DEAS  340: 2021 
ICS 71.100.70 
 
© EAC 2021                                                                                                                              3rd Edition 2021  
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  
Nail polish — Specification  
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY  DEAS  340: 2021 
ii © EAC 2021 – All rights reserved  
 Copyright notice  
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participants in the EAC standards development process is permitted without prior permission from EAC, 
neither this document nor any extract from it may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form for 
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© East African Community  2020  — All rights reserved  
East African Community   
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Reproduction for sales purposes may be subject to royalty payments or a licensing agreement.  
Violators may be prosecuted . DEAS  340: 2021 
© EAC 2021 – All rig hts reserved  iii 
 Contents  Page 
Foreword  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  iv 
1 Scope  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................  1 
2 Normative references  ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  1 
3 Terms and definitions  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  1 
4 Requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .........  1 
4.1 General requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  1 
42 Specific requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  2 
4.3 Heavy metal contaminants  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  2 
5 Packaging  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  2 
6 Labelling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .................  2 
7 Sampling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................  2 
Annex  A (normative)  Determination of non -volatile matter  ................................ ................................ ..........  3 
A.1 Apparatus  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  3 
A.2 Procedure  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  3 
A.3 Calculation  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .............  3 
Annex B (normative)  Determination of drying time  ................................ ................................ .......................  4 
B.1 Apparatus  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  4 
B.2 Procedure  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  4 
Annex C (normative)  Adhesion test  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................  5 
C.1 Apparatus  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  5 
C.2 Procedure  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  5 
Annex D (normative)  Scratch test  ................................ ................................ ................................ ....................  6 
D.1 Principle of the method ................................ ................................ ................................ .........................  6 
D.2 Apparatus  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  6 
D.3 Procedure  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  6 
Annex E (normative)  Blush test  ................................ ................................ ................................ .......................  7 
E.1 Apparatus  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  7 
E.2 Procedure  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  7 
Bibliography  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................  8 
 DEAS  340: 2021 
iv © EAC 2021 – All rights reserved  
 Foreword  
Development of the East African Standards has been necessitated by the nee d 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 the 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 States, togethe r 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, consumer groups, pr ivate 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 standards, in 
accordance with the Principles and procedures for develop ment 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 a lways have the latest versions of the standards 
they are implementing .  
The committee responsible for this document is Technical Committee EASC/TC 070, Cosmetics and related 
products . 
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be subject of patent 
rights. EAC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.  
This third edition cancels and replaces the second  edition ( EAS 340:2020 ), which has been technically 
revised.  
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  DEAS  340:2021 
 
© EAC 2021  – All rights reserved  1 
 Nail polish — Specif ication  
1 Scope  
This Draft East African Standard specifies the requirements , sampling and test methods for nail polishes used 
for cosmetic purposes.  
This standard does not  cover nail gels  
2 Normative references  
The following documents are referred to in t he text in such a way 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) applie s. 
EAS 346, Labelling of cosmetics — General requirements  
EAS 377 (all parts), Cosmetics and cosmetic products  
EAS 846 Glossary of terms relating to cosmetic industry  
EAS 847 -16, Cosmetics —Analytical methods — Part 1 6: Determination of lead, mercury and a rsenic content  
ISO 24153, Random sampling and randomization procedures  
3 Terms and definitions  
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in EAS 846 apply   
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:  
 — ISO Online browsing platform: available at http://www.iso.org/obp  
4 Requirements  
4.1 General requirements  
4.1.1  All ingredients used including dyes, pigments and colours shall comply with a ll parts of EAS 377.  
4.1.2  Nail polish shall not leave any unacceptable stain on the nails after being removed with the aid of an 
effective nail polish remover.  
4.1.3  Nail polish shall be glossy on the nails after complete drying when seen visually.  
4.1.4  The resins and solvents used shall have no undesirable or harmful effects on the nails for example. 
cracking.   
2 © EAC 2021 – All rights reserved  
 4.1.5  Nail polish may be coloured, colourless or pearlised and may contain natural or artificial pearl 
essence.  
42 Specific requirements  
The nail  polish shall comply with the specific   requirements given in Table 1 when tested according to the  
methods prescribed therein.  
Table 1 — Specific  requirements for nail polish  
S.No  Characteristic  Requirement  Test method  
i.  Non-volatile matter, % by mas s, min.  20 Annex A  
ii.  Drying time in minutes, max.  6 Annex B  
iii.  Adhesion test  To pass the test  Annex C  
iv.  Scratch test  To pass the test  Annex D  
v.  Blush Test  To pass the test  Annex E  
4.3 Heavy metal contaminants  
The products shall co mply with the limits for heavy metal contaminants in accordance with Table 2.  
Table 2 — Limits for heavy metal contaminants  
S No.  Characteristic  Limits , mg/kg, max  Method of test  
i.  Lead  10 EAS 847 -16  
ii.  Arsenic  2 
iii.  Mercury  2 
NOTE  The tot al amount of heavy metals as lead, mercury and arsenic, in combination, in the finished product should not 
exceed 10 mg/kg. 
5 Packaging  
5.1 The product shall be packaged in suitable airtight well -sealed containers that shall protect the contents 
and shall  not cause any contamination or react with the product.  
5.2 The cap of the container shall carry a brush to apply the polish on the nail.  
6 Labelling  
6.1 In addition, to the labelling requirements given in EAS 346, each package shall be legibly and indelib ly 
marked with the product name as “nail polish.  
6.2 Where the size, shape or nature of container/package does not permit all the information above to be 
displayed, leaflets, hand tags, display panels, shrink wrap and the like shall be used.  
7 Sampling  
Sampling shall be carried in accordance with ISO 24153.   
© EAC 2021 – All rig hts reserved  3 
 Annex  A 
(normative)  
 
