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 recordsDistillates (petroleum), intermediate catalytic cracked, thermally degraded
Source reference: Annex II, entry 964 · 15/10/2010
Residual oils (petroleum)
Source reference: Annex II, entry 965 · 15/10/2010
Residues, steam cracked, thermally treated
Source reference: Annex II, entry 966 · 24/11/2016
Distillates (petroleum), hydrodesulfurized full-range middle
Source reference: Annex II, entry 967 · 15/10/2010
Distillates (petroleum), light paraffinic
Source reference: Annex II, entry 968 · 15/10/2010
Distillates (petroleum), heavy paraffinic
Source reference: Annex II, entry 969 · 15/10/2010
Chromium; chromic acid and its salts
Source reference: Annex II, entry 97 · 17/10/2010
Distillates (petroleum), light naphthenic
Source reference: Annex II, entry 970 · 15/10/2010
Distillates (petroleum), heavy naphthenic
Source reference: Annex II, entry 971 · 15/10/2010
Distillates (petroleum), acid-treated heavy naphthenic
Source reference: Annex II, entry 972 · 15/10/2010
Distillates (petroleum), acid-treated light naphthenic
Source reference: Annex II, entry 973 · 15/10/2010
Distillates (petroleum), acid-treated heavy paraffinic
Source reference: Annex II, entry 974 · 15/10/2010
Distillates (petroleum), acid-treated light paraffinic
Source reference: Annex II, entry 975 · 15/10/2010
Distillates (petroleum), chemically neutralized heavy paraffinic
Source reference: Annex II, entry 976 · 15/10/2010
Distillates (petroleum), chemically neutralized light paraffinic
Source reference: Annex II, entry 977 · 15/10/2010
Distillates (petroleum), chemically neutralized heavy naphthenic
Source reference: Annex II, entry 978 · 15/10/2010
Distillates (petroleum), chemically neutralized light naphthenic
Source reference: Annex II, entry 979 · 15/10/2010
Claviceps purpurea Tul., its alkaloids and galenical preparations
Source reference: Annex II, entry 98 · 15/10/2010
Extracts (petroleum), light naphthenic distillate solvent
Source reference: Annex II, entry 980 · 15/10/2010
Extracts (petroleum), heavy paraffinic distillate solvent
Source reference: Annex II, entry 981 · 15/10/2010
Extracts (petroleum), light paraffinic distillate solvent
Source reference: Annex II, entry 982 · 15/10/2010
Extracts (petroleum), heavy naphthenic distillate solvent
Source reference: Annex II, entry 983 · 15/10/2010
Extracts (petroleum), light vacuum gas oil solvent
Source reference: Annex II, entry 984 · 15/10/2010
Hydrocarbons, C26-55, arom.-rich
Source reference: Annex II, entry 985 · 15/10/2010
Disodium 3,3'-[[1,1'-biphenyl]-4,4'-diylbis(azo)] bis(4-aminonaphthalene-1- sulphonate)
Source reference: Annex II, entry 986 · 15/10/2010
Disodium 4-amino-3-[[4'-[(2,4-diaminophenyl)azo] [1,1'-biphenyl]-4-yl]azo]-5-hydroxy-6-(phenylazo)naphthalene-2,7-disulphonate
Source reference: Annex II, entry 987 · 15/10/2010
Tetrasodium 3,3'-[[1,1'-biphenyl]-4,4'-diylbis(azo)]bis[5-amino-4-hydroxynaphthalene-2,7-disulphonate]
Source reference: Annex II, entry 988 · 15/10/2010
4-o-Tolylazo-o-toluidine
Source reference: Annex II, entry 989 · 15/10/2010
Conium maculatum L. (fruit, powder, galenical preparations)
Source reference: Annex II, entry 99 · 15/10/2010
Disodium[5-[[4'-[[2,6-dihydroxy-3-[(2-hydroxy-5-sulphophenyl)azo]phenyl]azo][1,1'-biphenyl]-4-yl]azo]salicylato(4-)]cuprate(2-)
Source reference: Annex II, entry 991 · 15/10/2010
Resorcinol diglycidyl ether
Source reference: Annex II, entry 992 · 15/10/2010
1,3-Diphenylguanidine
Source reference: Annex II, entry 993 · 15/10/2010
Diaminophenols (1)
(a) General use Not to be used on eyebrows (b) Professional use
Source reference: Annex III, entry 10 · 17/10/2010
TRICLOCARBAN
Purity criteria: 3, 3', 4, 4'-Tetrachloroazobenzene
Source reference: Annex III, entry 100 · 04/11/2010
METHYL EUGENOL
(a) Fine fragrance (b) Eau de toilette (c) Fragrance cream (d) Other leave-on products and oral products (e) Rinse-off products
Source reference: Annex III, entry 102 · 20/10/2010
ABIES ALBA CONE OIL; ABIES ALBA CONE EXTRACT; ABIES ALBA LEAF OIL; ABIES ALBA LEAF CERA; ABIES ALBA NEEDLE EXTRACT; ABIES ALBA NEEDLE OIL
Peroxide value less than 10 mmoles/L (15 )
Source reference: Annex III, entry 103 · 17/05/2013
Abies pectinata oil and extract
Peroxide value less than 10 mmoles/L (15 )
Source reference: Annex III, entry 105 · 17/05/2013
Abies sibirica oil and extract
Peroxide value less than 10 mmoles/L (15 )
Source reference: Annex III, entry 106 · 17/05/2013
Abies balsamea oil and extract
Peroxide value less than 10 mmoles/L (15 )
Source reference: Annex III, entry 107 · 17/05/2013
Pinus mugo pumilio oil and extract
Peroxide value less than 10 mmoles/L (15 )
Source reference: Annex III, entry 108 · 17/05/2013
Pinus Mugo Leaf Oil; Pinus Mugo Twig Leaf Extract; Pinus Mugo Twig Oil
The presence of the substance or substances shall be indicated as ‘Pinus Mugo’ in the list of ingredients referred to in Article 19(1), point (g), when the concentration of the substance or substances exceeds: — 0,001 % in leave-on products — 0,01 % in rinse-…
Source reference: Annex III, entry 109 · 11/09/2023
Pinus sylvestris oil and extract
Peroxide value less than 10 mmoles/L (15 )
Source reference: Annex III, entry 110 · 17/05/2013
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.