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 recordsGases (petroleum), catalytic cracked naphtha depropanizer overhead, C3-rich acid-free, if they contain > 0.1% w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 503 · 15/10/2010
Gases (petroleum), catalytic cracker, if they contain > 0.1% w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 504 · 15/10/2010
Gases (petroleum), catalytic cracker, C1-5-rich, if they contain > 0.1% w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 505 · 15/10/2010
Gases (petroleum), catalytic polymd. naphtha stabilizer overhead, C2-4-rich, if they contain > 0.1% w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 506 · 15/10/2010
Gases (petroleum), catalytic reformed naphtha stripper overhead, if they contain > 0.1% w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 507 · 15/10/2010
Gases (petroleum), catalytic reformer, C1-4-rich, if they contain > 0.1% w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 508 · 15/10/2010
Gases (petroleum), C6-8 catalytic reformer recycle, if they contain > 0.1% w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 509 · 15/10/2010
2,2,6-Trimethyl-4-piperidyl benzoate (eucaine) and its salts
Source reference: Annex II, entry 51 · 17/10/2010
Gases (petroleum), C6-8 catalytic reformer, if they contain > 0.1 % w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 510 · 15/10/2010
Gases (petroleum), C6-8 catalytic reformer recycle, hydrogen-rich, if they contain > 0.1% w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 511 · 15/10/2010
Gases (petroleum), C3-5 olefinic-paraffinic alkylation feed, if they contain > 0.1% w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 512 · 15/10/2010
Gases (petroleum), C2-return stream, if they contain > 0.1% w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 513 · 15/10/2010
Gases (petroleum), C4-rich, if they contain > 0.1% w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 514 · 15/10/2010
Gases (petroleum), deethanizer overheads, if they contain > 0.1% w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 515 · 15/10/2010
Gases (petroleum), deisobutanizer tower overheads, if they contain > 0.1% w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 516 · 15/10/2010
Gases (petroleum), depropanizer dry, propene-rich, if they contain > 0.1% w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 517 · 15/10/2010
Gases (petroleum), depropanizer overheads, if they contain > 0.1 % w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 518 · 15/10/2010
Gases (petroleum), dry sour, gas-concn. -unit-off, if they contain > 0.1 % w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 519 · 24/11/2016
Gases (petroleum), gas concn. reabsorber distn., if they contain > 0.1% w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 520 · 24/11/2016
Gases (petroleum), gas recovery plant depropanizer overheads, if they contain > 0.1% w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 521 · 24/11/2016
Gases (petroleum), Girbatol unit feed, if they contain > 0.1% w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 522 · 15/10/2010
Gases (petroleum), hydrogen absorber off, if they contain > 0,1% w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 523 · 15/10/2010
Gases (petroleum), hydrogen-rich, if they contain > 0.1% w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 524 · 24/11/2016
Gases (petroleum), hydrotreater blend oil recycle, hydrogen-nitrogen-rich, if they contain > 0.1 % w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 525 · 15/10/2010
Gases (petroleum), isomerized naphtha fractionator, C4-rich, hydrogen sulfide-free, if they contain > 0.1% w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 526 · 15/10/2010
Gases (petroleum), recycle, hydrogen-rich, if they contain > 0.1% w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 527 · 15/10/2010
Gases (petroleum), reformer make-up, hydrogen-rich, if they contain > 0.1% w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 528 · 15/10/2010
Gases (petroleum), reforming hydrotreater, if they contain > 0.1% w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 529 · 15/10/2010
Bendroflumethiazide (INN) and its derivatives
Source reference: Annex II, entry 53 · 17/10/2010
Gases (petroleum), reforming hydrotreater, hydrogen-methane-rich, if they contain > 0.1 % w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 530 · 15/10/2010
Gases (petroleum), reforming hydrotreater make-up, hydrogen-rich, if they contain > 0.1 % w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 531 · 15/10/2010
Gases (petroleum), thermal cracking distn., if they contain > 0.1% w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 532 · 15/10/2010
Tail gas (petroleum), catalytic cracked clarified oil and thermal cracked vacuum residue fractionation reflux drum, if it contains > 0.1% w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 533 · 15/10/2010
Tail gas (petroleum), catalytic cracked naphtha stabilization absorber, if it contains > 0.1 % w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 534 · 15/10/2010
Tail gas (petroleum), catalytic cracker, catalytic reformer and hydrodesulfurized combined fractionater, if it contains > 0.1% w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 535 · 15/10/2010
Tail gas (petroleum), catalytic cracker refractionation absorber, if it contains > 0.1% w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 536 · 15/10/2010
Tail gas (petroleum), catalytic reformed naphtha fractionation stabilizer, if it contains > 0.1 % w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 537 · 15/10/2010
Tail gas (petroleum), catalytic reformed naphtha separator, if it contains > 0.1% w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 538 · 15/10/2010
Tail gas (petroleum), catalytic reformed naphtha stabilizer, if it contains > 0.1% w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 539 · 15/10/2010
Beryllium and its compounds
Source reference: Annex II, entry 54 · 17/10/2010
Tail gas (petroleum), cracked distillate hydrotreater separator, if it contains > 0.1% w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 540 · 15/10/2010
Tail gas (petroleum), hydrodesulfurized straight-run naphtha separator, if it contains > 0.1 % w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 541 · 15/10/2010
Tail gas (petroleum), saturate gas plant mixed stream, C4-rich, if it contains > 0.1% w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 542 · 15/10/2010
Tail gas (petroleum), saturate gas recovery plant, C1-2-rich, if it contains > 0.1% w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 543 · 15/10/2010
Tail gas (petroleum), vacuum residues thermal cracker, if it contains > 0.1 % w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 544 · 15/10/2010
Hydrocarbons, C3-4-rich, petroleum distillate, if they contain > 0.1% w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 545 · 15/10/2010
Gases (petroleum), catalytic reformed straight-run naphtha stabilizer overheads, if they contain > 0.1% w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 546 · 15/10/2010
Gases (petroleum), full-range straight-run naphtha dehexanizer off, if they contain > 0.1 % w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 547 · 15/10/2010
Gases (petroleum), hydrocracking depropanizer off, hydrocarbon-rich, if they contain > 0.1 % w/w Butadiene
Source reference: Annex II, entry 548 · 15/10/2010
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.