Restricted Cosmetic Substances — Annex III
Annex III of EU Cosmetics Regulation 1223/2009 lists substances that may only be used under specific conditions. This grouped page currently contains 373 records with restriction logic, concentration limits, warnings or product-type conditions to review.
How this annex works
Annex III is the conditional list: 373 substances that may be used, but only within the limit, product type and warning the entry states. The condition attached to a number usually decides more cases than the number.
- 373 restricted substances; 211 carry a maximum concentration and 167 a mandatory warning.
- An entry is a package — concentration, product type and warning travel together and cannot be taken apart.
- Some limits are a pH range or a state after mixing rather than a percentage.
- Where a substance can both preserve and act, this annex covers the active use and Annex V the preservative one.
Reading an Annex III entry as a maximum concentration is the mistake this whole annex invites. The concentration is one term of a condition that also names the product types it applies to, often a pH range or a state after mixing, and usually a warning that has to appear on the label. A formula meeting the number in a product type the entry does not name has not met the entry.
The product-type conditions are lists rather than principles. Salicylic acid sits at 0.5% in body lotion, eye shadow, mascara, eyeliner, lipstick and roll-on deodorant, and at 2.0% in other products; there is no category underneath that list to reason from, and a product either is one of the named things or is not. Kojic acid is permitted in face and hand products, which means a body serum has no entry to use regardless of concentration.
Several entries set limits that are not percentages at all. Thioglycolic acid carries a ready-for-use pH range alongside its concentration. Sodium and potassium hydroxide, used to adjust pH, are limited by the pH reached rather than by how much is added. Hydrogen peroxide is measured as 'present or released', which reaches materials that are not hydrogen peroxide but yield it.
Finally, purpose. A substance that can both preserve a product and act in it appears twice — here for the active use and in Annex V for the preservative one — with different limits. Climbazole is 0.5% as a preservative in rinse-off shampoo and 2.0% as an anti-dandruff active in the same format. Which entry governs is settled by what the product presents itself as doing, so the claim on the pack becomes part of the compliance answer.
Checked against
Annex III records
373 total| Entry | Substance | CAS | Max concentration | Flags |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 200 | HC VIOLET NO. 2CAS 104226-19-9 | 104226-19-9 | 2.0% | |
| 200 | TETRAAMINOPYRIMIDINE SULFATECAS 5392-28-9 | 5392-28-9 | (b) 3,4% (calculated as sulphate) | |
| 201 | 2-CHLORO-6-ETHYLAMINO-4-NITROPHENOLCAS 131657-78-8 | 131657-78-8 | 3.0% | |
| 202 | 1,3-BIS-(2,4-DIAMINOPHENOXY)PROPANECAS 81892-72-0 - 74918-21-1 | 81892-72-0 - 74918-21-1 | — | |
| 203 | 6-METHOXY-2-METHYLAMINO-3-AMINOPYRIDINE HCLCAS 90817-34-8 / 83732-72-3 | 90817-34-8 / 83732-72-3 | (b) 0.68% as free base (1.0% as dihydrochloride) | |
| 204 | DIHYDROXYINDOLINECAS 29539-03-5 - 138937-28-7 | 29539-03-5 - 138937-28-7 | 2.0% | |
| 205 | 4-HYDROXYPROPYLAMINO-3-NITROPHENOLCAS 92952-81-3 | 92952-81-3 | (b) 2.6% | |
| 206 | HYDROXYETHYL-P-PHENYLENE-DIAMINE SULFATECAS 93841-25-9 | 93841-25-9 | — | |
| 207 | DIHYDROXY-INDOLECAS 3131-52-0 | 3131-52-0 | — | |
| 208 | HC ORANGE NO. 2CAS 85765-48-6 | 85765-48-6 | 1.0% | |
| 208 | 5-Amino-4-Chloro-o-Cresol HClCAS 110102-85-7 | 110102-85-7 | — | |
