Developments under the ASEAN Cosmetic Directive and national requirements across Asia-Pacific markets, including China, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia.
Last updated: 20 August 2026
China
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.
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.
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.
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