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 recordsPhenothiazine (INN) and its compounds
Source reference: Annex II, entry 320 · 15/10/2010
Thiourea and its derivatives, with the exception of the one listed in Annex III
Source reference: Annex II, entry 321 · 11/02/2011
Mephenesin (INN) and its esters
Source reference: Annex II, entry 322 · 15/10/2010
Vaccines, toxins or serums defined as immunological medicinal products pursuant to Article 1(4) of Directive 2001/83/EC
Source reference: Annex II, entry 323 · 20/10/2010
Tranylcypromine (INN) and its salts
Source reference: Annex II, entry 324 · 15/10/2010
Trichloronitromethane (chloropicrine)
Source reference: Annex II, entry 325 · 15/10/2010
2,2,2-Tribromoethanol (tribromoethyl alcohol)
Source reference: Annex II, entry 326 · 15/10/2010
Trichlormethine (INN) and its salts
Source reference: Annex II, entry 327 · 15/10/2010
Gallamine triethiodide (INN)
Source reference: Annex II, entry 329 · 15/10/2010
Xylidines, their isomers, salts and halogenated and sulphonated derivatives
Source reference: Annex II, entry 33 · 17/10/2010
Urginea scilla Steinh. and its galenical preparations
Source reference: Annex II, entry 330 · 20/10/2010
Veratrine, its salts and galenical preparations
Source reference: Annex II, entry 331 · 20/10/2010
Schoenocaulon officinale Lind (seeds and galenical preparations)
Source reference: Annex II, entry 332 · 20/10/2010
Veratrum spp. and their preparations
Source reference: Annex II, entry 333 · 20/10/2010
Vinyl chloride monomer
Source reference: Annex II, entry 334 · 09/01/2011
Ergocalciferol (INN) and Cholecalciferol (vitamins D2 and D3)
Source reference: Annex II, entry 335 · 20/10/2010
Salts of O-alkyldithiocarbonic acids
Source reference: Annex II, entry 336 · 20/10/2010
Yohimbine and its salts
Source reference: Annex II, entry 337 · 15/10/2010
Dimethyl sulfoxide (INN)
Source reference: Annex II, entry 338 · 27/10/2010
Diphenhydramine (INN) and its salts
Source reference: Annex II, entry 339 · 20/10/2010
Imperatorin (9-(3-methylbut-2-enyloxy)furo[3,2-g]chromen-7-one)
Source reference: Annex II, entry 34 · 15/10/2010
4-tert-Butylpyrocatechol
Source reference: Annex II, entry 341 · 15/10/2010
Dihydrotachysterol (INN)
Source reference: Annex II, entry 342 · 15/10/2010
Morpholine and its salts
Source reference: Annex II, entry 344 · 20/10/2010
Pyrethrum album L. and its galenical preparations
Source reference: Annex II, entry 345 · 15/10/2010
2-[4-Methoxybenzyl-N-(2-pyridyl)amino]ethyldimethylamine maleate (Mepyramine maleate; pyrilamine maleate)
Source reference: Annex II, entry 346 · 20/10/2010
Tetrachlorosalicylanilides
Source reference: Annex II, entry 348 · 15/10/2010
Dichlorosalicylanilides
Source reference: Annex II, entry 349 · 20/10/2010
Ammi majus L. and its galenical preparations
Source reference: Annex II, entry 35 · 17/10/2010
Tetrabromosalicylanilides
Source reference: Annex II, entry 350 · 15/10/2010
Dibromosalicylanilides
Source reference: Annex II, entry 351 · 20/10/2010
Thiuram monosulphides
Source reference: Annex II, entry 353 · 15/10/2010
Dimethylformamide (N,N-Dimethylformamide)
Source reference: Annex II, entry 355 · 20/10/2010
4-Phenylbut-3-en-2-one (Benzylideneacetone)
Source reference: Annex II, entry 356 · 20/10/2010
Benzoates of 4-hydroxy-3-methoxycinnamyl alcohol (coniferyl alcohol) except for normal content in natural essences used
Source reference: Annex II, entry 357 · 20/10/2010
Furocoumarines (e.g. trioxysalen (INN), 8-methoxypsoralen, 5-methoxypsoralen) except for normal content in natural essences used. In sun protection and in bronzing products, furocoumarines shall be below 1 mg/kg
Source reference: Annex II, entry 358 · 02/12/2016
Oil from the seeds of Laurus nobilis L.
Source reference: Annex II, entry 359 · 09/02/2011
2,3-Dichloro-2-methylbutane
Source reference: Annex II, entry 36 · 15/10/2010
Safrole, except for normal content in the natural essences used and provided that the concentration does not exceed: 100 ppm in the finished cosmetic product, 50 ppm in products for dental and oral hygiene, and provided that Safrole is not present in toothpastes intended specifically for children
Source reference: Annex II, entry 360 · 24/11/2016
5,5'-Di-isopropyl-2,2'-dimethylbiphenyl-4,4'-diyl dihypoiodite (thymol iodide)
Source reference: Annex II, entry 361 · 20/10/2010
3'-Ethyl-5',6',7',8'-tetrahydro-5',5',8',8'-tetramethyl-2'-acetonaphthone or 7-acetyl-6-ethyl-1,1,4,4-tetramethyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalen (AETT; Versalide)
Source reference: Annex II, entry 362 · 20/10/2010
o-Phenylenediamine and its salts
Source reference: Annex II, entry 363 · 20/10/2010
4-Methyl-m-phenylenediamine (Toluene-2,4-diamine) and its salts
Source reference: Annex II, entry 364 · 10/01/2011
Aristolochic acid and its salts; Aristolochia spp. and their preparations
Source reference: Annex II, entry 365 · 20/10/2010
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.
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.