Lead & Heavy Metals
At Coastal Classic Creations®, ingredient safety and transparency are central to our product development process.
Lead and other heavy metals are not intentionally added to our cosmetic products. However, certain naturally derived cosmetic ingredients, including mineral pigments and colors, may contain trace levels of naturally occurring elements that exist throughout the environment.
What is a Supplier CofA?
A Certificate of Analysis (CofA) is an official batch-specific laboratory report provided by our raw material suppliers. We review these reports to verify the identity, purity, consistency, and quality of our cosmetic minerals and botanicals before they are approved for use in our formulas.
The cosmetic pigments and colors used in our products are sourced from suppliers who provide Certificates of Analysis demonstrating compliance with FDA and European Union specifications for heavy metals in cosmetics. These materials undergo purification, quality-control, and testing processes designed to support product safety, consistency, and performance.
Modern analytical instruments are capable of detecting extremely small amounts of naturally occurring substances. The presence of trace elements does not necessarily indicate a safety concern. Regulatory agencies recognize that trace impurities may occur in cosmetic raw materials and establish standards intended to protect consumer safety.
As part of our Cosmetic Colorant Standard, we review supplier documentation and Certificates of Analysis to verify that the cosmetic pigments and colors used in our products meet applicable cosmetic safety specifications. This commitment to ingredient transparency supports our non-toxic philosophy and our ongoing focus on responsible product development.
Understanding Ingredient Transparency
Consumers today encounter a wide variety of "clean beauty" claims, certifications, and ingredient-rating platforms. While these resources may provide general information, they do not always reflect the quality of the individual raw materials used in a cosmetic product or the qualification standards behind them.
At Coastal Classic Creations®, our focus is on ingredient qualification rather than marketing labels. Before cosmetic colorants are approved for use in our products, we review supplier documentation, including Certificates of Analysis (CofAs), as part of our Cosmetic Colorant Standard. This process helps verify that our cosmetic pigments and colors meet applicable FDA and European Union cosmetic specifications before they are used in our formulas.
Because supplier Certificates of Analysis are proprietary business documents between manufacturers and their raw material suppliers, they are generally not released publicly. Instead, we believe transparency means clearly explaining the standards we require and the process we use to evaluate our ingredients.
No single certification, ingredient database, or rating system can fully represent the quality of a cosmetic formulation. Ingredient sourcing, supplier qualification, manufacturing practices, regulatory compliance, and quality documentation all contribute to producing safe, high-quality cosmetics.
The Cosmetic Colorant Standard
For more than 25 years, Coastal Classic Creations® has relied on supplier Certificates of Analysis as part of our Cosmetic Colorant Standard. This verification process remains foundational to our ingredient qualification process and our ongoing commitment to transparency, quality, and responsibly formulated cosmetics.
Explore the Lipstick Collection >Learn more about how we evaluate ingredients and approach non-toxic beauty.