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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 143 | TITANIUM DIOXIDE/CI 77891CAS 13463-67-7 | 13463-67-7 | — | |
| 144 | ZINC OXIDECAS 1314-13-2 | 1314-13-2 | — | |
| 145 | LACTOFLAVIN / RIBOFLAVIN | — | — | |
| 146 | CARAMEL | — | — | |
| 147 | CAPSANTHIN, CAPSORUBIN | — | — | |
| 148 | BEETROOT REDCAS 7659-95-2; 89957-88-0; 89957-89-1 | 7659-95-2; 89957-88-0; 89957-89-1 | — | |
| 149 | ANTHOCYANINSCAS 528-58-5 / 134-01-0 / 528-53-0 / 643-84-5 / 134-04-3 | 528-58-5 / 134-01-0 / 528-53-0 / 643-84-5 / 134-04-3 | — | |
| 15 | CI 12700CAS 4314-14-1 | 4314-14-1 | Rinse-off products | |
| 150 | ALUMINUM STEARATE / ZINC STEARATE / MAGNESIUM STEARATE / CALCIUM STEARATECAS 7047-84-9 / 557-05-1 /557-04-0 / 1592-23-0 | 7047-84-9 / 557-05-1 /557-04-0 / 1592-23-0 | — | |
| 151 | BROMOTHYMOL BLUECAS 76-59-5 | 76-59-5 | Rinse-off products | |
| 152 | BROMOCRESOL GREENCAS 76-60-8 | 76-60-8 | Rinse-off products | |
| 153 | ACID RED 195CAS 12220-24-5 | 12220-24-5 | Not to be used in products applied on mucous membranes | |
| 16 | CI 13015CAS 2706-28-7 | 2706-28-7 | — | |
| 17 | CI 14270CAS 547-57-9 | 547-57-9 | — | |
| 18 | PONCEAUX SX (CI 14700)CAS 4548-53-2 | 4548-53-2 | — | |
| 19 | CI 14720CAS 3567-69-9 | 3567-69-9 | — | |
| 2 | CI 10020CAS 19381-50-1 | 19381-50-1 | Not to be used in products applied on mucous membranes | |
| 20 | CI 14815CAS 3257-28-1 | 3257-28-1 | — | |
| 21 | CI 15510CAS 633-96-5 | 633-96-5 | Not to be used in eye products | |
| 22 | CI 15525CAS 5850-80-6 | 5850-80-6 | — | |
| 23 | CI 15580CAS 5850-87-3 | 5850-87-3 | — | |
| 24 | CI 15620CAS 1658-56-6 | 1658-56-6 | Rinse-off products | |
| 25 | CI 15630CAS 1248-18-6 | 1248-18-6 | — | |
| 26 | CI 15800CAS 6371-76-2 | 6371-76-2 | Not to be used in products applied on mucous membranes | |
| 27 | CI 15850 | — | — | |
| 28 | CI 15865CAS 3564-21-4; 5280-66-0 | 3564-21-4; 5280-66-0 | — | |
| 29 | CI 15880CAS 6417-83-0 | 6417-83-0 | — | |
| 3 | CI 10316CAS 846-70-8 | 846-70-8 | Not to be used in eye products | |
| 30 | CI 15980CAS 2347-72-0 | 2347-72-0 | — | |
| 31 | CI 15985CAS 2783-94-0 | 2783-94-0 | — | |
| 32 | CI 16035CAS 25956-17-6 | 25956-17-6 | — | |
| 33 | CI 16185CAS 642-59-1; 915-67-3 | 642-59-1; 915-67-3 | — | |
| 34 | CI 16230CAS 1936-15-8 | 1936-15-8 | Not to be used in products applied on mucous membranes | |
| 35 | CI 16255CAS 2611-82-7 | 2611-82-7 | — | |
| 36 | CI 16290CAS 5850-44-2 | 5850-44-2 | — | |
| 37 | CI 17200CAS 3567-66-6 | 3567-66-6 | — | |
| 38 | CI 18050CAS 3734-67-6 | 3734-67-6 | Not to be used in products applied on mucous membranes | |
| 39 | CI 18130CAS 10236-37-0 | 10236-37-0 | Rinse-off products | |
| 4 | CI 11680CAS 2512-29-0 | 2512-29-0 | Not to be used in products applied on mucous membranes | |
| 40 | CI 18690CAS 5601-29-6 | 5601-29-6 | Rinse-off products | |
| 41 | CI 18736CAS 6408-26-0 | 6408-26-0 | Rinse-off products | |
| 42 | CI 18820CAS 6359-82-6 | 6359-82-6 | Rinse-off products | |
| 43 | CI 18965CAS 6359-98-4 | 6359-98-4 | — | |
| 44 | CI 19140CAS 12225-21-7; 1934-21-0 | 12225-21-7; 1934-21-0 | — | |
| 45 | CI 20040CAS 5979-28-2 | 5979-28-2 | Rinse-off products | |
| 46 | CI 20470CAS 1064-48-8 | 1064-48-8 | Rinse-off products | |
| 47 | CI 21100CAS 5102-83-0 | 5102-83-0 | Rinse-off products | |
| 48 | CI 21108CAS 5567-15-7 | 5567-15-7 | Rinse-off products | |
| 49 | CI 21230 /SOLVENT YELLOW 29CAS 6706-82-7 | 6706-82-7 | Not to be used in products applied on mucous membranes | |
| 5 | CI 11710CAS 6486-23-3 | 6486-23-3 | Not to be used in products applied on mucous membranes |
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.