Warning! These Types of Essential Oil Are not Considered Cosmetics in China

In recent years, with the gradual emergence of the new concept of emotional skincare becoming mainstream in the market, there has been a growing demand from consumers for fragrance and essential oil products. However, the favorable conditions in the essential oil market have also attracted many unscrupulous merchants who engage in deceptive practices such as selling substandard products, exaggerating their efficacy, and hyping up concepts.

Just recently, the official website of the Guangzhou Municipal Administration for Market Regulation released a new edition of the “FAQs on Cosmetic Filing.” It provides strong regulations on the classification and claims of essential oil products. So, which type of essential oil product does not belong to cosmetics? And what kind of filing is required for essential oil products?

How to file for “massage essential oil”? Market Supervision Bureau responds

To clarify the filing regulations for cosmetic products in the category of essential oils, it is necessary to first determine the basic definition and terminology of such products.

According to the “FAQs on Cosmetic Filing (Issue 53)” released on the official website of the Guangzhou Municipal Administration for Market Regulation, when filing for cosmetic products in the category of essential oils, the filers can refer to the provisions of the national standard GB/T 26516-2011 “Massage Essential Oil” and the industry standard QB/T 4079-2010 “Massage Base Oil, Massage Oil.”

According to GB/T 26516-2011, essential oil is the product obtained from plant materials through steam distillation or water-steam distillation, or through mechanical processing or dry distillation of the outer peel of citrus fruits. Absolute is a fragrant product obtained by extracting macerates, floral waxes, or resinoids with ethanol at room temperature.

Based on this, there are three classifications: massage essential oil, massage base oil, and massage oil. It is worth noting that the definition explicitly states that products in the “massage essential oil” category are “not directly applied to the skin as cosmetics; they need to be appropriately diluted with massage base oil and applied or massaged onto the skin.” “Massage oil” refers to massage products formulated by combining massage essential oil and massage base oil.

In other words, according to the current definition, “massage essential oil” is not directly applied to the human skin. It needs to be appropriately diluted with massage base oil before it can be used as a massage product that comes into contact with the skin, either by application or massage. In response, the Guangzhou Municipal Administration for Market Regulation also clearly stated that it is recommended for filers to accurately and appropriately name their products based on the specific characteristics and usage methods of the essential oil products during the filing process.

So, how should cosmetic products in the category of massage essential oil be filed?

Regarding this, the Guangzhou Municipal Administration for Market Regulation further stated that according to Article 35 of the “Regulations on the Management of Registration and Filing Information for Cosmetics,” for cosmetics that contain two or more independent formulas that must be used together or have non-separable packaging containers, each formula should be separately filled out, and the registration or filing should be applied for as one product.

Li Jincong, the founder of the Cosmetics Forbidden Words Network, told CHAILEEDO that according to actual regulations and standard requirements, when filing for a certain massage essential oil, it is necessary to simultaneously associate it with the massage base oil and report the formula for the base oil. The product instructions should clearly state the name of the massage base oil. He also stated, “Whether the product name directly includes ‘massage’ or not, when naming it as XX essential oil, attention should be paid. Therefore, companies need to carefully read and understand the definitions and related requirements of each term in this FAQ.”

Regarding safety assessment, the Guangzhou Municipal Administration for Market Regulation stated that according to the “Technical Guidelines for Cosmetic Safety Assessment (2021 Edition),” the safety assessment of cosmetic products should be exposure-oriented. It should evaluate the safety of cosmetic products based on the level of exposure, taking into account the method of use, application sites, amount used, residual substances, and other factors to ensure product safety.

In other words, for massage oil products that come into contact with the skin, the mixed components should be assessed according to the instructions for use. When each component can be used separately according to the usage method, they should be assessed separately.

Essential oil products are not all cosmetics

It is worth mentioning that, according to current regulations, not all essential oil products fall under cosmetic regulations.

According to the “Regulations on the Supervision and Administration of Cosmetics,” cosmetics are defined as daily chemical industrial products that are applied, sprayed, or otherwise spread on the human body surface, such as the skin, hair, nails, and lips, for the purpose of cleansing, protecting, beautifying, or modifying. Therefore, when the usage method, purpose, and application site of essential oil products meet the definition of cosmetics, they are considered cosmetics.

