Successful marketers know testing is a key component in creating a winning household or personal care product. 

Happi checked in with leading providers in testing about key issues and how they are helping brands across a variety of sectors to back up product claims with data and keep safe products on the shelf.

Experts include Craig R. Weiss, president, Consumer Product Testing Company; Anne Wagner, PhD, scientific portfolio specialist, microbial solutions, Charles River; W. Richard Ulmer, chairman and CEO, InVitro International; Jocelyn Kearsley, senior technical sales manager, Genemarkers; and Jane Tervooren, co-founder and director, Validated Claim Support.

HAPPI: What are some of issues impacting testing services in beauty and personal care and home care right now? 

Craig Weiss: The largest single issue is MoCRA and the requirement for safety substantiation. Even though safety was a requirement since the FD&C Act was first promulgated, now, under MoCRA, the agency has the right to review safety records and the safety standard has changed.

We won’t truly know what the agency is expecting to find when they start reviewing records. Many companies have started stepping up their safety testing programs with added studies and extra subjects in other studies.

Additionally, the states’ regulations are requiring more chemical testing for limited and banned chemicals, elemental impurities, nitrosamines, PFAS and 1,4 dioxane, to mention a few.

Anne Wagner: One of the main issues impacting home and personal testing services right now is the cost pressures that strain financial resources of personal care companies. Budgets are tight but the demand is high and growing in the personal care market. Quality requires investment that should not be cut at the expense of budget restraints. In this environment, testing companies that can offer a middle ground of cost-effective and quality testing, have the best chance of success maintaining business in this rough financial time.

Another area that is impacting testing services is the evolving regulatory landscape, and particularly the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 (MoCRA) which gives additional oversight to the FDA for cosmetics being sold in the United States. MoCRA implementation is still ongoing, and areas are yet to be fully realized, such as the GMP ruling. Testing service companies need to prepare and be able to react as the cosmetics regulations change.

W. Richard Ulmer: Issues impacting testing services: operating cost increases and more demands for speedier service. Testing efficiencies/costs are hurt by delay in Congress of the Humane Cosmetics Act of 2021; non-animal testing is faster and lower cost for every lab. But labs need a reason to switch “customers;” it would be helpful if required by law in the US via this ground-breaking legislation. 

Jocelyn Kearsley: The global beauty and personal care industries are expected to continuously innovate–and the testing industry is no different. The past year has brought changes to US regulations with the initiation of MoCRA. We expect safety and efficacy claim requirements to continue expanding, and closely mirror those of the EU market. Contract testing labs must evolve and stay educated on new regulations to ensure their services meet compliance standards. 

Another issue affecting testing providers is an increasing need to meet tight deadlines. One of Genemarkers’ advantages is our ability to rapidly initiate projects and return data quickly, meeting our clients’ needs for ambitious product launches. Like every industry, it is important to continuously evaluate workflows to ensure efficiency, but most of all, accuracy of results. We are implementing automation where appropriate and evaluating the use of AI in certain areas of our business.

Overall, it is an exciting time for testing labs in the personal care and beauty industry, as new cell and tissue models and testing methods have been rapidly emerging over the past few years. Staying at the forefront of new technologies is how research organizations provide state-of-the-art solutions to bring innovative products to market. 

Jane Tervooren: Testing is being pulled by both regulatory bodies like the FDA and retailers like QVC/HSN and Amazon who have all tightened regulations around safety and environmental impact, leading to more rigorous testing requirements. This increased scrutiny will have a significant impact on beauty and personal care companies, and the basis for minimum requirements has shifted considerably.  I believe that, overall, this is a positive development which will help keep our industry honest and ultimately protect the consumer.  

The growing emphasis on sustainable and eco-friendly products requires new types of testing for biodegradability, microplastic content and overall environmental impact. Consumers are increasingly demanding transparency about product ingredients, pushing companies to ensure that all components are thoroughly tested and safe.  Products labeled as “clean” or “natural” are under more scrutiny and the demand for rigorous testing to validate these claims is high.

The move away from animal testing, driven by ethical concerns and regulatory bans, has resulted in an investment in alternative testing methods like in-vitro testing, which may not be as established or widely available. These alternative methods might not yet fully replicate the accuracy of traditional testing on human subjects, posing challenges in validating results. I think that a combination of methods is the foundation for a successful clinical study.  

Similarly, in areas where there is not yet a clear, defined answer for what is required (MoCRA and “Safety Testing” for Cosmetics as a primary example) for now it is important to look at the distribution channels and end retailers, as their requirements may actually be above and beyond the federal standard.

HAPPI: What are some requests your company has received regarding testing over the past year? 

