Cosmetic Products Technical Regulation of Cosmetic and Personal Care Products Claims

​GCC Standardization Organization (GSO) is a regional Organization which consists of the National Standards Bodies of GCC member States. One of GSO main functions is to issue Gulf Standards and technical regulations through specialized technical committees (TCs).

GSO Ministerial Committee in its meeting number () held on  / / H, which corresponds to  / / , has approved the update of Gulf Standard GSO 2528:2022 titled "Cosmetic Products : Technical Regulation of cosmetic and personal care products claims " in Arabic and English languages which was studied through the technical program of GSO Technical Committee for Cosmetics and Personal Care (TC12) in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia schedule . This document will cancel and replace the Gulf Standard GSO 2528:2016.

This Gulf Technical Regulation is concerned with allowed claims criteria for cosmetic products. Cosmetic products containing unacceptable claims according to this regulation may come out of the scope of cosmetic products mentioned in point No. 2.1.​​

2/1 GSO 1943 “Cosmetic Products – Safety Requirements of Cosmetics and Personal Care Products".​​

3/1 Cosmetic Products:

Any substance or m​ixture intended to be placed in contact with the external parts of the human body (epidermis, hair system, nails, lips and external genital organs) or with the teeth and the mucous membranes of the oral cavity with a view exclusively or mainly to cleaning them, perfuming them, changing their appearance, protecting them, keeping them in good condition or correcting body odors.

3/2 Cosmetic Products Claims:

Any statement whether written, audio, visual, or otherwise aims to directly or indirectly promote, sell or market products. 

3/3 Unacceptable Claims:

Claims that do not comply with the definition of cosmetic product and basic criteria for cosmetic products claims, including Claims of treating medical conditions, or significant change in body physiological functions or influence the metabolism.

3/4 Primary Cosmetic Products Claim:

Claims that are clearly and prominently mentioned to the consumer and describe the main function of the product.

3/5 Secondary Cosmetic Products Claim:

Claims that describe the other functions of the product in addition to the primary cosmetic products claim.

3/6 Substance (Ingredient):

It can be natural or synthetic, including any added ingredient necessary to maintain the stability of the product, and any minor impurities generated during its manufacture except for any solvent that can be separated without affecting the stability of the product or changing its composition.

3/7 Mixture:

​A mixture or solution composed of two or more ingredients.​

All cosmetic claims shall meet the general and specific requirements referred in the Gulf Standards and meet to the following criteria:

​4/1 Legal Compliance

4/1/1 Cosmetic products claims shall comply with all laws within the Gulf Arab states, and that do not conflict with Islamic values or habits of society.

4/1/2 The acceptability of a claim shall be based on the perception of the average consumer of a cosmetic product taking into account linguistic, social and culture factors in the market.

4/1/3 Claims which convey the idea that a product has a specific benefit when this benefit is mere compliance with minimum legal requirements shall not be allowed.

4/1/4   Claims that indicate that the cosmetic product has been authorized or approved by a Gulf member authority shall not be allowed.

4/2 Truthfulness

4/2/1 Neither the general presentation of the cosmetic product nor individual claims made for the product shall be based on false or irrelevant information. Such as: (free of preservatives), while the product actually contain preservatives. 

4/2/2 The cosmetic products claims shall be true.

4/2/3 If a product claims that it contains a specific ingredient, the ingredient shall be deliberately present.

4/2/4  Ingredient claims referring to the properties of a specific ingredient shall not imply that the finished product has the same properties when it does not.

4/2/5 Claims on the label shall have the same meaning in all languages.

​4/3 Evidential Support

4/3/1 Claims for cosmetic products, whether explicit or implicit, shall be supported by adequate and verifiable evidence released by the manufacturer, this requires the possibility of linking between references studies used as evidence and product used by the claim, and It should use scientific methods to prove a well designed and followed (true, reliable and reproducible experiment), and respects the ethical considerations

 4/3/2 The level of evidence or substantiation shall be consistent with the type of claim being made, in particular for claims where lack of efficacy may cause a safety problem. 

(Note: for example, sunscreen products, which claim a certain Sun Protection Factor (SPF), shall have been tested according to the relevant international standards).
4/3/3 Assessment of the acceptability of a claim shall be based on the weight of evidence of all studies, data and information available depending on the nature of the claim and the prevailing general knowledge of the consumers.

4/3/4   The product must comply with the technical requirements of a claim according to globally recognized standards/ best practices for the final product.
4/4 Honesty

It should not be overstated in view of the performance of the product. In  the following are some examples:

4/4/1 The changes to the images before and after use to illustrate the effect of the product.

4/4/2 Claim of "no preservatives" in perfume products as they contain a high amount of alcohol that does not require adding preservatives.

4/4/3 Claims shall not attribute to the product concerned specific (i.e. unique) characteristics if similar products possess the same characteristics. 

4/4/4 Presentations of a product's performance shall not go beyond the available supporting evidence. 

4/4/5  If the action of a product is linked to specific conditions, such as use in association with other products, this shall be clearly stated.

​4/5 Fairness

Claims for cosmetic products shall be objective and shall not denigrate the competitors (such as: better, stronger while referring to competitors), nor shall they denigrate ingredients legally used, unless it relates to a consumer appeal or benefit.

​4/6 Informed Decision Making

4/6/1 Claims shall be clear and understandable to the average consumer.

4/6/2   Marketing Specialists shall take into account the understanding level of all categories of consumers when communicating with them, therefore the information directed to the consumer shall be clear, accurate and understandable to all categories of consumers and relevant to the product.​

​1- Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 of The European Parliament and of The Council.