ANALAYSIS OF COSMETIC PRODUCTS BY GAS-CHROMATOGRAPHY MASS-SPECTROMETRY AND FAST-ATOM-BOMBARDMENT MASS-SPECTROMETRY - WHEN A COMBINED APPROACH IS SUCCESSFUL

Fast-atom bombardment mass spectrometry (FAB-MS, both is the positive and negative-ion modes) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/M S) were applied for the rapid identification of the main ingredients o f two widely employed cosmetic products, a mascara and a semipermanent hair dye, FAB-MS, on the untreated product (hair dye) or on a crude m ethanol extract (mascara) gives an unequivocal fingerprint of involati le constituents, ie. surfactants, anionic (cety/stearyl soaps) in masc ara and cationic (polyethoxylated oleyl/linoleyl/ricinoleyl-methyl amm onium chloride) in the hair dye. GC/MS (n-hexane and chloroform extrac ts), detects hydrocarbons, volatile silicon compounds, perfume compone nts, preservatives and antioxidants in mascara and fatty acids (C-8-C- 18), dye solvents and 4 colouring agents: 2-amino-5-nitrophenol, HC Ye llow 2 (N-2-hydroxyethyl-o-nitroaniline); O-(2-hydroxyethyl)-4-amino-3 -nitrophenol and HC Red3, N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-2-nitro-p-phenylendiamine in the hair dye. These results demonstrate that the combined FAB-MS a nd GC/MS approaches, enabling a complete picture of the constituents o f the cosmetic matrix, provide an invaluable analytical tool for the q uality control of cosmetics, a subject that has been rather neglected to date. (C) 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.