Halal cosmetics proves to be a market trend in the US

16-Feb-2012 - Last updated on 16-Feb-2012 at 16:14 GMT

Following the first international conference in 2010 on the emerging global Halal cosmetics and toiletries sector, big players like Bare Minerals have started to introduce all natural ingredient products to their line.

CosmeticsDesign.com USA spoke to Ahlam Momin owner of Shifa Cosmetics, a certified Halal make-up company about the trend once resigned to the Middle Eastern market.

“Demand for Halal products is fairly strong at the moment in the US, all of our products are certified because they do not contain animal products or alcohol and are made of the finest and purest minerals,” she reveals.

Questionable ingredients

The majority of cosmetic products are mostly made with botanical ingredients. However, in certain products a concoction of ingredients present some challenges for Halal consumers like those derived from animal sources like collagen, hyaluronic acid, carmine sodium, cochineal and glycerine.

Alternatives have been found to replace these ingredients specifically for Halal products on the market. “We have found a way around glycerin for example, with a synthetic and vegetable derivative which works just as well,” says Momin.

Market share

Although a number of regional standards are in place for companies declaring a product as ‘Halal’, Momin says Shifa Cosmetics is currently the only existing make-up company on the US market that’s ‘certified’.

“There have been companies within the industry that has declared its product Halal; however, through our research into the market, we found they were not certified.”

Market share

Back in 2005 the personal care and cosmetics sector had an estimated 9 percent share of the global Halal products market.

Now, according to Asif International, the emerging Halal cosmetics and toiletries sector has enormous potential given that Muslims are the world’s fastest growing consumer segment, comprising of approximately 1.8 billion people worldwide.

While Dr. Mah Hussain-Gambles, founder of UK-based Saaf Pure Skincare, a Halal-certified skincare range told CosmeticsDesign.com USA, “As consumers in Europe are educated about greener lifestyle products; they also represent a potentially huge market for Halal products.”