European Union cosmetic ingredient regulations
EU Cosmetics Regulation 1223/2009 annexes and the CosIng discovery database.
- Regulator
- European Commission
- Source language
- English and EU languages
- Coverage version
- Regulation (EC) 1223/2009 consolidated to 1 May 2026
What this list is
The EU list is not one list. Regulation 1223/2009 splits substances across five annexes that answer different questions, and reading the wrong one is the most common way to get an EU answer wrong.
- Annex II prohibits 1,739 substances outright.
- Annex III permits 373 substances only within stated limits, product types and warnings.
- Annexes IV, V and VI are positive lists: 154 colourants, 54 preservatives, 33 UV filters.
- For those three categories, absence from the annex means not permitted — the opposite of Annex II's logic.
- CosIng is a discovery database, not the law; the annexes as published are.
Most markets on this site publish one list. The EU publishes five, and they do not work the same way. Annex II names substances that may not be used at all. Annex III names substances that may be used, but only within a concentration limit, for stated product types, and often with a warning that must appear on the label. Annexes IV, V and VI are positive lists for colourants, preservatives and UV filters.
That last distinction reverses the logic and catches people out. For a substance in general, absence from Annex II is not permission — nothing has been decided about it. For a preservative, absence from Annex V is a decision: it may not be used as a preservative in a cosmetic product. The same silence means opposite things depending on which annex you are reading.
CosIng is worth naming separately, because it is what most searches land on. It is the Commission's database for finding ingredients and their annex references, and it is genuinely useful for that. It is not the legal text. When CosIng and the published annex disagree — usually because an amendment has come into force and the database has not caught up — the annex governs.
An Annex III entry is also more than a number. The limit, the product-type condition and the warning text travel together, and quoting the concentration without the condition it applies to produces an answer that is right about the figure and wrong about the product.
Checked against
Official ingredient records
2353 matching recordsTetraethyl pyrophosphate (TEPP - ISO)
Source reference: Annex II, entry 276 · 20/10/2010
Phosphorus and metalphosphides
Source reference: Annex II, entry 279 · 15/10/2010
Octodrine (INN) and its salts
Source reference: Annex II, entry 28 · 17/10/2010
Thalidomide (INN) and its salts
Source reference: Annex II, entry 280 · 15/10/2010
Physostigma venenosum Balf.
Source reference: Annex II, entry 281 · 15/10/2010
Pilocarpine and its salts
Source reference: Annex II, entry 283 · 15/10/2010
alpha-Piperidin-2-ylbenzyl acetate, laevorotatory threoform (levofacetoperane (INN)) and its salts
Source reference: Annex II, entry 284 · 20/10/2010
Pipradrol (INN) and its salts
Source reference: Annex II, entry 285 · 15/10/2010
Azacyclonol (INN) and its salts
Source reference: Annex II, entry 286 · 15/10/2010
Butopiprine (INN) and its salts
Source reference: Annex II, entry 288 · 20/10/2010
Lead and its compounds
Source reference: Annex II, entry 289 · 15/10/2010
2-Amino-1,2-bis(4-methoxyphenyl)ethanol and its salts
Source reference: Annex II, entry 29 · 17/10/2010
Prunus laurocerasus L. ("cherry laurel water")
Source reference: Annex II, entry 291 · 15/10/2010
Radioactive substances, as defined by Directive 96/29/Euratom (1) laying down the basic safety standards for the protection of the health of workers and the general public against the dangers arising from ionising radiation
Source reference: Annex II, entry 293 · 15/10/2010
Juniperus sabina L. (leaves, essential oil and galenical preparations)
Source reference: Annex II, entry 294 · 15/10/2010
Hyoscine, its salts and derivatives
Source reference: Annex II, entry 295 · 15/10/2010
Selenium and its compounds with the exception of selenium disulphide under the conditions set out under reference No 49 in Annex III
Source reference: Annex II, entry 297 · 20/10/2010
Solanum nigrum L. and its galenical preparations
Source reference: Annex II, entry 298 · 15/10/2010
Sparteine (INN) and its salts
Source reference: Annex II, entry 299 · 20/10/2010
Deanol aceglumate (INN)
Source reference: Annex II, entry 3 · 15/10/2010
1,3-Dimethylpentylamine and its salts
Source reference: Annex II, entry 30 · 15/10/2010
Glucocorticoids (Corticosteroids)
Source reference: Annex II, entry 300 · 20/10/2010
Datura stramonium L. and its galenical preparations
Source reference: Annex II, entry 301 · 15/10/2010
Strophantines, their aglucones and their respective derivatives
Source reference: Annex II, entry 302 · 15/10/2010
