FDA & U.S. Cosmetics Safety Overview

On this page

1. Quick Navigation: Find Articles by Stage
2. First, Learn to Read a Label: Position and Name Are Not the Whole Answer
3. Ingredients and Test Results: What One Result Can Tell You — and What It Cannot
4. On Your Skin and in Your Eyes: Don’t Let “Temporary” or “Just for Looks” Lower Your Guard
5. Same Name, Different Use: Start With Who It’s Made For and Why
6. How to Use This Series

Quick Navigation: Find Articles by Stage

Find your guide by where you’re stuck: first learn to read a label, then how to understand ingredients and test results, then the guides for specific products.

Reading labels and ingredients

• U.S. Cosmetic Ingredient Order: Why Position Is Not an Exact Percentage — An ingredient listed near the top doesn’t mean its percentage is that number.
• PFAS in U.S. Cosmetics: What Labels Reveal—and What to Ask Next — What finding a name on the label tells you — and what not finding one tells you.

Ingredients and test results: what one result can (and cannot) tell you

• FDA’s 2023 Talc Testing: What “Asbestos Not Detected” Means for Your Cosmetic — One sampling round with no detection doesn’t mean the product in your hand is safe.
• FDA’s Gel Nail Polish Remover Warning: Why a Missing Ingredient Name Does Not Rule Out Methylene Chloride — A missing ingredient name doesn’t mean the ingredient isn’t in there.

On your skin and in your eyes

• Temporary Tattoo Labels: Comparing Decals, Henna, and Black Henna Without Assuming Safety — A pleasant name doesn’t mean it’s safe to use.
• Decorative Contact Lenses in the U.S.: Why Appearance-Only Lenses Still Need a Prescription and Proper Fit — Lenses that only change eye color still need a prescription and proper fitting.

Same name, different use

• Hearing Aids vs. PSAPs: What Intended Use Tells You — Both amplify sound, but hearing aids and personal sound amplification products (PSAPs) are made for different uses.

First, Learn to Read a Label: Position and Name Are Not the Whole Answer

Much of the confusion starts with the label. Two assumptions people make when reading an ingredient list each get their own guide in this series. U.S. Cosmetic Ingredient Order: Why Position Is Not an Exact Percentage is about order: the ingredients in a retail cosmetic are generally listed from highest to lowest concentration, but colorants and ingredients at 1% or below don’t have to follow that order — so position alone can’t tell you the exact percentage. And for drug-cosmetic products, the active drug ingredients come before the cosmetic ingredients, so they can’t be read as one concentration table either.

The other guide is about names. PFAS in U.S. Cosmetics: What Labels Reveal—and What to Ask Next is about PFAS: a label can help you recognize a listed PFAS ingredient, such as PTFE — but on its own, a label can neither prove a product contains no PFAS nor settle whether it is safe. FDA’s materials also distinguish between intentionally added PFAS and unintentional presence from impurities or ingredient breakdown. The practical approach this guide suggests is simple: first record exactly what the label says, then take the questions that remain to the manufacturer.

Ingredients and Test Results: What One Result Can Tell You — and What It Cannot

Seeing the word “testing” makes it easy to assume a conclusion has been reached. The real question is how far the testing actually went. FDA’s 2023 Talc Testing: What “Asbestos Not Detected” Means for Your Cosmetic is about FDA’s 2023 testing of talc-containing cosmetics: no asbestos was detected in 50 samples. That is a bounded sampling result — the source material doesn’t identify specific products and lots, so it can’t be matched to the product in your hand, and it certainly can’t be treated as a certificate that a product is safe.

There’s another kind of mismatch between testing and labels: something can be in a product even when the label doesn’t say so. FDA’s Gel Nail Polish Remover Warning: Why a Missing Ingredient Name Does Not Rule Out Methylene Chloride is about gel nail polish remover: FDA found methylene chloride in several such products, and labels frequently omit it. Methylene chloride is not allowed in cosmetics at any concentration. It is also called dichloromethane and methylene bichloride — not seeing any of those names is no proof that it isn’t there. Before buying, read FDA’s warning itself, and leave what you haven’t confirmed as unconfirmed instead of rushing to a conclusion.

On Your Skin and in Your Eyes: Don’t Let “Temporary” or “Just for Looks” Lower Your Guard

Temporary tattoos and decorative contact lenses share something: because they are “not permanent” or “just for looks,” it’s easy to assume there’s nothing to worry about. Temporary Tattoo Labels: Comparing Decals, Henna, and Black Henna Without Assuming Safety starts with three questions: what is being applied, which parts will touch the skin, and what use does the product’s documentation describe? Henna is approved in the U.S. for coloring hair — not for applying directly to skin. Black henna often contains PPD, which is not allowed in cosmetics applied to the skin. A name, a dark stain, an adhesive backing, or a home skin test can’t substitute for a written ingredient and use statement.

Decorative contact lenses work the same way. Decorative Contact Lenses in the U.S.: Why Appearance-Only Lenses Still Need a Prescription and Proper Fit makes it clear: even a lens that only changes eye color and doesn’t correct vision is still a medical device in the U.S., and it still needs a prescription and proper fitting. Looking good is a question of appearance; whether a lens fits your eyes is a question only a fitting can answer.

Same Name, Different Use: Start With Who It’s Made For and Why

The last guide is about a comparison that’s easy to get wrong. Hearing Aids vs. PSAPs: What Intended Use Tells You: hearing aids are medical devices; personal sound amplification products (PSAPs) are designed for people without hearing loss who want to amplify sound in specific situations. They have different intended uses. A PSAP is not a medical device, but it is still regulated under FDA’s electronic product radiation control program — being in a different category doesn’t mean nobody regulates it. When you look at a product, find the intended users and uses it states explicitly. If the wording is vague, leave it as unconfirmed — don’t treat two products as the same thing just because both amplify sound.

The same habit, across all seven guides — what a label or a test result can tell you, and where it stops:

What you see	What it tells you	What it does not tell you
An ingredient listed near the top	Its position suggests a higher concentration	Its exact percentage — position alone cannot give you a number
An ingredient name found on the label	That the name is declared on this product	Whether the product is safe to use
An ingredient name missing from the label	Nothing about that ingredient	It does not rule the ingredient out — a missing name is not a clearance test
“Asbestos not detected” in FDA’s 2023 talc testing	No asbestos was found in the 50 samples tested	That the product in your hand is safe — the samples are not matched to specific products or lots
A “temporary” tattoo	That the design is not permanent	That it is risk-free — henna is approved for hair, not for skin, and black henna often contains PPD
Lenses that only change eye colour	That they are for appearance	That no prescription is needed — appearance-only lenses still need a prescription and proper fitting

How to Use This Series

If you have a product in hand, here’s a suggested order: first read U.S. Cosmetic Ingredient Order: Why Position Is Not an Exact Percentage and PFAS in U.S. Cosmetics: What Labels Reveal—and What to Ask Next to sort out what the label says and what it doesn’t say; then read the guide for your product type; then go back to the FDA & Cosmetics Safety Hub to check whether you’ve missed a related guide. Each guide ends with a place for what is still unclear — that’s not unfinished writing. It’s the habit this series wants to build: if something isn’t confirmed, write it down and don’t rush to call it an answer.