Determination of non -volatile matter  
A.1 Apparatus  
Flat glass petri -dish, 8 cm diameter  
A.2 Procedure  
Weigh accurately 1.0 g ± 0.2 g of the polish in the petri dish and place it in  an oven at 105 °C ± 2 °C for one 
hour. Cool to room temperature and weigh the dish. Repeat the process to bring to constant mass.  
A.3 Calculation  
The non -volatile matter content shall be calculated as follows;  
Non-volatile matter, percent by mass = 
  
where  
M is the, mass in grams, of the sample taken,  
M1 is the mass, in grams, of the dry and empty petri dish, and  
M2 is the mass, in grams, of the petri dish and dried sample   
4 © EAC 2021 – All rights reserved  
 Annex B  
(normative)  
 
Determination of drying time  
B.1 Apparatus  
B.1.1  Microscop ic glass slide  
B.1.2  Oven   
B.2 Procedure  
Clean the glass slide with toluene or xylene. Place the slide in an oven maintained at 37 °C ± 1 °C for 10 min. 
Remove the slide from the oven, and spread one drop of the nail polish on an area of 1 cm x 2.5 cm on  it. 
Place the slide in the oven for 6 min. On removal, touch the film with the fingertip. The polish shall be taken to 
have passed the test if no nail polish material is left on the fingertip.   
© EAC 2021 – All rig hts reserved  5 
 Annex C  
(normative)  
 
Adhesion test  
C.1 Apparatus  
C.1.1  Microsc opic glass slide  
C.1.2  Pressure sensitive cellophane adhesive tape  
C.2 Procedure  
Make a film of 1 cm x 2.5 cm area on the glass slide, cleaned with toluene or xylene, taking one drop and 
spreading it with a nail polish brush. Place the slide in a horizonta l position and allow it to dry at room 
temperature for 24 h. After drying, press the cellotape over the film so as to cover the entire film. Pull the tape 
off the film immediately. The polish shall be taken to have passed the test if the film does not peel  off at all.   
6 © EAC 2021 – All rights reserved  
 Annex D  
(normative)  
 
Scratch test  
D.1 Principle of the method  
It is a measure of the resistance of the dried film against a scratch, under a specified load.  
D.2 Apparatus  
D.2.1  Stainless steel spatula,  15 cm x 2.5 cm  
D.2.2  Scratch test appar atus, with the end of the hard steel needle being hemispherical and 1 mm in 
diameter  
D.3 Procedure  
Apply nail polish over the clean and dry plate, allow it to spread evenly and keep it inclined for 24 h at room 
temperature so that uniform dry film is prod uced. After the film dries, place the apparatus. Fix the needle at 
the end of the counterpoise, keeping it horizontal by adjusting the length of the needle. Slowly draw the base 
holding the spatula. Subject the needle to a load of 200 g and draw along the full length of the film. The 
material shall be considered to have passed the test if the needle does not scratch through the film of polish.   
© EAC 2021 – All rig hts reserved  7 
 Annex E  
(normative)  
 
Blush test  
E.1 Apparatus  
E.1.1  Tinplate , 5 cm x 15 cm  
E.1.2  Beaker , 250 mL capacity  
E.2 Proc edure  
Apply a thin film of nail polish over the plate and allow it to spread into a uniform film. Drain the excess. Dry 
the plate over 24 h at ambient conditions. Fill a beaker to half its level with ordinary tap water. Dip the plate in 
water in the beaker  such that half the coating is in water and the remaining portion above water. Let it stand 
for 4 h. Remove the plate, dry it with tissue paper. Allow it to further dry at ambient conditions for 4 h. Check 
for blush. The material can be taken to have passe d if it has no slight whitishness. The film should not show 
any blistering or peeling off.   
8 © EAC 2021 – All rights reserved  
 Bibliography  
EAS 340: 2013, Nail polish — Specification  
 DEAS  340: 202 1   
 
© EAC 2021 – All rights reserved