“Beauty is divine”. Millions of people use various types yang brand of cosmetics that are available in markets. They use them on their daily basis in order to face the world confidently. Some cosmetic are consumed by eating and some of them are applying directly to our skin. Since Muslim is the biggest population among Malaysians, most of them are concern either the products are Halal or Haram.

Halal is an Arabic term referring to permissible according to the Islamic Law. Halal product is fit to consume by Muslim people. It can be for food, cosmetics, healthcare and personal care products. Thus, study about the critical ingredients that might be extracted from the haram source, such as pig and its derivatives has developed special attention among researchers.
Generally, cosmetic ingredients are the mixture of oils, chemicals, fragrance, vitamins, proteins, organic plants, herbs which are believed to be more effective. Nevertheless, are all the cosmetic ingredients 100% synthetically produced? In this topic, we will discuss more detail on the ingredients which are probably derived from pig, such as Glycerine, Hyaluronic Acid, Lactic Acid, Stearic Acid and Allantoin.

The most abundant chemical contain in cosmetic is Glycerine also known as glycerol. The non-toxic, sweet-taste, colourless, odourless and viscous liquid is widely used in food and pharmaceuticals industries along with cosmetic industry too. Glycerine may derive from plant or animal fat in throughout saponification process. Glycerine also can be made chemically synthetic but it requires a high cost because it has to get through several of processes.

Hyaluronic Acid, or normally referred as hyaluronan is a favourable ingredient in cosmetic. It is commonly found in cosmetic products as sodium salt of hyaluronic acid, which known as sodium hyaluronate. This substance is naturally produced in human body. It is most abundantly found in fluids of the eyes and joints. In medical use for treatment joined disorder, the hyaluronic acid is usually extracted from rooster combs or made by bacteria in the laboratory. In cosmetic industry, hyaluronic acid is believed to have a function to prevent the effects of aging. In fact, hyaluronic acid has been promoted as a "fountain of youth". However, there is no evidence to support the claim that taking it by mouth or applying it to the skin can prevent changes associated with aging.

Another liquid gold is Lactic Acid. It is typically derived from natural plant and also can be found in fermented food products made by bacterial fermentation. Lactic acid can be obtained from blood and muscle tissues of animal. The roles of lactic acid are lessening the acne, helpful for those who want to reduce the appearance of sun spots and hyperpigmentation. It also believes to be able to diminish the appearance of wrinkles and other signs of aging.

Other substance infused into cosmetic product is Stearic Acid also known as Octadecanoic Acid. Stearic acid can be derived from animal and vegetable fat. It is applicable as fragrance, surfactant or emulsifier.

Last but not least, normally women would like to apply lotion and cream to get a delicate skin. Skin lotions, day and night cream are common items available in markets nowadays. In those kind of products, Allantoin is the common ingredient used to act as moisturizer. At the same time, it will also improve the skin renewal process.. Allantoin is derived from uric acid that mostly extracted from mammals. Sometimes it can also be collected from plants and bacteria.

In reality, there are more ingredients that probably derived from pig or other animals but not widely use as compared to these five ingredients that usually found in cosmetic. The demand for Halal products is increasing over the years. Better religious knowledge and easy-access information nowadays has become the main factors that raise the awareness among young generation. This has become new challenges in Halal science to integrate halal testing services for cosmetics to strengthen the value of halal compliance products in the global market. HALVEC take this challenges and pioneering the step to further discuss and study about those critical ingredients and its function in cosmetic products. It has become our priorities to come out with reliable testing services in order to relieve people anxieties in this issue.

You may contact us about the consultation on your cosmetic ingredients.