Sources and method

Where the data comes from

The entries are those of Annex III, Annex V and Annex VI of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 on cosmetic products. The text is the consolidated version of 18 May 2026 published by the Publications Office of the European Union (CELEX 02009R1223-20260518).

Reference number, names, CAS and EC numbers, product types, maximum concentrations, other conditions and warning wording are copied from the tables of that text by a program, without rewriting. Amendment markers are removed. Where the official wording contains a pictogram, the page shows the words [pictogram in the official text] in its place. Footnote numbers are kept and the footnote is printed on the page.

What the three annexes are

Annex III: list of substances which cosmetic products must not contain except subject to the restrictions laid down.

Annex V: list of preservatives allowed in cosmetic products.

Annex VI: list of UV filters allowed in cosmetic products.

Annex V preamble, as published

For the purposes of this list: ‘Salts’ is taken to mean: salts of the cations sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, ammonium and ethanolamines; salts of the anions chloride, bromide, sulphate, acetate. ‘Esters’ is taken to mean: esters of methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, butyl, isobutyl, phenyl.

All finished products containing substances which are listed in this Annex and which release formaldehyde shall be labelled with the warning ‘releases formaldehyde’ where the total concentration of formaldehyde released in the finished product exceeds 0,001 % (10 ppm), irrespective of whether the finished product contains one or more substances releasing formaldehyde.

Dates in the text

Some entries carry a date in the wording or in a footnote that comes after 5 November 2026, for example a date from which products that do not comply may no longer be placed or made available on the Union market. Those entries show the sentence as published, with its date, in a section of its own.

We checked the later dates in the footnotes against the amending acts Commission Regulation (EU) 2026/909, Regulation (EU) 2024/996 and Regulation (EU) 2023/1545.

What this site does not say

We state what the annexes say, with source and date. We do not say whether a substance is good or bad, whether a product is suitable for anyone, or what a manufacturer should do. A manufacturer asks the competent authority or reads the official text in force.