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 recordsHydrocarbons, hydrocracked paraffinic distn. residues, solvent-dewaxed, if they contain > 3 % w/w DMSO extract
Source reference: Annex II, entry 829 · 15/10/2010
2-Chloro-6-methylpyrimidin-4-yldimethylamine (crimidine-ISO)
Source reference: Annex II, entry 83 · 17/10/2010
Foots oil (petroleum), acid-treated, if it contains > 3 % w/w DMSO extract
Source reference: Annex II, entry 830 · 15/10/2010
Foots oil (petroleum), clay-treated, if it contains > 3 % w/w DMSO extract
Source reference: Annex II, entry 831 · 15/10/2010
Hydrocarbons, C20-50, residual oil hydrogenation vacuum distillate, if they contain > 3 % w/w DMSO extract
Source reference: Annex II, entry 832 · 15/10/2010
Distillates (petroleum), solvent-refined hydrotreated heavy, hydrogenated, if they contain > 3 % w/w DMSO extract
Source reference: Annex II, entry 833 · 15/10/2010
Distillates (petroleum), solvent-refined hydrocracked light, if they contain > 3 % w/w DMSO extract
Source reference: Annex II, entry 834 · 15/10/2010
Lubricating oils (petroleum), C18-40, solvent-dewaxed hydrocracked distillate-based, if they contain > 3 % w/w DMSO extract
Source reference: Annex II, entry 835 · 15/10/2010
Lubricating oils (petroleum), C18-40, solvent-dewaxed hydrogenated raffinate-based, if they contain > 3 % w/w DMSO extract
Source reference: Annex II, entry 836 · 15/10/2010
Hydrocarbons, C13-30, arom.-rich, solvent-extd. naphthenic distillate, if they contain > 3 % w/w DMSO extract
Source reference: Annex II, entry 837 · 15/10/2010
Hydrocarbons, C16-32, arom. rich, solvent-extd. naphthenic distillate, if they contain > 3 % w/w DMSO extract
Source reference: Annex II, entry 838 · 15/10/2010
Hydrocarbons, C37-68, dewaxed deasphalted hydrotreated vacuum distn. Residues, if they contain > 3 % w/w DMSO extract
Source reference: Annex II, entry 839 · 15/10/2010
Chlorprothixene (INN) and its salts
Source reference: Annex II, entry 84 · 17/10/2010
Hydrocarbons, C37-65, hydrotreated deasphalted vacuum distn. Residues, if they contain > 3 % w/w DMSO extract
Source reference: Annex II, entry 840 · 15/10/2010
Distillates (petroleum), hydrocracked solvent-refined light, if they contain > 3 % w/w DMSO extract
Source reference: Annex II, entry 841 · 15/10/2010
Distillates (petroleum), solvent-refined hydrogenated heavy, if they contain > 3 % w/w DMSO extract
Source reference: Annex II, entry 842 · 15/10/2010
Lubricating oils (petroleum), C18-27, hydrocracked solvent-dewaxed, if they contain > 3 % w/w DMSO extract
Source reference: Annex II, entry 843 · 15/10/2010
Hydrocarbons, C17-30, hydrotreated solvent-deasphalted atm. distn. residue, distn. lights, if they contain > 3 % w/w DMSO extract
Source reference: Annex II, entry 844 · 15/10/2010
Hydrocarbons, C17-40, hydrotreated solvent-deasphalted distn. residue, vacuum distn. lights, if they contain > 3 % w/w DMSO extract
Source reference: Annex II, entry 845 · 15/10/2010
Hydrocarbons, C13-27, solvent-extd. light naphthenic, if they contain > 3 % w/w DMSO extract
Source reference: Annex II, entry 846 · 15/10/2010
Hydrocarbons, C14-29, solvent-extd. light naphthenic, if they contain > 3 % w/w DMSO extract
Source reference: Annex II, entry 847 · 15/10/2010
Foots oil (petroleum), carbon-treated, if it contains > 3 % w/w DMSO extract
Source reference: Annex II, entry 848 · 15/10/2010
Foots oil (petroleum), silicic acid-treated, if it contains > 3 % w/w DMSO extract
Source reference: Annex II, entry 849 · 15/10/2010
Hydrocarbons, C27-42, dearomatized, if they contain > 3 % w/w DMSO extract
Source reference: Annex II, entry 850 · 15/10/2010
Hydrocarbons, C17-30, hydrotreated distillates, distn. Lights, if they contain > 3 % w/w DMSO extract
Source reference: Annex II, entry 851 · 15/10/2010
Hydrocarbons, C27-45, naphthenic vacuum distn,. if they contain > 3 % w/w DMSO extract
Source reference: Annex II, entry 852 · 15/10/2010
Hydrocarbons, C27-45, dearomatised, if they contain > 3 % w/w DMSO extract