Strophantus species and their galenical preparations
Source reference: Annex II, entry 303 · 15/10/2010
Strychnine and its salts
Source reference: Annex II, entry 304 · 15/10/2010
Strychnos species and their galenical preparations
Source reference: Annex II, entry 305 · 20/10/2010
Narcotics, natural and synthetic: All substances listed in Tables I and II of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs signed in New York on 30 March 1961
Source reference: Annex II, entry 306 · 15/10/2010
Sulphonamides (sulphanilamide and its derivatives obtained by substitution of one or more H-atoms of the -NH2 groups) and their salts
Source reference: Annex II, entry 307 · 20/03/2018
Neodymium and its salts
Source reference: Annex II, entry 309 · 15/10/2010
4-Aminosalicylic acid and its salts
Source reference: Annex II, entry 31 · 15/10/2010
Pilocarpus jaborandi Holmes and its galenical preparations
Source reference: Annex II, entry 311 · 15/10/2010
Tellurium and its compounds
Source reference: Annex II, entry 312 · 15/10/2010
Xylometazoline (INN) and its salts
Source reference: Annex II, entry 313 · 20/10/2010
Hexaethyl tetraphosphate
Source reference: Annex II, entry 316 · 15/10/2010
Thallium and its compounds
Source reference: Annex II, entry 317 · 15/10/2010
Thevetia neriifolia Juss., Glycoside extract
Source reference: Annex II, entry 318 · 15/10/2010
Toluidines, their isomers, salts and halogenated and sulphonated derivatives
Source reference: Annex II, entry 32 · 17/10/2010
Market coverage contract
Complete annex dataset- Included scope
- Annexes II–VI: prohibited and restricted substances, colourants, preservatives and UV filters.
- If no match is found
- No annex match only means that these five annexes did not return a match; CosIng identity data and other EU obligations still need review.
Complete verification checklist
- Confirm the exact INCI/CAS/EC identity.
- Review every matching Annex II–VI row and its conditions.
- Check SCCS opinions, CMR/nanomaterial rules and later amendments.
- Verify product classification, claims, labelling and responsible-person duties.
How European Union differs from other markets
Comparing this market's imported rules against every other market's for the same substance. A market with no imported rule for a substance is left out of that comparison rather than treated as permitting it.
A formula cleared elsewhere can fail here.
and 22 more — see the full comparison
Permitted here under conditions and prohibited, or more tightly held, elsewhere — so a formula built for this market may not travel.
and 103 more — see the full comparison
Official sources and legal role
PubChem PUG-View annotations
Attributed physical-property, hazard, environmental, use and literature annotations for uniquely matched PubChem compounds
Legal meaning: Scientific context aggregated by PubChem; individual values retain their named depositor or publication source
EMBL-EBI ChEBI 2.0
Curated definitions, chemical classes, roles, names, relationships and cross-references
Legal meaning: Curated scientific ontology; not a cosmetics permission or prohibition list
FDA Global Substance Registration System
UNII identifiers, preferred names, substance types, codes and public substance relationships
Legal meaning: Identity registry only; UNII availability does not imply FDA review or approval
Cosmetic Ingredient Review safety assessments
Expert Panel conclusions, assessed ingredient groups, use conditions, dates and report documents
Legal meaning: Independent expert review considered by FDA; not a government approval or binding market rule
EU Safety Gate cosmetic product alerts
Published cosmetic product alerts, notifying country, risk, product identifiers and corrective measures
Legal meaning: Official market-surveillance alerts; not proof that a named ingredient caused an incident
Available language: English and EU languages
What this market page can answer
Source and authority
Identify the official material and the regulator responsible for it: European Commission.
Language and scope
See whether usable English or bilingual material exists and what the mapped source actually covers. Current source language: English and EU languages.
Evidence status
Browse ingredient-level records imported from official sources. Each row states whether it passed deterministic source checks or human editorial review.
How to verify an ingredient for this market
- Search the ingredient by INCI name, CAS number or EC number and record the exact identity.
- Open each official source above and check the current version, product scope, concentration limits and required warnings.
- Confirm effective dates and whether an English text is official, reviewed or only contextual.
- Treat a missing local match as unknown, never as permission or a safety conclusion.