Craig Weiss: We have seen an increase in safety in-use testing in our clinic and increases in bacterial contamination in our microbiology department due to continued reduction in acceptable preservatives.  With the ever increasing “clean” products lists and reduction of heavy metal, our chemistry department has increased in these testing services.  We are also seeing an increase in in-vitro safety testing requests. 

Anne Wagner: Charles River sells both microbial rapid detection products and identification testing services for the cosmetics industry. Regarding our microbial identification services, we process more than 620,000 samples globally for microbial identification and strain typing services for industries including home & personal care, pharmaceutical, and food industries, just to name a few. Most of our requests are for microbial identification, and we have multiple services with flexible turnaround times depending on the urgency or cost needs to be able to serve the industries that use the data.

For rapid microbial detection, we have the Celsis AMPi-Screen rapid microbial detection platform that provides microbial detection results in 24 hours. We offer a variety of validation test services and protocol packages specific to cosmetics, home and personal care, and over-the-counter (OTC) drug products, as well as flexible technical support to meet companies’ needs. We have helped customers during the past year with our validation support packages, providing a fast-tracked implementation path. Customers can realize the value of rapid detection faster using our validation testing services.

Richard Ulmer: Urgent safety testing requests (US and non-US) due to Amazon suspension of product shipments led to near round the clock service for desperate Happi reader company marketers!  Also was a new “event stimulator” for InVitro International.

Jocelyn Kearsley: The industry’s focus on healthy aging and longevity contributed to a rise in molecular testing from companies of all sizes and sectors. A variety of tests can be performed to evaluate cellular health, including analysis of genomic and proteomic biomarkers. We’ve seen increased requests for genomic testing to identify key genes and pathways involved in the aging process, which can aid in developing products that target these mechanisms. Once only accessible for larger brands with healthy R&D budgets, the cost of these analyses have decreased significantly in recent years.

Studies evaluating the effects of blue light and particulate matter have also been of continued interest. As pollution becomes recognized as a persistent issue, more brands are exploring the impact of environmental stressors on the skin to develop products that repair and protect. To meet this demand, we have developed gene expression panels focused on blue light and environmental stress, and can test tissues treated with products against a range of stressors. 

Jane Tervooren: There has been a significant increase in requests for microbiome testing as an added parameter to many types of clinical studies. These include studies focusing on acne and generally troubled skin, body odor and a wide range of feminine care studies.  Anti-aging, acne and hair care studies remain the most common requests. 

The microbiome is an interesting category as it can take into account the underlying causes for overall skin health in a variety of different areas.  As of now the most difficult part seems to be taking the leap from a highly scientific 16s or shotgun sequencing report and putting them into usable claims that make sense to the consumer.

HAPPI: Tell us about recent developments at your company and what’s next for 2025? 

Craig Weiss: We have continued to grow in services and have added many new instruments in both our clinic and our analytical chemistry departments.  We added a LC-MS/MS to allow us to test for nitrosamines and PFAS.  In our clinic, we added capability to be able to better support sagging skin, wrinkles reduction and hair growth claims.  In 2025, I expect we will continue to see increases in safety, microbiology and chemical testing.

Anne Wagner: One of the most recent developments at Charles River was the launch of the Celsis Adapt Express sample preparation system designed for microbial detection in home and personal care products. The Celsis Adapt Express sample preparation system, coupled with the Celsis ATP-bioluminescence testing platform, enables even faster microbial detection, in eight hours or less. This addition to our portfolio allows for even faster results to drive rapid product disposition decisions. Faster results allow for quick action on product quarantine, product rework or initiating a replacement production run, which will positively impact customers’ supply chain resiliency by reducing cycle times, improving productivity and reducing manufacturing costs.

For 2025, we plan to continue to improve on our already exceptional product and testing services and continue to help our customers every step along the way.

Richard Ulmer: Recent strategic repositioning of InVitro International, announced in September, puts emphasis on global expansion where “kindness and efficiency” in testing is the message. It offers increasing P&L appeal to lab owners as well.

Jocelyn Kearsley: We are always looking to expand our capabilities and offer new, state-of-the-art testing methods to our customers. One of our most popular offerings has been our proprietary, off-the-shelf qPCR panels for cosmetic and personal care product development. These panels are designed as an easy entry point into genomic research for beauty brands, and are an efficient way to screen products to validate efficacy. We are exploring new panel designs to provide comprehensive insights on key functional pathways and product indications aligning with emerging market trends.

We are also expanding our dermal skin models. We’ve recently entered into exciting partnerships to increase access to innovative in vitro cell and tissue models, and ex vivo human tissues.

Proteomics is another area in which we are expanding our testing capabilities. We’ve been offering analysis of single proteins using ELISAs, and are currently validating high-throughput methods for screening large numbers of proteins.

