Some time has passed since the last entry. But that does not mean that cosmetic law has come to a standstill. A new Commission Regulation (EU) of 12 May 2025 amending Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the use in cosmetic products of certain substances classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic for reproduction has just appeared. It introduces further banned substances to Annex II.
What will be banned?
The list of ingredients banned in cosmetics will include 21 new substances with carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to reproduction effects. This means that we will now have not 1730 but as many as 1751 substances banned for use in cosmetics.
For the cosmetics industry, the most important bans are on the use of:
• Dimethyltolylamine – the substance has not been regulated by law so far,
• Trimethylbenzoyl Diphenylphosphine Oxide (TPO) – currently covered by Annex III, item 311, permitted for use in a maximum concentration of 5% in products intended for nail modeling and styling, for professional use only.
These substances were of particular importance in applications in nail polishes for hybrid manicure. Dimethyltolylamine serves as a polymerization accelerator, and TPO is a photoinitiator in the processes of curing pigmented coatings curable with UV radiation. Currently, Dimethyltolylamine has been classified as carcinogenic, and TPO – as a substance harmful to reproduction. Hence their use is prohibited.
The regulation will be applied from September 1 this year. This means that from 1 September 2025, cosmetics containing the indicated substances will not be allowed to be placed on the market or made available on the market.
Summary
Today’s concise entry talks about the introduction of new substances prohibited in cosmetic products. Among them, the ban on the use of Dimethyltolylamine and Trimethylbenzoyl Diphenylphosphine Oxide, which are very important for the hybrid varnish industry, deserves special attention. For more details, I refer you to the regulation on the website: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=OJ:L_202500877
