Halal cosmetics gaining ground in the world

My wife being and ardent Muslim woman, once had refused to buy lipsticks due to alleged contamination of impermissible products with it. She was right to place her opinion that Halal- is one of the tenets of Islam. According to it, Islam prohibits the consumption of pork, alcohol, and blood. Products that contain any of these ingredients are considered to be "impure" or forbidden.

For halal skincare & beauty cosmetics, it is not a concern of a few Muslims, but analysing and exploring many fatwas of renowned Islamic scholars, we have discovered they have prohibited using of such cosmetics at all. This may be misconception widely propagated, but this has created valued vacuum for halal cosmetics. It should be clear that Halal makeup is not to be confused with nail polish though, which is soluble nail lacquer that allows water to permeate so that Muslim women can complete their Wudhu (ablution) before prayers.

However it is crystal line in Islam, that when animal based materials is not halal or is mixed with alcohol, it is not only prohibited to consume it and eat it, but it also considered to be impure and unlawful to use for any other purpose.

Although, there are cosmetics which are made of vegan products and are found to be popular with those who belong to vegan community. But labelling is not uniform and most of the time creates confusion. Furthermore, the majority of the consumers do not know whether the product comes from animal-based ingredients or not. For doing away the confusion, halal certificate is a highlighted indicator. In Arab countries, cosmetics importing from the West have had little attention for Sharia-observants but now with Halal certificate pasted on the products, the market has attracted people from all strata. In marketing evaluation report, a halal Cosmo industry worth around US$20 billion in 2014 is expected to double by 2019 in the Middle East and other Asian countries.

Seeing attractions towards Halal certificates based products, Major beauty products companies are beginning to adapt to the trend. L'Oreal is a branded company in the world, now has hundreds of its ingredients certified halal, and experts have checked its production lines turning out goods for the huge market in Indonesia and neighbouring countries. German chemicals giant BASF has certified as halal 145 of its German-made ingredients destined for beauty and personal hygiene products. In India, Iba products have profound admirers among cross-religions. Not Muslims but Hindus also love to have its products because halal cosmetics are organic, free of products like keratin, collagen and gelatine, alcohol free and harsh chemicals. According to Mauli Teli who is not a Muslim, but the smart, suave, CEO of a company which launched Iba products"As we launched Iba with their first stand-alone store in Ahmadabad it triggered a lot of interest, now we are having their products available online, on shopping portals like Amazon and Flipkart. Actually, 35 percent of our consumers are non-Muslims, and the interest is increasing," Mauli said in a conversation with Times of India online edition (May-5-2015) Besides that, cosmetics makers such as Banjara's, Emami, Cavin-Kare, Morgain Group, Tejas Naturopathy, Indus Cosmaceuticals, Maja Healthcare and VCare Pharcos have got also halal certification for various products. " with more Indians realising that Halal is beyond religion, it is matter of skin safety and alcohol free, they are getting attracted towards this day by day and it is hoped that a day halal cosmetics will produce a bigger market in India as it is home of one of the biggest Muslim population.

For certifying halal products, India has many halal organisations and authentic among them is Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind halal trust that can be traced online. It is widely approved organisation and has accreditation with the halal organisations across the world. On asking Noman Latif, a staff in Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind Halal trust, he said that skin care companies are also approaching us. We hope the market will be bigger in coming years.