A Survey of the Formaldehyde Content in Commercially Available Shampoos and Skin Care Cosmetics, its Regulation; and a Brief Review of Currently Available Methods of Formaldehyde Determination

Formaldehyde (FA) is a common source of allergic contact dermatitis. The source of FA exposure is often difficult to be elucidated. It is generally agreed that the most frequent FA exposure source is cosmetics. The 2,4-dinitrophenyhydrazine (2,4-DNPH) derivatization method followed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis was used to determine the FA content in some commercial products in the Taiwan market. 57 skin care cosmetics and 35 hair shampoos were examined. It was shown that 24.6% of the skin care cosmetics contained a FA content > 500 ppm. The FA level in shampoos were much less than that in skin care cosmetics. Of the 35 shampoos investigated, only 14.3% contained a FA level >50 ppm, with a maximal level of 149 ppm. Convenient methods for determining FA were also briefly reviewed in this article.(Dermatol Sinica 21 : 209-215, 2003)