Thailand Proposes Draft Guidelines for Cosmetic Ingredient Evaluation

On February 28, 2025, Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health unveiled a draft announcement, Criteria, Methods, and Conditions for Evaluating Academic Documents in the Cosmetic Review Process, for public consultation. The consultation period is open until March 14, 2025. The draft aims to address a regulatory gap by establishing clear guidelines for evaluating academic documents for new cosmetic ingredients without prior history of use in cosmetics.

Key Highlights of the Draft

• Scope: The regulation applies to the evaluation of academic documents in cases where ingredients, the function of ingredients, or technologies have not been previously used in cosmetics.

• Expert Evaluation: Academic documents must be assessed by experts registered under the Thai FDA’s Registry of Experts for Evaluating Cosmetic Academic Documents.

• Process: Under the proposed framework, the Thai FDA will review applications, verify the completeness and accuracy of the submitted documents, and engage qualified experts in the relevant field to conduct the evaluation. The evaluation results will then be compiled and notified to applicants.

The proposed regulation does not impose additional burdens on cosmetic businesses or applicants but instead introduces a structured and standardized approach to evaluate novel cosmetic ingredients in Thailand. Once finalized, it will take effect the day after its publication in the Government Gazette.