**1. Introduction**

The term "cosmetic" has its origin from the Greek term "kosme'tikos," a noun to denote the art of beautifying the body [1]. Since ancient times, humans have searched for materials and developed many products to mainly enhance female beauty. Over the centuries, cosmetics have been developed and influenced by different ethnic traditions, from the times of the Pharaohs to the modern times [2]. Since then, physical appearance has been an inseparable part of daily human existence, improving their self-image and self-esteem. However, the esthetic concept of beauty has changed overtime, and beauty standards have been modified according to many factors such as social, ethnic, and religious belief influences [2]. Personal hygiene has been also part of human life since the ancient times. Traditionally related to hygiene habits during religious activities, the preparation of food, or the


#### **Table 1.**

*Most used cosmetics and personal care products.*

prevention of diseases, hygiene practices have also greatly changed through the cultures and eras, from bathing facilities in the Roman period to modern synthetic products such as body lotions or hair tonics [3].

In the last years, the variety of cosmetics and personal care products (PCPs) have greatly increased (**Table 1**), in parallel to their manufacturing and consumption volumes in developed and developing countries. For example, the consumption of cosmetics and perfumery in Spain has consecutively increased in the last years, reaching a total of 1280 million units sold of these products and 770 million units exported during 2018. To date, the USA is the leader in the consumption of cosmetics and perfumery, with an amount of 78.6 billion euros, followed by China (52 billion euros), Japan (32 billion euros), and Brazil (28 billion euros) [4]. Despite the current beauty standards are not similar along cultures and ethnicities, it is acknowledged that women have a greater use of cosmetics and personal care products (PCPs) when compared with men [5], and therefore, potential adverse effect may affect predominantly to this population.

**Table 1** summarizes the main types of cosmetics and PCPs commonly used worldwide.
