Cosmetics and Personal Hygiene Products

Abstract

Cosmetic products and personal hygiene products include a wide range of products that may be recovered in forensic casework. Due to their use on humans, their production is extremely regulated, thus generating significant challenges for forensic scientists when it comes to the identification, discrimination and attribution of a source in a specific casework. Amongst the various chemometrics methods available, the one most used in this area of forensic science is principal component analysis (PCA), further coupled to discriminant analysis, usually linear (LDA). If these techniques are used for the discrimination of samples, they can also be used for other purposes, notably in the case of understanding key parameters such as background, transfer and persistence of residues. This chapter offers a wide overview of the main uses of chemometric techniques in the area of condoms, lubricants, personal hygiene products and cosmetics, more specifically decorative cosmetics.