Cosmetic regulation changes continuously across jurisdictions. This page tracks significant developments affecting cosmetic products worldwide, including changes to ingredient restrictions, labelling, product safety and market access.
Each update explains what has changed, who is affected and what action may be required. The page is maintained by the same scientific and regulatory team that prepares our safety assessments.
Last updated: 20 August 2026
GB
GB bans TPO and further CMR substances; Hexyl Salicylate restricted
In Great Britain, the second wave of the 2026 amendments (SI 2026/23 together with SI 2026/109) applies from 15 August 2026, prohibiting the placing on the market of products containing Trimethylbenzoyl Diphenylphosphine Oxide (TPO), the photoinitiator used in some gel nail systems, alongside further CMR substances, and introducing concentration limits by product type for Hexyl Salicylate. Products placed on the market before the deadline may generally continue to be made available until mid-February 2027, with some CMR prohibitions applying later in 2027. GB now regulates TPO and Hexyl Salicylate on its own timetable, so dual-market brands should have the GB and EU annex positions checked in the same assessment; Northern Ireland continues to follow the EU regime.
Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation applies: cosmetic packaging in scope
In the EU, Regulation (EU) 2025/40 on packaging and packaging waste (PPWR) applies from 12 August 2026, bringing cosmetic packaging within a harmonised framework covering packaging minimisation and eco-design, recyclability requirements, recycled-content targets, restrictions on substances of concern in packaging including PFAS, harmonised labelling, and extended producer responsibility obligations, with a prohibition on certain single-use hotel miniature formats following from 2030. Compliance sits with the packaging rather than the formulation, so it runs alongside, not within, the cosmetic Product Information File; brands should review pack formats, material choices and supplier declarations against the new requirements.
Expanded fragrance allergen labelling now mandatory for new EU products
In the EU, from 31 July 2026 cosmetic products placed on the market must individually label the expanded list of fragrance allergens established by Regulation (EU) 2023/1545, which raises the number of substances requiring declaration from 24 to more than 80, including natural extracts, where they exceed 0.001% in leave-on or 0.01% in rinse-off products. Products placed on the market before that date may continue to be made available until 31 July 2028. Ingredient lists and artwork for EU products should already reflect the expanded list; where a fragrance compound’s allergen declaration has not been re-obtained from the supplier since 2023, it is now the gating document.
China streamlines new-ingredient management and widens animal-testing exemptions
In China, the NMPA’s revised Provisions on the Registration, Filing and Dossier Management of New Cosmetic Ingredients took effect on 15 July 2026, replacing the 2021 framework, followed on 29 July by Announcement No. 70 of 2026 optimising cosmetic registration and notification. The announcement extends exemptions from toxicological testing, in practice the animal-testing requirement, to further categories of special cosmetics, including hair perming products, non-oxidative hair dyes and whitening products acting solely by physical covering, and to general cosmetics containing new ingredients, conditional on a GMP certificate issued by the manufacturer’s local authority and a product safety risk assessment that sufficiently confirms safety; children’s products using new ingredients remain excluded. The announcement also reduces proof-of-market requirements for products launching first in China, permits qualifying similar formulations to share safety and efficacy evaluation data, and simplifies manufacturing-site and domestic responsible person changes. For brands entering China, the animal-testing position should now be assessed per product category and per ingredient dossier rather than assumed.
GB amendment SI 2026/23 applies: 4-MBC banned, formaldehyde-releaser threshold lowered
In Great Britain, the first wave of the 2026 amendment to the UK Cosmetics Regulation (SI 2026/23) applies from 15 July 2026, prohibiting the UV filter 4-Methylbenzylidene Camphor, restricting sixteen further CMR substances, and lowering the labelling threshold for formaldehyde-releasing preservatives. The lowered threshold of 0.001% applies with the revised warning wording, releases formaldehyde, and products placed on the market before the date may remain available until mid-January 2027. The GB annexes now diverge from the EU annexes in substance rather than administration: a formulation compliant on one side of the divergence is no longer automatically compliant on the other. Dual-market brands should have both annex positions checked in the same assessment, and Northern Ireland continues to follow the EU regime under the Windsor Framework.
Draft EU amendment notified: Omnibus Ingredients III and Omnibus CMR IX combined
The European Commission has notified the WTO of a draft Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, combining recent SCCS opinions (Omnibus Ingredients III) with the next round of CMR-related prohibitions (Omnibus CMR IX). The draft would prohibit Benzophenone-1, Benzophenone-2, Basic Brown 16, Basic Blue 99, prostaglandins and their analogues, and the mercury-containing preservatives Thimerosal and phenylmercuric salts, and would introduce new restrictions for CBD and BHA alongside updated conditions for Hydroxyapatite (nano), Propylparaben and Butylparaben. Adoption is currently expected in Q4 2026, with the CMR-related prohibitions applying from 1 February 2027. Brands with affected ingredients should begin reformulation planning now rather than waiting for adoption: the direction of travel is settled even where the final text is not.
Oman
Oman mandates expanded allergen labelling aligned with GSO 1943:2024
In Oman, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion issued a circular in June 2026 requiring cosmetic and personal care products to declare the expanded list of more than 80 fragrance allergens, aligning national requirements with GSO 1943:2024 and the EU approach under Regulation (EU) 2023/1545, at the declaration thresholds that alignment implies, 0.001% in leave-on and 0.01% in rinse-off products. New products must comply by 31 December 2026, and non-compliant products already on the market may remain until 31 December 2028. The direction across the GCC is continued convergence with EU ingredient requirements alongside bilingual English and Arabic labelling, and brands selling into the Gulf should align allergen declarations across their EU and GCC artwork in a single exercise, since the same 2023/1545 list now drives both.
