Cosmetic ingredients allowed only in certain concentrations: what does EU law require?
Check What You Buy! Choose Cosmetics Wisely with InfoCons!
As part of the campaign “Check What You Buy! Choose Cosmetics Wisely!”, InfoCons works to inform and educate consumers about the risks associated with the use of non-compliant cosmetic products, by promoting accurate, science-based information supported by the expertise of specialists in the field of health.
Many cosmetic ingredients are neither banned nor completely free to use: they may be used only within certain concentrations and conditions. This is an essential principle of European legislation, designed to protect consumers’ health.
Annex III – restricted substances
Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 includes Annex III, which lists the substances that cosmetic products may contain only subject to restrictions: a maximum permitted concentration, certain product types in which they may be used and, often, mandatory warnings on the label. The list contains several hundred entries and is updated regularly, based on the opinions of the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS).
Recent examples of limits
A relevant example is Regulation (EU) 2024/996 (April 2024). It introduced limits for Vitamin A: retinol, retinyl acetate and retinyl palmitate are allowed at a maximum of 0.05% (retinol equivalent) in body lotions and 0.3% in other products, with a mandatory label statement about the Vitamin A content. Through the same regulation, alpha-arbutin was limited to 2% in face creams and 0.5% in body lotions, arbutin to 7% in face creams, kojic acid to 1%, and genistein to 0.007%. The main reason given by the SCCS was cumulative exposure – for instance, Vitamin A is also consumed through food and supplements.
Why maximum concentrations are set
A substance can be perfectly safe at a low concentration but may become risky above a certain threshold. Setting a maximum concentration provides a safety margin: the consumer benefits from the desired effect of the ingredient without being exposed to a risk. That is why a compliant product respects these limits, and exceeding them makes the product non-compliant.
What consumers can do
– Read the ingredient list and follow the warnings and instructions for use on the label.
– Choose compliant products, lawfully marketed in the EU, that respect the set limits.
– Check any alerts about non-compliant products in the InfoCons App.
Conclusion
Concentration limits are not a formality but an essential consumer-protection tool. Through the campaign “Check What You Buy! Choose Cosmetics Wisely!”, InfoCons helps consumers understand the rules behind the products they use every day.
European alerts on non-compliant products can be consulted directly in the InfoCons App.
Official sources: Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 – Annex III; Regulation (EU) 2024/996 (Vitamin A, arbutin and other substances); opinions of the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS).
Signed: InfoCons Consumer Protection – Communication Department