| 209 | 6-Hydroxy-indoleCAS 2380-86-1 | 2380-86-1 | — | |
| 21 | QUININECAS 130-95-0 | 130-95-0 | (a) 0.5% (as quinine base) (b) 0.2% (as quinine base) | |
| 210 | ISATINCAS 91-56-5 | 91-56-5 | 1.6% | |
| 211 | 2-AMINO-3-HYDROXYPYRIDINECAS 16867-03-1 | 16867-03-1 | — | |
| 212 | 1-Acetoxy-2-Methylnaph-thaleneCAS 5697-02-9 | 5697-02-9 | — | |
| 213 | 2-Methyl-1-NaphtholCAS 7469-77-4 | 7469-77-4 | — | |
| 214 | ACID YELLOW 1CAS 846-70-8 | 846-70-8 | (b) 0,2% | |
| 215 | 4-AMINO-3-NITROPHENOLCAS 610-81-1 | 610-81-1 | (b) 1.0% | |
| 216 | 2,7-NAPHTHALENEDIOLCAS 582-17-2 | 582-17-2 | (b) 1,0 % | |
| 217 | M-AMINOPHENOL; M-AMINOPHENOL HCL; M-AMINOPHENOL SULFATECAS 591-27-5/ 51-81-0 / 68239-81-6 /38171-54-9 | 591-27-5/ 51-81-0 / 68239-81-6 /38171-54-9 | — | |
| 218 | 2,6-DIHYDROXY-3,4-DIMETHYLPYRIDINECAS 84540-47-6 | 84540-47-6 | — | |
| 219 | 4-Hydroxypropylamino-3-nitrophenolCAS 92952-81-3 | 92952-81-3 | (b) 2,6 % | |
| 22 | RESORCINOLCAS 108-46-3 | 108-46-3 | (c) 0,5% | |
| 220 | HC Blue No 11CAS 23920-15-2 | 23920-15-2 | 2,0 % | |
| 221 | Hydroxyethyl-2-Nitro-p-ToluidineCAS 100418-33-5 | 100418-33-5 | (b) 1,0% | |
| 222 | 2-HYDROXYETHYL PICRAMIC ACIDCAS 99610-72-7 | 99610-72-7 | (b) 2.0% | CMR |
| 223 | P-METHYLAMINOPHENOLCAS 150-75-4 - 55-55-0 - 1936-57-8 | 150-75-4 - 55-55-0 - 1936-57-8 | — | |
| 224 | HC Violet No 2CAS 104226-19-9 | 104226-19-9 | 2,0 % | |
| 225 | HC BLUE NO. 12CAS 104516-93-0 - 132885-85-9 | 104516-93-0 - 132885-85-9 | (b) 1.5% (as hydrocloride) | |
| 226 | 1,3-bis-(2,4-Diaminophenoxy)propane 1,3-bis-(2,4-Diaminophenoxy)propane HClCAS 81892-72-0 / 74918-21-1 | 81892-72-0 / 74918-21-1 | (b) 1,2 % as free base (1,8 % as tetrahydrochloride salt) | |
| 227 | 3-AMINO-2,4-DICHLOROPHENOLCAS 61693-42-3 - 1693-43-4 | 61693-42-3 - 1693-43-4 | (b) 1,5% (as hydrochloride) | |
| 228 | PHENYL METHYL PYRAZOLONECAS 89-25-8 | 89-25-8 | — | |
| 229 | 2-METHYL-5-HYDROXYETHYL AMINOPHENOLCAS 55302-96-0 | 55302-96-0 | — | |
| 23 | (a) Alkali sulphides (b) Alkaline earth sulphides | — | (a) 2% (as sulphur) (b) 6% (as sulphur) | |
| 230 | HYDROXYBENZOMORPHOLINECAS 26021-57-8 | 26021-57-8 | — | |
| 231 | HC YELLOW NO. 10CAS 109023-83-8 | 109023-83-8 | 0.1% | |
| 232 | 2,6-DIMETHOXY-3,5-PYRIDINEDIAMINE HCLCAS 56216-28-5 - 85679-78-3 | 56216-28-5 - 85679-78-3 | — | |
| 234 | HC VIOLET NO 1CAS 82576-75-8 | 82576-75-8 | (b) 0.28% | |
| 235 | 3-METHYLAMINO-4-NITROPHENOXYETHANOLCAS 59820-63-2 | 59820-63-2 | 0 15% | |
| 236 | 2-HYDROXYETHYLAMINO-5-NITROANISOLECAS 66095-81-6 | 66095-81-6 | 0.2%% | |
| 237 | HC RED NO 13CAS 29705-39-3 - 94158-13-1 | 29705-39-3 - 94158-13-1 | (b) 2.5% (as hydro-chloride) | |
| 238 | 1,5-NAPHTHALENEDIOLCAS 83-56-7 | 83-56-7 | b) 1.0% | |
| 239 | HYDROXYPROPYL BIS(N-HYDROXYETHYL-P-PHENYLENEDIAMINE) HCLCAS 128729-30-6 -- 128729-28-2 | 128729-30-6 -- 128729-28-2 | — | |
| 24 | ZINC ACETATE / ZINC CHLORIDE / ZINC GLUCONATE / ZINC GLUTAMATE | — | 1% (as zinc) | |
| 240 | 4-Nitro-o-PhenylenediamineCAS 99-56-9 | 99-56-9 | — | |
| 241 | 4-AMINO-2-HYDROXYTOLUENECAS 2835-95-2 | 2835-95-2 | — | |
| 242 | 2,4-DIAMINOPHENOXYETHANOL HCLCAS 70643-19-5 / 66422-95-5 / 70643-20-8 | 70643-19-5 / 66422-95-5 / 70643-20-8 | — | |
| 243 | 2-METHYLRESORCINOLCAS 608-25-3 | 608-25-3 | (b) 1.8 % | |
| 244 | 4-AMINO-M-CRESOLCAS 2835-99-6 | 2835-99-6 | — |
How to use this grouped view
Annex III lists substances permitted only under defined conditions. This grouped view is built for quickly triaging 373 restricted-substance records before you open the full entry and check concentration limits, product scope and warnings.
Open individual records to review the full set of conditions, concentration limits, label warnings and applicable product categories.