Cosmetic safety: vaginal suppositories.

Senator Weber Pierson shapes SB 39 as a carefully staged rewrite of California’s cosmetic-safety regime, tying the fate of vaginal boric acid suppositories to a clear sequence of prohibitions and labeling requirements that culminate in a prohibition in 2035, while requiring a warning label on these products beginning in 2027 and preserving an FDA-regulated drug pathway as a potential exemption.

The bill would amend a key Health and Safety Code provision to prohibit a broad roster of intentionally added ingredients in cosmetics, including a wide range of phthalates, aldehydes, certain heavy metals and preservatives, PFAS and related substances, various dyes, musk compounds, and other listed chemicals. It also introduces a separate musk-content limit for fragrances starting in 2027 and codifies a labeling requirement for vaginal boric acid suppositories. Importantly, a product would be exempt from these prohibitions if it becomes regulated as a drug by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The bill’s findings cite Johns Hopkins University research and guidelines from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and other authorities to acknowledge boric acid’s role in addressing recurrent vaginal infections while signaling safety considerations during pregnancy. Authors assert that extending the timeline for regulatory oversight—by delaying the boric acid prohibition to 2035 and adding patient- and provider-facing warnings—facilitates a transition toward potential drug-regulation status under federal oversight.

SB 39 includes an immediate-effect, urgency provision and contemplates interaction with related amendments proposed by Assembly Bill 60, such that the broader section amending 108980 would operate in a coordinated manner if both bills are enacted and become effective. The approach situates cosmetic-safety rules within a framework that requires explicit labeling for boric acid products and aligns with a longer-term transition toward FDA-regulated status, while maintaining California’s authority to regulate a wide range of cosmetic ingredients in the interim.