DEAS  841: 2023 
ICS 71.100.70 
 
© EAC 2023                                                                                                                        Second  Edition 2023   
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  
Hair oils  — Specification  
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY  DEAS  841: 202 3 
ii © EAC 2023  – All rights reserved  
 Copyright notice  
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Reproduction for sales purposes may be subject to royalty payments or a licensing agreement.  
Violators may be prosecuted . DEAS  841: 202 3 
© EAC 2023  – All rights reserved  iii 
 Contents  Page 
Foreword  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  iv 
1 Scope  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................  1 
2 Normative references  ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  1 
3 Terms and definitions  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  2 
4 Types  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................  2 
5 Requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .........  2 
5.1 General requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  2 
5.2 Specific requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  2 
5.3 Heavy metal requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ....................  3 
5.4 Microbiological requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............  3 
6 Packaging  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  3 
7 Labelling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .................  3 
8 Sampling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................  3 
Bibliography  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................  4 
 DEAS  841: 202 3 
iv © EAC 2023  – All rights reserved  
 Foreword  
Development of the East African Standards has been necessitate d by the need for harmonizing requirements 
governing quality of products and services in the East African Community. It is envisaged that through 
harmonized standardization, trade barriers that are encountered when goods and services are exchanged 
within t he Community will be removed.  
The Community has established an East African Standards Committee  (EASC)  mandated to develop and 
issue East African Standards  (EAS) . The Committee is composed of representatives of the National 
Standards Bodies in Partner Sta tes, together with the representatives from the public and private sector 
organizations  in the community .  
East African Standards are developed through  Technical Committees that are representative of key 
stakeholders including government, academia, consume r groups, private sector and other interested parties. 
Draft East African Standards are circulated to stakeholders through the National Standards Bodies in the 
Partner States. The comments received are discussed and incorporated before finalization of stan dards, in 
accordance with the Principles and procedures for development of East African Standards.  
East African Standards are subject to review, to keep pace with technological advances. Users of the East 
African Standards are therefore expected to ensure that they always have the latest versions of the standards 
they are implementing .  
The committee responsible for this document is Technical Committee EASC/TC 071, Cosmetics and related 
products . 
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elemen ts of this document may be subject of patent 
rights. EAC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.  
This second  edition cancels and replaces the first edition ( EAS 841:2017 ), which has been technically revised.  DRA FT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  DEAS  841: 2023   
 
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  1 
 Hair oils — Specification  
1 Scope  
This Draft East African Standard specifies the requirements, sampling and test methods for hair oils.  
The standard covers hair oils made from vegetable oils, mineral oil or the mixture of vegetable oil and mineral 
oil. 
Hair oils for which therapeutic claims are made are not covered by this standard.  
2 Normative references   
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a w ay that some or all of their content constitutes 
requirements of this document.  For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, 
the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.  
EAS 346, Labelli ng of cosmetics — General requirements  
EAS 377 (all parts), Cosmetics and cosmetic products  
EAS 846, Glossary of terms relating to the cosmetic industry  
EAS 847 -4, Cosmetics — Analytical methods — Part 4: Determination of acid value and free fatty acids  
EAS 847 -13, Cosmetics — Analytical methods — Part 13: Determination of rancidity  
EAS 847 -16, Cosmetics — Analytical methods — Part 16: Determination of lead, mercury and arsenic content  
EAS 847 -18, Cosmetics — Analytical methods —Part 18: Determination of th ermal stability  
ISO 3960, Animal and vegetable fats and oils – Determination of peroxide value - Iodometry (visual) endpoint 
determination  
ISO 6887 -1, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Preparation of test samples, initial suspension 
and decim al dilutions for microbiological examination — Part 1: General rules for the preparation of the initial 
suspension and decimal dilutions  
ISO 18416, Cosmetics — Microbiology — Detection of Candida albicans  
ISO 21150, Cosmetics — Microbiology — Detection of Escherichia coli  
ISO 22717, Cosmetics — Microbiology — Detection of Pseudomonas aeruginosa  
ISO 22718, Cosmetics — Microbiology — Detection of Staphylococcus aureus  
ISO 24153, Random sampling and randomisation procedures    
2 © EAC 2023  – All rights reserved  
 3 Terms and definitions   
For the pu rposes of this standard, the terms and definitions given in EAS 846 and the following apply.  
hair oil  
liquid oil -based cosmetic preparation for hair application . 
4 Types  
Hair oils shall be based on : 
a) vegetable oil; 
b) mineral oil; and  
c) a mixture of mineral oils and vegetable oils.  
5 Requirements  
5.1 General requirements  
5.1.1  All the oils used shall comply with the respective raw material standards.  
5.1.2  All other ingredients used shall co mply with all parts of EAS 377.  
5.1.3  The product, as seen visually, shall be in clear liquid form, free from sediment and suspended matter. 
For coconut oil, first melt the sample before checking for clarity, sediments and suspended matter.  
5.1.5  The product shall not be irritating or harmful to the scalp, when used as intended by the manufacturer.  
5.1.6  The product may be coloured or perfumed. Any dyes, colour pigments or perfumes, if added, shall be 
of cosmetic grade  .  
5.2 Specific requirements  
The product sha ll comply with the specific requirements given in Table 1 when tested in accordance with the 
methods specified  therein.  
Table 1 — Requirements for hair oil s 
S/No.  Characteristic  Requirement  Test method  
Vegetable 
oil Mineral oil  Vegetable 
and mineral 
oil  
i Acid value, mgKOH/g  
max.  4 1.0 4 EAS 847 -4  
ii Thermal stability  To pass test   To pass test  To pass test  EAS 847 -18  
iii Peroxide value,  meQ of 
oxygen/kg,  max.  15 10 15 ISO 3960   
  
© EAC 2023  – All rights reserved  3 
 5.3 Heavy metal requirements  
The product shall comply with the heavy metal requirements given in Table 2 when tested in accordance with 
the test methods specified therein.  
Table 2— Heavy metal requirements for hair oils  
S/N  Heavy metal  Maximum limit  a 
mg/kg  Test method  
i  Lead,  10  
EAS 847 -16 ii Arsenic  2 
iii Mercury  2 
a The total amount of h eavy metals as lead, mercury and arsenic, in combination in the finished product shall not exceed 10 mg/kg  
 
5.4 Microbiological requirements  
The product shall comply with the microbiology limits specified in Table 3 when tested in accordance to the  
method s described therein  
Table 3— Microbiology limits for hair oils  
S/N  Characteristic.  Requirement  Test method  
i  Total viable count, cfu/g, max   
100 ISO 21149  
ii  Staphylococcus aureus  (per g)  Not detected  ISO 22718  
iii  Pseudomonas aeruginosa  (per g)  Not detected  ISO 22717  
iv  Candida albicans  (per g)  Not detected  ISO 18416  
 
6 Packaging  
The product shall be packaged in suitable well -sealed containers that shall protect the contents and shall not 
cause any contamination or react with the produc t. 
7 Labelling  
In addition, to the labelling requirements given in EAS 346, each package shall be legibly and indelibly marked 
with the product name as “ Hair oil ”. 
8 Sampling  
Sampling shall be done in accordance with ISO 24153   
4 © EAC 2023  – All rights reserved  
 Bibliography  
EAS 841: 2017, H air oils — Specification  
 DEAS  841: 202 3   
 
© EAC 2023  – All rights reserved