Halal Cosmetics Now the Rage Among Islamic Women

Islamic women are queuing up to buy into the halal cosmetic craze - beauty products that are produced without alcohol or pork.

The word halal, Arabic for permissible, describes meat slaughtered and prepared in line with Islamic law.

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Halal beauty products are made using plants and minerals rather than the alcohol and pork ingredients that are banned in Islam but often found in cosmetics.

"It is part of the permissibility of cosmetics that they be safe. Harmful substances would be impermissible. Substances that are tested on animals in such a way as to cause unnecessary pain or that pollute the environment would be avoided by religious, educated and conscientious consumers," the Independent quoted a New-York based Islamic scholar Taha Abdul-Basser as saying.

Morocco's Amys Group is another start-up that smells opportunity in the exotic fragrances of halal beauty. Its range is made in the Atlas mountains and includes exfoliating scrubs and hammam oils.

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"The halal business is at the level where the Islamic banks were 20 years ago," said Walid Mougou of the Amys Group.

However, the lack of a unified global halal certification body could restrict the growth of halal cosmetics.

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The products are usually approved by local, regional or national certification agencies, but there is little to stop some producers from unofficially labelling their products halal.

There are 138 different certification bodies around the world, according to the International Halal Integrity Alliance, a group based in Kuala Lumpur.

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Darhim Hashim of International Halal Integrity Alliance, said: "It's very hard to come up with a global standard as there is no single authority. The Muslim world itself is fragmented and there are differences in interpretation of the holy text. If we are lucky, we might one day be able to live with three or four standards only."

Source-ANI