INTRODUCTION

Cosmetics are defined as " any material that can be rubbed, poured, sprinkled,

sprayed, or otherwise applied to the human body for beautifying, cleansing,

promoting attractiveness or altering appearance". Cosmetics have become an

important part of everyday life and are widely used for beauty purposes, sun

protection, and clearing extraneous matter (Onurdağ et al., 2010).

Abu Shaqra and Groom (2012) assert that cosmetic products contain essential

minerals and chemical compounds in water that provide a favourable medium

for microbial growth (Dadashi and Dehghanzadeh, 2016).

Cosmetics include different products such as foundations, compact powders,

lipsticks, eye liners, eye shadows and brushes. Cosmetics have been used by

different cultures and races throughout the entire world, and has become a part

of women's life, therefore, the use of cosmetics are considered a frequent

routine tool to make women beautiful, presentable, attractive and self-confident.

Nevertheless, the amount of consumption of cosmetics has increased rapidly

with the increase of population. College students are considered an important

group of cosmetic consumers; thus, it is during adolescence females become

more concerned with their appearance. Many students use cosmetics unaware of

the health dangers they are exposed to, when using contaminated products.

Cosmetic products are non- sterile, and most of them provide an optimal

medium for microbial contaminants (Onurdag and Ozgen, 2010). The

composition of cosmetic products with the warm and humid climatic conditions

may encourage the growth of many bacteria and molds, which could lead to

biodegradation of the product, and increase the risk of infection to the users

(Hugbo et al., 2003).

Microorganisms, when contaminating cosmetics, can cause spoilage to the

product or may cause serious health risk for consumers (Campana et al., 2006).

This may happen for many reasons like mishandling the product during

manufacturing which can cause defects in the preservative capacities of

makeup, or due to the poor quality of raw materials used in makeup. Using the

same product by many applicants increases the level of contamination.

Inadequate storage conditions of makeup can also determine the growth of

bacteria, leading to microbial contamination. Moreover, the use of old makeup

makes the preservatives in the products lose their effectiveness, making the

product a suitable place for microbial growth (Sneha and Varsha, 2025).

Many students share their applicators and makeup with friends and family,

increasing the numbers of pathogens that poses a serious health threat to these

applicants, especially those who have a low immune system and are already ill

or are in a weakened state. Some students keep using their makeup until it’s

finished although the expiry date is overdue, which results in hazardous effects

to health (Ragheb et al., 2012).

Aim and objective

The main objective of this study was to assess the bacterial and fungal

contamination from different cosmetic testers in six shopping malls and

evaluate customers by using cross sectional study to examine if customers are

conscious of the beauty products that are used.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A total of 100 commercial cosmetic products, will be provided by students of

the institution and will be consist of the following items: Mascaras, eye liners,

and eye- shadows, lipsticks, lip gloss, body creams, foundation creams, compact

powders and brushes. All these cosmetic products will be used by the students

over twelve months. All items will be examined for production and expiration

date. The outer surface of each sample will be swabbed and cleaned with 70%

ethanol, to minimize any external contamination of the products prior to

microbiological analysis.

Microbiological analysis

All items will be cultured on sterile Nutrient Agar plates. The samples will then

be grown on selective media, such as MacConkey Agar and Mannitol Salt agar.

Blood agar will be used as an enrichment media and to detect the hemolytic

activity of bacterial cultures. The inoculated cultures will be incubated for 24-48

hours at 370C.
Potato Dextrose Agar (SDA) is another selective medium primarily used for the

isolation of dermatophytes and other fungi. The acidic pH of this medium (pH

about 5.0) inhibits the growth of bacteria but permits the growth of yeasts and

most filamentous fungi. Antibacterial agents can also be added to augment the

antibacterial effect. Cultural characteristics of the isolated colonies include

form, color, size, elevation, and margin of the isolated colonies.

MICROSCOPIC EXAMINATION

Gram staining method will be applied for bacterial isolates, to differentiate

between two groups of bacteria, Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. In

addition, Spore Staining will be also performed, to differentiate between spore

forming from none Spore forming bacteria.

Bacterial count

Viable count will be performed to see the number of living bacteria and to

calculate the colony forming unit (CFU) of each isolate. It will be carried out by

surface spread technique under sterile conditions, by adding 0.5 g of cosmetics

to nine ml nutrient broth followed by making serial dilutions (Leila and Reza,

2016). A 0.1ml of each diluted sample was poured on Nutrient Agar plates

followed by spreading the dilated sample onto the surface of these plates with a

glass spreader. The cultures will then be incubated for 24-48 hours at 37oC

BIOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS
Catalase Test will be used to identify catalase-producing bacterial isolates. The

bacterial respiratory enzyme (Catalase) acts as a catalyst in the breakdown of

hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen. Coagulase test will be used to

identify Staphylococcus aureus which is able to produce the enzyme coagulase

that clots blood plasma.

FUNGI IDENTIFICATION

Fungi will be grown on both nutrient agar and Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA).

They will be identified on the bases of cultural characteristics, followed by

microscopic identification for further confirmation of these isolated fungi.

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Sneha, S. S. and Varsha, K. M. (2015). Study of bacterial contaminants in local

as well as branded lipsticks before and after consumer use. International

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