Cholesterol

The safety of Cholesterol has been assessed by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) Expert Panel. The CIR Expert Panel evaluated the scientific data and concluded that Cholesterol was safe as presently used in cosmetic products. In 2004, as part of the scheduled re-review of ingredients, the CIR Expert Panel considered available new data on this ingredient and reaffirmed the above conclusion.CIR Safety Review: Cholesterol is one of the most widely studied naturally occurring organic compounds. Due to the variety and abundance of literature on Cholesterol, the CIR review was, for the most part, limited to current published literature from 1978 to the present.

The normal metabolism and excretion of Cholesterol is well documented in man and animals. Cholesterol is not a significant dermal or ocular irritant. Cholesterol does not appear to have any genotoxic activity in bacterial or mammalian cells in vitro mutagenic and transformation assays. High doses of Cholesterol were teratogenic in tests. Cholesterol is not a promoter, cocarcinogen, or carcinogen.

Clinical studies to evaluate the safety of topically applied Cholesterol were conducted with products formulated with the ingredient. The Cholesterol-containing products were minimal to mild primary and cumulative skin irritants but not sensitizers or photosensitizers.

Cholesterol may be used in cosmetics and personal care products marketed in Europe according to the general provisions of the Cosmetics Directive of the European Union. Ingredients of animal origin must comply with European Union animal by-products regulations.
Link to the EU Cosmetics Directive: http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/cosmetics/html/consolidated_d...