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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 377 | Alpha-ArbutinCAS 84380-01-8 | 84380-01-8 | (a) 2 % (b) 0,5 % | |
| 378 | ArbutinCAS 497-76-7 | 497-76-7 | 7 % | |
| 379 | SilverCAS 7440-22-4 | 7440-22-4 | For (a) and (b): 0,05 % | |
| 38 | N,N',N'-Tris(polyoxyethylene)-N-hexadecylpropylenediamine dihydrofluoride | — | 0,15 % | |
| 380 | Hexyl SalicylateCAS 6259-76-3 | 6259-76-3 | See conditions | |
| 39 | OCTADECENYLAMMONIUM FLUORIDECAS 36505-83-6 | 36505-83-6 | 0,15 % | |
| 4 | AMMONIACAS 7664-41-7 / 1336-21-6 | 7664-41-7 / 1336-21-6 | 6% (as NH3) | |
| 40 | SODIUM FLUOROSILICATECAS 16893-85-9 | 16893-85-9 | 0,15 % | |
| 41 | POTASSIUM FLUOROSILICATECAS 16871-90-2 | 16871-90-2 | 0,15 % | |
| 42 | Ammonium fluorosilicateCAS 16919-19-0 | 16919-19-0 | 0.15% | |
| 43 | MAGNESIUM FLUOROSILICATECAS 16949-65-8 | 16949-65-8 | 0,15 % | |
| 44 | DIMETHYLOL ETHYLENE THIOUREACAS 15534-95-9 | 15534-95-9 | (a) 2% (b) 2% | |
| 45 | BENZYL ALCOHOLCAS 100-51-6 | 100-51-6 | — | |
| 46 | 6-MethylcoumarinCAS 92-48-8 | 92-48-8 | 0.003% | |
| 47 | NICOMETHANOL HYDROFLUORIDECAS 62756-44-9 | 62756-44-9 | 0,15 % | |
| 48 | SILVER NITRATECAS 7761-88-8 | 7761-88-8 | 4% | |
| 49 | Selenium disulphideCAS 7488-56-4 | 7488-56-4 | 1% | |
| 5 | Chloramine-TCAS 127-65-1 | 127-65-1 | 0.2% | |
| 50 | Aluminium zirconium chloride hydroxide complexes AlxZr(OH)yClz and the aluminium zirconium chloride hydroxide glycine complexes | — | 20% | |
| 51 | OXYQUINOLINE SULFATECAS 134-31-6 | 134-31-6 | (a) (0,3 % as base) (b) (0,03 % as base) | |
| 52 | METHYL ALCOHOLCAS 67-56-1 | 67-56-1 | 5% (as a % of ethanol and isopropyl alcohol) | |
| 53 | Etidronic acidCAS 2809-21-4 | 2809-21-4 | (a) 1.5% (as etidronic acid) (b) 0.2% (as etidronic acid) | |
| 54 | 1-Phenoxypropan-2-ol (8)CAS 770-35-4 | 770-35-4 | 2% | |
| 56 | MAGNESIUM FLUORIDECAS 7783-40-6 | 7783-40-6 | 0,15 % | |
| 57 | STRONTIUM CHLORIDECAS 10476-85-4 | 10476-85-4 | See conditions | |
| 58 | STRONTIUM ACETATECAS 543-94-2 | 543-94-2 | 3.5% | |
| 59 | TALCCAS 14807-96-6 | 14807-96-6 | — | |
| 6 | POTASSIUM CHLORATE / SODIUM CHLORATECAS 3811-04-9 / 7775-09-9 | 3811-04-9 / 7775-09-9 | (a) 5% (b) 3% | |
| 60 | Fatty acid dialkylamides and dialkanolamides | — | Maximum secondary amine content: 0.5% | |
| 61 | Monoalkylamines, monoalkanolamines and their salts | — | Maximum secondary amine content: 0.5% | |
| 62 | Trialkylamines, trialkanolamines and their salts | — | (a) 2.5% | |
| 63 | STRONTIUM HYDROXIDECAS 18480-07-4 | 18480-07-4 | 3.5% (as strontium) | |
| 64 | Strontium peroxideCAS 1314-18-7 | 1314-18-7 | 4.5% (as strontium) | |
| 65 | BENZALKONIUM CHLORIDE / BENZALKONIUM BROMIDE / BENZALKONIUM SACCHARINATECAS 91080-29-4 / 63449-41-2 / 68391-01-5 / 68424-85-1 / 85409-22-9 / 68989-01-5 | 91080-29-4 / 63449-41-2 / 68391-01-5 / 68424-85-1 / 85409-22-9 / 68989-01-5 | 3% (as benzalkonium chloride) | |
| 66 | Polyacrylamides | — | — | |
| 67 | Amyl cinnamalCAS 122-40-7 | 122-40-7 | — | |
| 69 | Cinnamyl alcoholCAS 104-54-1 | 104-54-1 | — | |
| 70 | Citral; Geranial; NeralCAS 5392-40-5; 141-27-5; 106-26-3 | 5392-40-5; 141-27-5; 106-26-3 | — | |
| 71 | EugenolCAS 97-53-0 | 97-53-0 | — | |
| 72 | HYDROXYCITRONELLALCAS 107-75-5 | 107-75-5 | (b) 1,0 % | |
| 73 | ISOEUGENOLCAS 97-54-1; 5932-68-3; 5912-86-7 | 97-54-1; 5932-68-3; 5912-86-7 | b) 0,02 % | |
| 74 | Amylcinnamyl alcoholCAS 101-85-9 | 101-85-9 | — | |
| 75 | Benzyl salicylateCAS 118-58-1 | 118-58-1 | — | |
| 76 | CinnamalCAS 104-55-2 | 104-55-2 | — | |
| 77 | CoumarinCAS 91-64-5 | 91-64-5 | — | |
| 78 | GeraniolCAS 106-24-1 | 106-24-1 | — | |
| 8 | N-substituted derivatives of p- Phenylenediamine and their salts; N- substituted derivatives of o-Phenylenediamine (1 ), with exception of those derivatives listed elsewhere in this Annex and under reference numbers 1309, 1311, and 1312 in Annex II | — | See conditions | |
| 80 | ANISe ALCOHOLCAS 105-13-5 | 105-13-5 | — | |
| 81 | Benzyl cinnamateCAS 103-41-3 | 103-41-3 | — | |
| 82 | FarnesolCAS 4602-84-0 | 4602-84-0 | — |
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.