Source reference: Annex II, entry 853 · 15/10/2010
Hydrocarbons, C20-58, hydrotreated, if they contain > 3 % w/w DMSO extract
Source reference: Annex II, entry 854 · 15/10/2010
Hydrocarbons, C27-42, naphthenic, if they contain > 3 % w/w DMSO extract
Source reference: Annex II, entry 855 · 15/10/2010
Extracts (petroleum), light paraffinic distillate solvent, carbon-treated, if they contain > 3 % w/w DMSO extract
Source reference: Annex II, entry 856 · 15/10/2010
Extracts (petroleum), light paraffinic distillate solvent, clay-treated, if they contain > 3 % w/w DMSO extract
Source reference: Annex II, entry 857 · 15/10/2010
Extracts (petroleum), light vacuum, gas oil solvent, carbon-treated, if they contain > 3 % w/w DMSO extract
Source reference: Annex II, entry 858 · 15/10/2010
Extracts (petroleum), light vacuum gas oil solvent, clay-treated, if they contain > 3 % w/w DMSO extract
Source reference: Annex II, entry 859 · 15/10/2010
N,N-bis(2-Chloroethyl)methylamine N-oxide and its salts
Source reference: Annex II, entry 86 · 17/10/2010
Residual oils (petroleum), carbon-treated solvent-dewaxed, if they contain > 3 % w/w DMSO extract
Source reference: Annex II, entry 860 · 15/10/2010
Residual oils (petroleum), clay-treated solvent-dewaxed, if they contain > 3 % w/w DMSO extract
Source reference: Annex II, entry 861 · 15/10/2010
Lubricating oils (petroleum), C>25, solvent-extd., deasphalted, dewaxed, hydrogenated, if they contain > 3 % w/w DMSO extract
Source reference: Annex II, entry 862 · 15/10/2010
Lubricating oils (petroleum), C17-32, solvent-extd., dewaxed, hydrogenated, if they contain > 3 % w/w DMSO extract
Source reference: Annex II, entry 863 · 15/10/2010
Lubricating oils (petroleum), C20-35, solvent-extd., dewaxed, hydrogenated, if they contain > 3 % w/w DMSO extract
Source reference: Annex II, entry 864 · 15/10/2010
Lubricating oils (petroleum), C24-50, solvent-extd., dewaxed, hydrogenated, if they contain > 3 % w/w DMSO extract
Source reference: Annex II, entry 865 · 15/10/2010
Distillates (petroleum), sweetened middle, except if the full refining history is known and it can be shown that the substance from which it is produced is not a carcinogen
Source reference: Annex II, entry 866 · 15/10/2010
Gas oils (petroleum), solvent-refined, except if the full refining history is known and it can be shown that the substance from which it is produced is not a carcinogen
Source reference: Annex II, entry 867 · 15/10/2010
Distillates (petroleum), solvent-refined middle, except if the full refining history is known and it can be shown that the substance from which it is produced is not a carcinogen
Source reference: Annex II, entry 868 · 15/10/2010
Gas oils (petroleum), acid-treated, except if the full refining history is known and it can be shown that the substance from which it is produced is not a carcinogen
Source reference: Annex II, entry 869 · 15/10/2010
Chlormethine (INN) and its salts
Source reference: Annex II, entry 87 · 17/10/2010
Distillates (petroleum), acid-treated middle, except if the full refining history is known and it can be shown that the substance from which it is produced is not a carcinogen
Source reference: Annex II, entry 870 · 15/10/2010
Distillates (petroleum), acid-treated light, except if the full refining history is known and it can be shown that the substance from which it is produced is not a carcinogen
Source reference: Annex II, entry 871 · 15/10/2010
Gas oils (petroleum), chemically neutralized, except if the full refining history is known and it can be shown that the substance from which it is produced is not a carcinogen
Source reference: Annex II, entry 872 · 15/10/2010
Distillates (petroleum), chemically neutralised middle, except if the full refining history is known and it can be shown that the substance from which it is produced is not a carcinogen
Source reference: Annex II, entry 873 · 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.