In other words, various types of massage oils and similar products mentioned earlier that meet the definition of cosmetics fall within the scope of cosmetic regulation. However, there is another type of essential oil product in the current market that does not come into contact with the skin. These products are often used in aromatherapy and other scenarios. Many of these products claim to have effects such as air purification, sleep aid, and aromatherapy. In this Q&A session, the Guangzhou Municipal Administration for Market Regulation explicitly states that essential oil products used for aromatherapy, claiming medical effects, or used for aromatherapy, air purification, soothing sleep, etc., do not fall under cosmetics.

So, does this mean that all essential oil products cannot claim such effects?

Zhang Taijun, the Chief Research and Development Officer of Guangzhou Quan Zhi Mei Fu Biological Technology Research Institute, believes that under these regulations, “essential oil products used for aromatherapy, claiming medical effects, or used for aromatherapy, air purification, soothing sleep, etc.” are not subject to cosmetic regulation. It does not mean that such products cannot be sold; it simply means that the cosmetic regulatory authorities will not oversee them.

However, if a product has been registered as a cosmetic, it must comply with the definition and labeling regulations of cosmetics.

Furthermore, the Guangzhou Municipal Administration for Market Regulation also clarifies that the names of essential oil cosmetics should avoid using the names of medical figures or medical terms, such as Zhongjing, Huatuo, Guben Peiyuan, Wen Yang Huo Luo, etc. The application sites should comply with the definition of cosmetics and should not be described as specific areas such as joints or acupoints in text or graphic form. Claims regarding effects such as regulating health, promoting blood circulation, or soothing the body and mind are not allowed.

Vast market prospects await standardization

In recent years, with the continuous optimization of the social and economic structure and the increasing income levels of consumers, people have attached more importance to their own health and the emotional value in different scenarios. This comprehensive change has fueled the continuous growth of the scale of essential oil cosmetics. According to public data, the global essential oil market is expected to reach a total scale of 110.295 billion yuan ($15.33 billion) by 2028.

However, despite the vast market prospects and the diverse usage scenarios, the regulatory challenges have also led to many companies pushing the boundaries of regulations with their claims. Although national regulations have always provided clear guidelines for the claims of essential oil products, there are still many companies that test the boundaries by making ambiguous claims. Previously, an administrative penalty notice published on the official website of the Shanghai Municipal Administration for Market Regulation revealed that a Shanghai advertising company was fined 6,000 yuan ($833.75) by the Chongming District Administration for Market Regulation for allegedly violating the Advertising Law due to the inclusion of “aromatherapy” content in its Tmall store advertisement.

In response to this, the Chongming District Administration for Market Regulation in Shanghai stated, “If cosmetic promotional language includes terms that are easily confused with treatment methods or means, causing consumer misunderstandings and being considered medical terminology, it is illegal. Cosmetic companies should try to avoid such language, otherwise they may be penalized.”

In fact, this is not an isolated case. A search on e-commerce platforms by CHAILEEDO revealed that many current essential oil products often claim to “purify the air,” “promote sleep,” “relieve body and mind,” etc., and these products are registered as ordinary cosmetics.

“Many scenarios for using essential oils are found in health centers and beauty salons, making supervision difficult. In addition, many operators are not well versed in laws and regulations, and false and exaggerated advertising is almost a common phenomenon,” said Li Jincong. “Essential oil products rarely have registered claims, so they tend to exaggerate when selling.”

Zhang Taijun also stated, “Aromatherapy, for example, is similar to claims of medical efficacy, while terms like ‘air purification’ do not belong to the category of cosmetics.”

In fact, it’s not just the “essential oil” products but also the claims in the oil-based skincare market, including moisturizing oils and makeup removers, that are still not well regulated. Although many have avoided using claims with medical effects such as “aromatherapy,” there are still expressions that take advantage of loopholes. It requires joint efforts from industry professionals to standardize the claims of essential oil products and ensure the healthy and sustainable development of oil-based skincare.