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Great Britain cosmetic ingredient regulations

GB rules must be versioned separately from EU rules as they diverge.

Regulator
Office for Product Safety and Standards
Source language
English
Coverage version
GB retained Regulation 1223/2009 schedules, effective 15 August 2026

What this list is

Great Britain carried EU Regulation 1223/2009 onto its own statute book after Brexit and has amended it separately ever since. The two lists started identical and no longer are, which is why a GB check cannot be answered from an EU one.

  • 2,329 GB records: 1,758 prohibited, 326 restricted, 245 on a positive list.
  • The regulator is the Office for Product Safety and Standards, not the European Commission.
  • GB and EU annexes are amended by different bodies on different dates, so they drift apart substance by substance.
  • A substance absent from the GB list is not thereby permitted — absence is absence of a record, not a decision.

The Cosmetic Products Enforcement Regulations 2013 kept Regulation 1223/2009 in force in Great Britain after EU exit, so the structure a formulator already knows — Annex II for prohibited substances, Annex III for restricted ones, Annexes IV to VI for colourants, preservatives and UV filters — is the same here. What changed is who amends it. The Office for Product Safety and Standards now does that for Great Britain, and the European Commission does it for the EU, on their own timetables.

That divergence is the practical point of this page. When the Commission adds a substance to Annex II, Great Britain does not follow automatically. The reverse holds too. Two lists that began as one copy now differ entry by entry, and the gap widens with each amendment cycle, so a compliance answer for one market is not evidence for the other even when the substance and the wording look identical.

Northern Ireland is not covered here. Under the Windsor Framework it continues to apply the EU regulation, so a product placed on the market across the whole United Kingdom is answering to two rulebooks at once. Check the EU records for that half.

The 2,329 records below carry the status the GB source gives them and nothing more. Where a record is marked restricted, the concentration limit, product-type condition and warning text come from the source as written; where a substance has no record at all, that means no GB entry was resolved here, not that its use has been considered and allowed.

Checked against

Official ingredient records

2329 matching records
Permitted list with conditionsBinding ruleOriginal is EnglishOfficial-source import checked

Methoxypropylamino Cyclohexenylidene Ethoxyethylcyanoacetate

CAS 1419401-88-9 · EC 700-860-3

The consolidated GB Cosmetics Regulation lists this record in Annex VI.

Conditions: 3% · Not to be used in applications that may lead to exposure of the end-user’s lungs by inhalation Do not use with nitrosating agents – Maximum nitrosamine content: 50 μg/kg Keep in nitrite-free containers

Source:GB Cosmetics Regulation, Annex VI, entry 32 · version 2026-08-15 · effective Aug. 15, 2026 · source checked 2026-08-30

View full recordIngredient profile
RestrictedBinding ruleOriginal is EnglishOfficial-source import checked

Methyl 2-Octynoate

CAS 111-12-6 · EC 203-836-6

The consolidated GB Cosmetics Regulation lists this record in Annex III.

Conditions: (a) Oral products · (a) (b) The presence of the substance must be indicated in the list of ingredients referred to in Article 19(1)(g) when its concentration exceeds: 0,001% in leave-on products 0,01% in rinse-off products

Source:GB Cosmetics Regulation, Annex III, entry 89 · version 2026-08-15 · effective Aug. 15, 2026 · source checked 2026-08-30

View full recordIngredient profile
RestrictedBinding ruleOriginal is EnglishOfficial-source import checked

Methyl salicylate

CAS 119-36-8 · EC 204-317-7

The consolidated GB Cosmetics Regulation lists this record in Annex III.

Conditions: (a) Rinse-off skin & hair products (except hand wash products) (b) Hand wash products (c) Leave on skin products (except face makeup, spray and aerosol body lotion, spray and aerosol deodorant and hydroalcoholic-based fragrances) and hair products (non-aerosol) (d) Lip products (e) Face makeup products (f) Eye makeup products & makeup remover (g) Toothpaste (h) Mouthwash (i) Mouth spray (j) Hydroalcoholic-based fragrances (k) Deodorant spray and aerosol products (l) Hair products (spray and aerosol) (m) Body Lotion Spray · (a) (1) 0.02% (products intended for children 0.5-1 years) (2) 0.06% (products intended for children above 1 year and adults) (b) (1) 0.02% (products intended for children 0.5-1 years) (2) 0.6% (products intended for children above 1 year and adults) (c) (1) 0.02% (products intended for children 0.5-1 years) (2) 0.06% (products intended for children above 1 year and adults) (d) (1) 0.02% (products intended for children 0.5-1 years) (2) 0.03% (products intended for children above 1 year and adults) (e) 0.05% (f) 0.002% (g) 2.5% (h) (1) 0.1% (products intended for children 6 to 10 years) (2) 0.4% (products intended for children above 10 years and adults) (i) 0.65% (j) 0.6% (k) 0.003% (l) 0.009% (m) 0.04%

Source:GB Cosmetics Regulation, Annex III, entry 324 · version 2026-08-15 · effective Aug. 15, 2026 · source checked 2026-08-30

View full recordIngredient profile
RestrictedBinding ruleOriginal is EnglishOfficial-source import checked

Methyl-N-methylanthranilate

CAS 85-91-6 · EC 201-642-6

The consolidated GB Cosmetics Regulation lists this record in Annex III.

