Emilė Tilindytė¹, Ieva Adomaitė², Odilija Rudzevičienė²

¹Vilnius University Faculty of Medicine

²Vilnius University Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Clinic of Children‘s Diseases

Abstract

Background: The prevalence of contact allergens in children‘s skincare products in Lithuanian market is currently unknown. The parents of allergic children are facing difficulties when choosing safe skincare products and tend to associate marketing claims with product safety.

Aim of this study: to analyze the frequency of contact allergens in children‘s skincare products in Lithuania and their association with marketing claims.

Materials and methods. We reviewed 210 skincare products’ type, marketing claims and ingredient labels for contact allergens included in Standard European Baseline and Cosmetics series. Categorical variables were compared using the Chi–square test and Fisher’s exact test.

Results. Out of all reviewed products 202 (96.2%) listed at least one contact allergen. The most frequent allergens in analysed products were fragrances, found in 181 products (86.2%), tocopherol – 64 (30.5%), cocamidopropyl betaine – 59 (28.1%), panthenol – 39 (18.6%), tocopheryl acetate – 39 (18.6%). There was no statistically significant difference between product marketing claims and allergen prevalence (p > 0.05).

Conclusions. The most common contact allergens are fragrances, tocopherol and cocamidopropyl betaine. Contact allergens are prevalent in children’s skincare products irrespective of the marketing claims.

Keywords: contact allergens; children‘s cosmetic products; allergic contact dermatitis.