Why Test?
Exposure to artificial light in display cases, as well as sunlight through store windows, can render some consumer products unfit for sale.
Cosmetic and pharmaceutical products are often highly reactive to light energy, so it’s critical for manufacturers to ensure their products maintain their efficacy after light exposure. Even the packaging used to protect products from photodegradation can experience fading from lighting in stores and at home.
Will your products resist photdegradation on a store shelf or in the consumer’s home? Will light change the color, efficacy, or safety of a product? Has something changed in your process that might affect the lightstability of your product? Don’t guess when you can test.
Q-Lab serves customers in a variety of cosmetics and pharmaceutical segments, including:
- Drug substances
- Protective packaging
- Cosmetic colorants
- Retail packaging
- Sunscreens
For most cosmetic and pharmaceutical testing, the Q-SUN xenon test chamber is used to simulate sunlight through a window, providing significant acceleration compared to a typical interior exposure. The versatile, flat specimen tray in the Q-SUN tester allows for easy testing of products in a variety of bottles or containers. An optional chiller allows tests to be conducted under near-room-temperature conditions to simulate indoor use.
Our Exposure Testing Services for Cosmetics and Pharmaceuticals
Florida & Arizona Natural Outdoor
While accelerated weathering chambers are excellent at testing the light stability of these products, nothing beats the real thing: outdoor testing in one of Q-Lab's benchmark outdoor testing facilities. Exposures behind window glass in South Florida and Arizona can quickly simulate a worst-case shelf life of products and packaging using a natural light source.
Accelerated Laboratory Weathering
Accelerated laboratory weathering testing is an efficient and effective way to evaluate the light stability performance of products and packaging. These tests are designed to accelerate your light stability testing process to provide you with the ability to rapidly test new formulations of a product.
Q-Lab's accelerated weathering testers can be used in various international standards for cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, including:
- ICH Guidelines
- COLIPA Method
- FDA 21 CFR Parts 201 and 310
- Boots Star Rating System
A variety of international test standards are used to evaluate lightstability and reactivity of pharmacuticals and cosmetics, including the popular ICH Guidelines test for photostability. Visit Q-Lab’s Standards Search page to browse standards and find the right test for your product.