ASEAN
ASEAN Cosmetic Directive annexes updated: prohibited and restricted lists revised
The ASEAN Cosmetic Directive’s ingredient annexes were updated and released on 30 June 2026, with revisions to Annex II (prohibited substances), Annex III (restricted substances), Annex IV (colourants), Annex VI (preservatives) and Annex VII (UV filters), reflected in the consolidated annexes published by Singapore’s Health Sciences Authority. The ACD framework harmonises cosmetic requirements across the eleven member states, but notification remains national: a product entering Singapore is notified to the HSA through PRISM before supply and re-notified annually, with the Product Information File held ready for inspection. Brands selling across the region should check formulations against the updated annexes for every member state they supply, since national implementation timing can differ even under the harmonised framework.
Provisional agreement reached on faster CMR phase-outs in the EU Cosmetics Regulation
In the EU, the Council and Parliament reached a provisional political agreement on 17 June 2026 on the Omnibus VI simplification package, which amends Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 alongside the CLP and Fertilising Products Regulations. For cosmetics, the agreement sets faster phase-out timelines for products containing newly classified CMR substances than the Commission had proposed: where a substance is not defended by a derogation request, companies have six months to stop placing affected products on the market and twelve months in total before they may no longer be made available, with defined windows for requesting derogations for essential uses. The agreement also reintroduces nanomaterial notification with a shortened waiting period. The text still requires formal adoption and publication in the Official Journal, but the direction is settled: CMR reclassifications will bite faster, and reformulation planning should assume the compressed clocks.
Brazil revises its ingredient annexes: RDC 1029/2026 and RDC 1030/2026 published
In Brazil, Anvisa has published Resolutions RDC No. 1029/2026 and RDC No. 1030/2026 in the Official Gazette of 15 June 2026, revising both the restricted and prohibited ingredient lists and incorporating the latest Mercosur technical decisions. RDC 1030/2026 adds thirteen entries to the prohibited list annexed to RDC 529/2021, revises four and removes four. New prohibitions include boric acid and a range of borates, while hydroquinone, azelaic acid, benzoyl peroxide and methyl eugenol move from prohibited to restricted status under defined conditions. Products already regularised with Anvisa have twelve months from publication to adapt, extended to eighteen months for products containing Butylphenyl Methylpropional (Lilial) or HICC, the two fragrance allergens long since prohibited in the EU. Brands selling into Brazil should review formulations against the new annexes now: the transition clocks are already running, and Mercosur harmonisation means the same changes flow to Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.
Thailand consults on ACD-aligned ingredient changes: ten new prohibitions proposed
In Thailand, the Thai FDA published draft amendments to its cosmetic ingredient regulations on 9 June 2026, aligning the national lists with recent updates to the ASEAN Cosmetic Directive; the public consultation closed on 8 July 2026 and the drafts are pending finalisation. The proposals would restrict the UV filters Homosalate (non-aerosol facial sunscreens only, maximum 7.34%) and Benzophenone-3 (face, hand and lip sunscreens, maximum 6%), tighten limits for Salicylic Acid and Zinc Pyrithione (1% rinse-off, 0.1% leave-on), add restricted entries for verbena absolute, Acid Yellow 3 and BHT, and add ten substances to the prohibited list, including Quaternium-15, Benzophenone, Phenacetin, TMPTA and the azole antifungals Miconazole, Clotrimazole, Bifonazole, Thiabendazole and Tioconazole. Each amendment takes effect upon publication in the Royal Thai Government Gazette with a 180-day transition period. These are draft measures, not yet law, but the direction is settled: formulations for the Thai market using the affected UV filters, Zinc Pyrithione or Quaternium-15 should have reformulation options scoped now.
Regulation (EU) 2026/909 in force: four annexes amended on SCCS opinions
In the EU, Commission Regulation (EU) 2026/909, published on 28 April 2026, has taken effect, amending the prohibited, restricted, preservative and UV filter annexes of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009. Notable changes include a prohibition on Triphenyl Phosphate affecting nail products, new product-specific concentration limits for aluminium compounds across antiperspirants, toothpaste, make-up and hair products, and a 10 ppm impurity limit for DnHexP in the UV filter DHHB. For most affected substances, products placed on the market must comply from 1 January 2027, and non-compliant products must be off the market by 1 July 2028. Formulations containing the affected ingredients should be checked against the new limits and the PIF updated to record the assessment.
Omnibus VIII applies: silver regulated by particle size, Hexyl Salicylate restricted
In the EU, Commission Regulation (EU) 2026/78 (Omnibus VIII), published on 13 January 2026, applies from 1 May 2026, aligning the Cosmetics Regulation with the CMR classifications of the 22nd ATP to CLP. Silver is now regulated by particle size: nano silver and bulk silver are prohibited, while micrometre-range silver powder remains permitted within strict limits, 0.05% in toothpaste and mouthwash and 0.2% as a colorant in lip products and eye shadow. Hexyl Salicylate, reclassified as CMR Category 2, moves to Annex III with defined concentration limits following SCCS/1668/24. Children’s products are particularly affected, and there is no explicit sell-through provision, so stock in the supply chain needs review, not just new production.
UK Responsible Person details now required on GB labels
In Great Britain, cosmetic products placed on the market must now carry the UK Responsible Person’s name and address on the label, ending the post-Brexit easement that allowed an EU address to remain on GB packs. Artwork that still shows only an EU Responsible Person needs updating for GB stock, and brands selling across the whole UK should note that Northern Ireland packs continue to carry EU Responsible Person details under the EU regime. Where we act as your UK Responsible Person, our details appear on your GB labels; label reviews against Article 19 are available as a standalone engagement.
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