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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | CI 24790CAS 13421-53-9 | 13421-53-9 | Rinse-off products | |
| 51 | CI 26100 /SOLVENT RED 23CAS 85-86-9 | 85-86-9 | Not to be used in products applied on mucous membranes | |
| 52 | CI 27755CAS 2118-39-0 | 2118-39-0 | — | |
| 53 | CI 28440CAS 2519-30-4 | 2519-30-4 | — | |
| 54 | CI 40215CAS 1325-54-8 | 1325-54-8 | Rinse-off products | |
| 55 | CI 40800CAS 116-32-5; 31797-85-0; 7235-40-7 | 116-32-5; 31797-85-0; 7235-40-7 | — | |
| 56 | CI 40820CAS 1962-15-8 | 1962-15-8 | — | |
| 57 | CI 40825CAS 1109-11-1 | 1109-11-1 | — | |
| 58 | CI 40850CAS 514-78-3 | 514-78-3 | — | |
| 59 | CI 42045 /ACID BLUE 1CAS 129-17-9 | 129-17-9 | Not to be used in products applied on mucous membranes | |
| 6 | CI 11725CAS 6371-96-6 | 6371-96-6 | Rinse-off products | |
| 60 | CI 42051 /ACID BLUE 3CAS 3536-49-0 | 3536-49-0 | — | |
| 61 | CI 42053/ FAST GREEN FCFCAS 2353-45-9 | 2353-45-9 | — | |
| 62 | CI 42080CAS 3486-30-4 | 3486-30-4 | Rinse-off products | |
| 63 | CI 42090/ ACID BLUE 9; ACID BLUE 9 AMMONIUM SALT; ACID BLUE 9 ALUMINUM LAKECAS 2650-18-2; 37307-56-5; 3844-45-9 | 2650-18-2; 37307-56-5; 3844-45-9 | — | |
| 64 | CI 42100CAS 4857-81-2 | 4857-81-2 | Rinse-off products | |
| 65 | CI 42170CAS 5863-51-4 | 5863-51-4 | Rinse-off products | |
| 66 | CI 42510CAS 632-99-5 | 632-99-5 | Not to be used in products applied on mucous membranes | |
| 67 | CI 42520 / BASIC VIOLET 2CAS 3248-91-7 | 3248-91-7 | Rinse-off products | |
| 68 | CI 42735CAS 6505-30-2 | 6505-30-2 | Not to be used in products applied on mucous membranes | |
| 69 | CI 44045CAS 2580-56-5 | 2580-56-5 | Not to be used in products applied on the mucous membranes | |
| 7 | CI 11920CAS 2051-85-6 | 2051-85-6 | — | |
| 70 | CI 44090CAS 3087-16-9 | 3087-16-9 | — | |
| 71 | CI 45100/ ACID RED 52CAS 3520-42-1 | 3520-42-1 | Rinse-off products | |
| 72 | CI 45190 / ACID VIOLET 9CAS 6252-76-2 | 6252-76-2 | Rinse-off products | |
| 73 | CI 45220CAS 5873-16-5 | 5873-16-5 | Rinse-off products | |
| 74 | CI 45350CAS 518-45-6; 518-47-8 | 518-45-6; 518-47-8 | — | |
| 75 | CI 45370CAS 596-03-2; 4372-02-5 | 596-03-2; 4372-02-5 | — | |
| 76 | CI 45380 / ACID RED 87CAS 17372-87-1 / 548-26-5 / 15876-39-8 / 15086-94-9 / 94021-89-3 | 17372-87-1 / 548-26-5 / 15876-39-8 / 15086-94-9 / 94021-89-3 | — | |
| 77 | CI 45396CAS 24545-86-6 | 24545-86-6 | — | |
| 78 | CI 45405CAS 6441-77-6 | 6441-77-6 | Not to be used in eye products | |
| 79 | CI 45410CAS 18472-87-2 | 18472-87-2 | — | |
| 8 | CI 12010CAS 6535-42-8 | 6535-42-8 | Not to be used in products applied on mucous membranes | |
| 80 | CI 45430CAS 12227-78-0 | 12227-78-0 | — | |
| 81 | CI 47000 / SOLVENT YELLOW 33CAS 8003-22-3 | 8003-22-3 | Not to be used in products applied on mucous membranes | |
| 82 | CI 47005CAS 38615-46-2 ; 8004-92-0; 95193-83-2 | 38615-46-2 ; 8004-92-0; 95193-83-2 | — | |
| 83 | CI 50325CAS 6837-46-3; 6856-08-2 | 6837-46-3; 6856-08-2 | Rinse-off products | |
| 84 | CI 50420CAS 8005-03-6 | 8005-03-6 | Not to be used in products applied on the mucous membranes | |
| 85 | CI 51319 / PIGMENT VIOLET 23CAS 6358-30-1 | 6358-30-1 | Rinse-off products | |
| 86 | CI 58000 / PIGMENT RED 83CAS 72-48-0 | 72-48-0 | — | |
| 87 | CI 59040CAS 6358-69-6 | 6358-69-6 | Not to be used in products applied on the mucous membranes | |
| 88 | CI 60724CAS 19286-75-0 | 19286-75-0 | Rinse-off products | |
| 89 | CI 60725 / SOLVENT VIOLET 13 / VIOLET 2CAS 81-48-1 | 81-48-1 | — | |
| 9 | CI 12085CAS 2814-77-9 | 2814-77-9 | — | |
| 90 | CI 60730CAS 4430-18-6 | 4430-18-6 | Not to be used in products applied on the mucous membranes | |
| 91 | CI 61565CAS 128-80-3 | 128-80-3 | — | |
| 92 | CI 61570CAS 4403-90-1 | 4403-90-1 | — | |
| 93 | CI 61585CAS 4474-24-2 | 4474-24-2 | Rinse-off products | |
| 94 | CI 62045CAS 4368-56-3 | 4368-56-3 | Rinse-off products | |
| 95 | CI 69800CAS 81-77-6 | 81-77-6 | — |
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.