Conditions: (a) Leave-on products · 0.1% · For leave on products only: Not to be used in sunscreen products and products marketed for exposure to natural or artificial UV light.

Source:GB Cosmetics Regulation, Annex III, entry 321 · version 2026-08-15 · effective Aug. 15, 2026 · source checked 2026-08-30

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Permitted list with conditionsBinding ruleOriginal is EnglishOfficial-source import checked

Methylchloroisothiazolinone (and) Methylisothiazolinone

CAS 26172-55-4; 2682-20-4; 55965-84-9 · EC 247-500-7; 220-239-6

The consolidated GB Cosmetics Regulation lists this record in Annex V.

Conditions: Rinse-off products · 0,0015% (of a mixture in the ratio 3:1 of 5-chloro-2-methylisothiazol 3(2H)-one and 2-methylisothiazol-3 (2H)-one)

Source:GB Cosmetics Regulation, Annex V, entry 39 · version 2026-08-15 · effective Aug. 15, 2026 · source checked 2026-08-30

View full recordIngredient profile
Permitted list with conditionsBinding ruleOriginal is EnglishOfficial-source import checked

Methylene Bis-Benzotriazolyl Tetramethylbutylphenol (nano)

CAS 103597-45-1 · EC 403-800-1

The consolidated GB Cosmetics Regulation lists this record in Annex VI.

Conditions: 10% · Not to be used in applications that may lead to exposure of the end user's lungs by inhalation. Only nanomaterials having the following characteristics are allowed: Purity ≥ 98,5%, with 2,2′-methylene-bis-(6(2H-benzotriazol-2-yl)-4-(isooctyl)phenol) isomer fraction not exceeding 1,5%; Solubility < 5 ng/L in water at 25 °C; Partition coefficient (Log Pow): 12,7 at 25 °C; Uncoated; Median particle size D50 (50% of the number below this diameter): ≥ 120 nm of mass distribution and/or ≥ 60 nm of number size distribution.

Source:GB Cosmetics Regulation, Annex VI, entry 23a · version 2026-08-15 · effective Aug. 15, 2026 · source checked 2026-08-30

View full recordIngredient profile
RestrictedBinding ruleOriginal is EnglishOfficial-source import checked

Methylimidazoliumpropyl p-phenylenediamine HCl

CAS 220158-86-1

The consolidated GB Cosmetics Regulation lists this record in Annex III.

Conditions: Hair dye substance in oxidative hair dye products · As from 3 June 2021 , after mixing under oxidative conditions the maximum concentration applied to hair must not exceed 2% (calculated as free base) · As from 3 December 2021 , to be printed on the label: The mixing ratio. Read and follow instructions. This product is not intended for use on persons under the age of 16. Temporary “ black henna ” tattoos may increase your risk of allergy. Do not colour your hair if: you have a rash on your face or sensitive, irritated and damaged scalp, you have ever experienced any reaction after colouring your hair, you have experienced a reaction to a temporary “ black henna ” tattoo in the past. Hair colorants can cause severe allergic reactions.

Source:GB Cosmetics Regulation, Annex III, entry 316 · version 2026-08-15 · effective Aug. 15, 2026 · source checked 2026-08-30

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ProhibitedBinding ruleOriginal is EnglishOfficial-source import checked

Mineral wool, with the exception of those specified elsewhere in this Annex; [Man-made vitreous (silicate)fibres with random orientation with alkaline oxide and alkali earth oxide (Na2O + K2O + CaO + MgO + BaO) content greater than 18% by weight]

The consolidated GB Cosmetics Regulation lists this record in Annex II.

Source:GB Cosmetics Regulation, Annex II, entry 1127 · version 2026-08-15 · effective Aug. 15, 2026 · source checked 2026-08-30

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Market coverage contract

Complete consolidated annex dataset
Included scope
Current consolidated Annexes II–VI for England, Scotland and Wales.
If no match is found
No annex match is not approval and does not cover Northern Ireland, which follows the applicable EU framework.

Complete verification checklist

  1. Confirm INCI/CAS/EC identity.
  2. Review every current GB Annex II–VI match.
  3. Check commencement dates and later statutory instruments.
  4. Verify SCPN, responsible-person, safety-report and labelling duties.

Official sources and legal role

Great Britain Cosmetics Regulation — consolidated Annexes II–VI and amendments

Complete consolidated GB Annexes II–VI, with later amendments versioned separately

Legal meaning: Binding GB schedules and versioned amendments to retained Regulation 1223/2009; applies to England, Wales and Scotland, not Northern Ireland

Available language: English

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

What this market page can answer

Source and authority

Identify the official material and the regulator responsible for it: Office for Product Safety and Standards.

Language and scope

See whether usable English or bilingual material exists and what the mapped source actually covers. Current source language: English.

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

  1. Search the ingredient by INCI name, CAS number or EC number and record the exact identity.
  2. Open each official source above and check the current version, product scope, concentration limits and required warnings.
  3. Confirm effective dates and whether an English text is official, reviewed or only contextual.
  4. Treat a missing local match as unknown, never as permission or a safety conclusion.
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