 or 45 degrees Celsius) over a period of three months.

CE.way also tests the stability in a refrigerator and performs a freeze-thaw test, which is usually used to predict the stability of the product during transport. If transparent packaging is used, we also test the stability of the product when exposed to sunlight.

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Whichever stability test is chosen, it should consider the following:

It should identify the tests that will predict the effects of normal conditions of storage and use by the consumers

It should evaluate the critical physical, chemical and microbiological properties of each product

Variation in process conditions

The impact of packaging on the contained product and the effect of the product on the packaging

During the stability test, we monitor the following:

Various physical and chemical specifications of the product (such as pH, viscosity and density)

Organoleptic properties of the product

Packaging compatibility

CE.way offers a range of different cosmetics stability tests and we help you choose the right one, based on the type of your product and its desired shelf life. Our stability tests are conducted according to ISO 18811:2018.

And what do they say about us?

Pharmaplast began to work with CE.way almost one year ago. CE.way is our cosmetics consultant who look after compilation of PIF, safety assessments and CPNP notifications. In addition to this, CE.way is our European representative as our company is not located in Europe. Working with CE.way has been a joy so far. Their replies are very swift and Mr Tadej is very cooperative, helpful and with a deep knowledge about the cosmetics regulations. In addition to this, CE.way is very cost effective company in comparison with their European counterparts. For all the above reasons, I really recommend CE.way to other cosmetic product manufacturers.

Mena, Egypt

Pharmaplast

We were looking for a stand-alone service, not too sure what to expect... The professionalism, the assistance and the responsiveness were very much appreciated, amongst the best we have ever experienced.

Carol, Switzerland

Alpure

We are a small manufacturing company located in the US. We recently used CE.way Regulatory Consultants to help guide us through the Cosmetic regulatory changes that have taken place in the EU. They were instrumental in helping us understand the new laws and streamline the entire process. I would highly recommend their services.

Lena and Clay, USA

IBP

We didn't have any knowledge about the registration process for cosmetics in EU and were very concerned about this, but we met CE.way and they gave us whole packages of consultation and support. It was really helpful and we could do the registration without any problem. We will definitely ask CE.way again when we have new product to register in EU.

Masa, Japan

Nash Corporation

We used Tadej and CE.way for EU compliance with our products. He was very helpful and worked directly with our lab which made the process much easier for us. Tadej worked with me directly on all of our products to make sure I had the right documents. I really liked the attention to detail and how I could work with the owner of the company directly. I would highly recommend their services.

Steve, Canada

Curly Hair Solutions

Tadej from CE.way is the best consultant I've ever worked with. It's a great luck that we've found him. He is knowledgeable, fast, helpful & always ready to answer a million questions that we have. We had no exposure to cosmetics market before, so we didn't even know where to start. So he helped us to do EVERYTHING. The quality of service for the amount of money that we pay is absolutely the best! BIG THANK YOU to you Tadej & we'll definitely keep working with you!

Natalia, USA

Hi Tadej, Thank you for your highly professional approach, extremely helpful information and advice on getting our product registration under way and completed in record time! What we thought to be a very tiresome and laborious task was made quick and simple. Thank you again! The Thermitek Team.

Rene, Greece

Funkitup

It's been our first time lodging an application for EU Compliance. Although a big task, Tadej from CE.way made it as painless as possible. His patience and help were invaluable. He was so responsive and was available at all times to work with myself and my manufacturers. We now have our first round of product successfully assessed and notified. I will be placing our next round asap for notification, I can't recommend CE.way highly enough, thanks Tadej - Heather Spierings Eye of Horus Cosmetics.

Heather, Australia

RA Cosmetics

CE.way offers professional and reliable service. The team is diligent and extremely helpful throughout the whole process. We are very satisfied the way the work was executed. We definitely recommend CE.way to others.

Tamar, USA

Nuvision

CE.way made the whole EU process easy to understand. They were very responsive to all our needs.

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Eufora

This is a major investment for a small business like ours and it took me a few years to find a company (CE.way) that I felt comfortable working with! That speaks volume to my appreciation of the quality of your communications with me.

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VB cosmetics

Our company had a great experience with CE.way. They were very organized and provided us with a detailed roadmap of exactly what we needed to gather on our end for them to put together our Product Information File and complete the notification process for the EU. They continued to help us along the way, providing quick feedback on any changes we needed to make to a document for it to work and reminders on what we still needed to provide. They are organized, knowledgeable, fast, and attentive; I would absolutely recommend them to any companies looking to get their products approved in the EU.

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SBBM

CE.way's assistance was tremendous, helping our company navigate the EU cosmetic regulation and efficiently get products to market.

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Inverness

Our cooperation with Tadej and his team at CE.way Consultants aimed to assist us to launch our products in UK for the first time. Tadej is a very hands on and always quick with his responses. The process was smooth and beyond our expectations in terms of cost savings and the speed with which we accomplished our goal. We look forward to working with them again.

Ruta, UK

Art de Parfum

We are really appreciate your speedy replies and clear and understandable guide. As there are a lot of differences in cosmetic regulations between Japan and EU first we thought that it would be hard to make all necessary procedures for our products compliance with EU laws, but thanks for your prompt support, all procedures were made smoothly. And now we are successfully selling MT Metatron in EU. We also thinking to expand our other brands in EU and when we start - definitely will ask your company for assist again.

Olga, Japan

MT Cosmetics, Inc.

After a less than pleasurable experience with another company, we found CE.way and we can honestly say that it could not be more beneficial for our brand. The whole notification process is made as easy as possible. The people at CE.way are all very accessible, knowledgeable and always ready to answer questions. CE.way is a great asset to our company and we are grateful for all the help and support we receive. Navigating through all rules and regulations alone is impossible, with the team at CE.way, we have the best support that we could ask for. Highly recommended in all aspects from their support to their reliable service!

Daniel, USA

NCLA

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