Jane Tervooren: VCS recently added professional videography to our repertoire of highly respected clinical photography capabilities. We are able to take 180 degree before-and-after videos of subjects which is an incredibly compelling marketing tool as an addition to a clinical study.

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Testing Providers

Below are providers of testing services for the beauty, personal care and household products categories.
For more information about the company, please reach out directly using the contact information provided.

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Advanced Science Laboratories, Inc.

New City, NY

845-634-1500

[email protected]

www.advancedsl.com

Advanced Science Laboratories, Inc. is an FDA registered, ISO 9001:2015 certified and GCP compliant clinical testing and claim support laboratory headquartered 35 miles outside midtown Manhattan. We provide custom tailored study protocols to address any of your unique claims.

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Ametek Brookfield 

Middleboro, MA 

508-946-6200

www.brookfieldengineering.com

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BioScreen Testing Services, Inc

Torrance, CA 

310-214-0043

[email protected]

www.bioscreen.com

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Certified Laboratories for Cosmetics, OTC & Supplements

Burbank, CA

818-845-0070

[email protected]

www.certified-laboratories.com

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Charles River Laboratories Microbial Solutions

Charleston, SC

1-877-CRIVER-1 | 877-274-8371

[email protected]

www.criver.com

As a partner for microbial quality control, the Charles River portfolio of Celsis microbial detection and Accugenix microbial identification solutions provide the products and services needed to confirm the safety and quality of home and personal care products while maintaining an efficient and profitable manufacturing process.

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Comprehensive Research Group, Inc.

Minneapolis, MN

612-781-3400

[email protected]

www.crginc.org

For more than 30 years, CRG has provided quality data to the world’s leading manufacturers of personal, beauty and baby care products. It is our sole focus. We deliver superior study execution and data collection for product development efficacy and claims testing, as well as safety-in-use testing.

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Consumer Product Testing Company

Fairfield, NJ

973-808-7111

[email protected]

cptclabs.com

For over 49 years, CPTC has provided a full service testing laboratory for the cosmetic, personal care, medical device, pharmaceutical, and specialty chemical markets. Capabilities include services in clinical safety and efficacy, microbiology, chemistry/stability and in vitro toxicological fields. We are a GMP;  GLP; GCP; ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accredited laboratory with a focus on providing “conception to completion” service.

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Eurofins | EAG Laboratories

San Diego, CA

877-709-9526

www.eag.com

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Eurofins | CRL, Inc.

Piscataway, NJ

732-981-1616

[email protected]

www.CRLResearchLabs.com

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Genemarkers, LLC 

Kalamazoo, MI 

844-220-6231

[email protected]

www.genemarkersllc.com

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InVitro International 

Placentia, CA

[email protected]

www.invitrointl.com

InVitro International is a technology/customer driven provider of non-animal testing methods. IVRO tests are designed to produce eye/skin irritation & skin corrosivity OECD/GHS Regulatory level results to replace/reduce animal or human tests, IVRO offers both laboratory services and test kits.

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Princeton Consumer Research

St Petersburg, FL / Raritan, NJ

727-576-7300 / 609-455-1112

[email protected]

www.princetonconsumer.com

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Q Laboratories, Inc.

Cincinnati, OH | 513-471-1300

[email protected]

www.qlaboratories.com

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RCTS, Inc.

Irving, TX | 972-871-4371

[email protected]

https://rctslabs.com

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Skinobs Platforms

Aix-les-Bains, France

+33(0)7 88 17 00 14

[email protected]

www.skinobs.com

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Solar Light Company, Inc. 

Glenside, PA

215-517-8700

[email protected]

www.SolarLight.com

Solar Light, the leader in Sunscreen SPF and Broadband measurement equipment for 50 years, has developed disruptive new HDRS technology that provides faster and safer measurements. We are your single source for all of the equipment, instrumentation, on-site maintenance, consumables, and application training needed to meet FDA and ISO standards.

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Validated Claim Support, LLC

Teaneck, NJ

201-331-9300

[email protected]
validatedcs.com

VCS is an FDA registered and inspected, privately-held clinical testing site in Teaneck, NJ. Specializing in expert grading, biophysical instrumentation, consumer perception and visual claims, we provide novel testing methods & top-notch photography to help build consumer trust. Experience the best customer service in the industry and contact us today.

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Zurko Research

Madrid, Spain 28023

+34 91 521 15 88

[email protected]

www.zurkoresearch.com

Zurko Research is a leading European CRO with more than 16 years of experience, specialized in in vivo, in vitro and ex vivo testing, as well as regulatory strategy consultancy services.