Permitted Cosmetic Colorants — Annex IV
Annex IV of EU Cosmetics Regulation 1223/2009 lists colorants approved for cosmetic use. This grouped page currently contains 154 colorant records to browse by name, identifier and annex conditions.
How this annex works
Annex IV is a positive list of 154 colourants. Its logic is the reverse of Annex II: a colourant that is not listed may not be used to colour a cosmetic product.
- 154 permitted colourants; 60 carry a maximum concentration and 53 a warning.
- Not listed means not permitted — the opposite of how Annex II works.
- Entries are identified by Colour Index number, and purity criteria are part of the permission.
- Hair dyes, and colourants used to colour the product rather than the skin, are outside this annex.
The three positive lists — colourants here, preservatives in Annex V, UV filters in Annex VI — invert the reasoning that applies everywhere else. For a substance in general, silence in the annexes means nothing has been decided. For a colourant, silence is the decision: if it is not in Annex IV, it may not be used to colour a cosmetic product.
Colourants are identified by Colour Index number rather than by INCI name alone, and that identification does real work. CI 77891 is titanium dioxide as a colourant; the same substance appears in Annex III for an inhalation concern and in Annex VI as a UV filter, and the three entries condition different things. An answer taken from one of them is not an answer for a product that engages all three.
Two boundaries are worth knowing. This annex covers colourants used to colour the product or the skin; substances used to colour hair by an oxidative process are treated separately. And the specifications matter as much as the listing — a Colour Index entry carries purity criteria, and a pigment meeting the name but not the specification is not the listed substance.
Checked against
Annex IV records
154 total| Entry | Substance | CAS | Max concentration | Flags |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CI 10006CAS 16143-80-9 | 16143-80-9 | Rinse-off product | |
| 10 | CI 12120CAS 2425-85-6 | 2425-85-6 | Rinse-off products | |
| 100 | CI 73360CAS 2379-74-0 | 2379-74-0 | — | |
| 101 | CI 73385CAS 5462-29-3 | 5462-29-3 | — | |
| 102 | CI 73900CAS 1047-16-1 | 1047-16-1 | Rinse-off products | |
| 103 | CI 73915CAS 16043-40-6; 980-26-7 | 16043-40-6; 980-26-7 | Rinse-off products | |
| 104 | CI 74100CAS 574-93-6 | 574-93-6 | Rinse-off products | |
| 105 | CI 74160CAS 147-14-8 | 147-14-8 | — | |
| 106 | CI 74180CAS 1330-38-7 | 1330-38-7 | Rinse-off products | |
| 107 | CI 74260CAS 1328-53-6 | 1328-53-6 | Not to be used in eye products | |
| 108 | CI 75100CAS 27876-94-4; 89382-88-7 | 27876-94-4; 89382-88-7 | — | |
| 109 | CI 75120CAS 1393-63-1; 542-40-5; 6983-79-5 | 1393-63-1; 542-40-5; 6983-79-5 | — | |
| 11 | CI 12370CAS 6535-46-2 | 6535-46-2 | Rinse-off products | |
| 110 | CI 75125CAS 502-65-8 | 502-65-8 | — | |
| 111 | CI 75130CAS 116-32-5; 31797-85-0; 7235-40-7; - | 116-32-5; 31797-85-0; 7235-40-7; - | — | |
| 112 | CI 75135CAS 3763-55-1 | 3763-55-1 | — | |
| 113 | CI 75170CAS 73-40-5 | 73-40-5 | — | |
| 114 | CI 75300CAS 458-37-7; 94875-80-6 | 458-37-7; 94875-80-6 | — | |
| 115 | CI 75470CAS 1260-17-9; 1343-78-8; - | 1260-17-9; 1343-78-8; - | — | |
| 116 | CI 75810CAS 11006-34-1; 8049-84-1 | 11006-34-1; 8049-84-1 | — | |
| 117 | CI 77000CAS 7429-90-5 | 7429-90-5 | — | |
| 118 | CI 77002CAS 1332-73-6; 21645-51-2; 8011-94-7 | 1332-73-6; 21645-51-2; 8011-94-7 | — | |
| 119 | CI 77004CAS 1302-78-9 | 1302-78-9 | — | |
| 12 | CI 12420CAS 6471-51-8 | 6471-51-8 | Rinse-off products | |
| 120 | CI 77007CAS 12769-96-9; 1317-97-1; 57455-37-5 | 12769-96-9; 1317-97-1; 57455-37-5 | — | |
| 121 | CI 77015CAS 1309-37-1/1332-25-8 | 1309-37-1/1332-25-8 | — | |
| 122 | CI 77120CAS 7727-43-7 | 7727-43-7 | — | |
| 123 | CI 77163CAS 7787-59-9 | 7787-59-9 | — | |
| 124 | CI 77220CAS 471-34-1 | 471-34-1 | — | |
| 125 | CI 77231 | — | — | |
| 126 | CI 77266CAS 1333-86-4 | 1333-86-4 | — | |
| 126a | CI 77266CAS 1333-86-4 | 1333-86-4 | — | |
| 127 | CI 77267CAS 8021-99-6 | 8021-99-6 | — | |
| 128 | CI 77268:1CAS 7440-44-0; 1339-82-8 | 7440-44-0; 1339-82-8 | — | |
| 129 | CI 77288CAS 1308-38-9 | 1308-38-9 | — | |
| 13 | CI 12480CAS 6410-40-8 | 6410-40-8 | Rinse-off products | |
| 130 | CI 77289CAS 12001-99-9 | 12001-99-9 | — | |
| 131 | CI 77346CAS 1345-16-0 | 1345-16-0 | — | |
| 132 | CI 77400CAS 7440-50-8 | 7440-50-8 | — | |
| 133 | CI 77480CAS 7440-57-5 | 7440-57-5 | — | |
| 134 | CI 77489CAS 1345-25-1 | 1345-25-1 | — | |
| 135 | CI 77491CAS 1345-25-1; 1345-27-3; 1309-37-1; 1317-61-9; 52357-70-7 | 1345-25-1; 1345-27-3; 1309-37-1; 1317-61-9; 52357-70-7 | — | |
| 136 | CI 77492CAS 51274-00-1 | 51274-00-1 | — | |
| 137 | CI 77499CAS 12227-89-3; 1309-37-1; 1317-61-9; 1345-25-1; 1345-27-3; 52357-70-7 | 12227-89-3; 1309-37-1; 1317-61-9; 1345-25-1; 1345-27-3; 52357-70-7 | — | |
| 138 | CI 77510CAS 25869-00-5 | 25869-00-5 | — | |
| 139 | CI 77713CAS 546-93-0; 7757-69-9 | 546-93-0; 7757-69-9 | — | |
| 14 | CI 12490CAS 6410-41-9 | 6410-41-9 | — | |
| 140 | CI 77742CAS 10101-66-3 | 10101-66-3 | — | |
| 141 | CI 77745CAS 10124-54-6 | 10124-54-6 | — | |
| 142 | CI 77820CAS 7440-22-4 | 7440-22-4 | For (a) and (b): 0,2 %’ |
How to use this grouped view
Annex IV is the positive list of colorants permitted for use in cosmetic products. This grouped view gives you 154 colorant records to compare by name, CI context, identifiers and linked conditions.
Open individual records to review Colour Index numbers, chemical identifiers and any applicable restrictions on product type or application.