Toxicology and Risk Assessment

The course is aimed at providing the specific knowledge about toxicology and risk assessment applied to the cosmetic field. The course will highlight the principles of cellular toxicity about skin, skin annexes and eye toxicology in terms of irritation, allergies, hypersensitivity, also related to daily exposure. Potential harmful effects of both natural and synthetic chemical compounds, used in the skincare formulations, make-up, and cleaning products will be analysed. Furthermore, the course will describe the tests used to evaluate the toxicity of cosmetics ingredient and the process of cosmetics risk assessment, divided in three steps: the hazard identification, the dose-response, and the exposure assessment.

At the end of the course the students will be able to:
- Describe with proper terminology the mechanisms of cell toxicity potentially induced by cosmetics;
- Describe the ingredients in cosmetics associated to their potentially toxic profile;
- Identify the most appropriate tests to be used to evaluate skin and eye toxicity;
- Describe the process of safety assessment process of cosmetic ingredients;
- Perform basic assays to evaluate cell toxicity and to interpret the results;
- Evaluate and analyse the risk assessment case studies.