EU to ban 30 toxic chemicals in beauty and personal care products

24 Jul 2023 --- The European Commission (EC) is banning several cosmetic ingredients identified as carcinogenic, mutagenic and toxic for reproduction (CMR). The governing body has listed the chemicals in the amendment of Annexes II of the Cosmetics Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009.

Starting December 2023, beauty and personal care products containing any CMR substances will be prohibited from being made available or commercialized in the EU.

The updated regulation is part of the EC Omnibus Act VI, formally EU Regulation 2023/1490. The ingredients used in cosmetics formulations that have been added to the banned ingredient list include ammonium bromide, benzophenone, tellurium dioxide and 27 others.

The Omnibus Act VI is made to accomplish Article 15 of the Cosmetics Regulation of the EU.

However, a CMR substance may be used in cosmetic products if Article 15 (1) or 15 (2) of the regulation are fulfilled.

Past focus on CMR’s
Earlier this year, the European Environment Bureau (EEB) and CHEM Trust analyzed the impact of the EU postponing chemical bans, showing that the effect goes “beyond a mere delay.”

The EU will no longer allow 30 CMR chemicals in cosmetic products starting in December.The agencies stressed that the parliamentary term would have no chance to finish institutional negotiations before elections in 2024, significantly delaying the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) revision further.

“The generic approach to risk management is currently only possible for CMR chemicals,” Tatiana Santos, head of Chemicals Policy at the EBB, told Personal Care Insights.

“The reform of REACH foresees the widening of the scope from CMRs to other hazard categories, such as persistent chemicals, i.e., PFAS. This means that the only available tool to restrict PFAS is the ‘normal’ restrictions procedure, which, according to the EEB’s ‘Need for Speed’ report, takes between two and 11 years. Fast track restrictions would take between one and two years instead.”

The EC recently proposed a Union-wide restriction of perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA), its salts and related substances, including polymers in cosmetic products, with a transitional period of two years. This substance is a breakdown product of other PFAS substances, which contaminate and persist in the environment.

The proposal was presented to the member states and will be discussed further in Q4 of 2023. A vote on the proposal in the REACH Committee could be expected by the end of 2023 or the beginning of 2024, an EC spokesperson told Personal Care Insights.

EC restricting chemicals
Last year, the EC ramped up its restrictions on cosmetic substances classified as CMR with additions and amendments to its existing regulations. Regulation 2022/1531, outlining the substances, was published to amend Annex II, III and V of the Cosmetics Regulation EC 1223/2009.

The amended regulation entered into force on October 6, 2022, and the restrictions on CMR were applied on December 17, 2022.

Around the same time, the EC consulted the public about changing the list of CMR chemicals under the REACH Regulation 1907/2006. The list covered a broad range of hazardous substances not to be used in cosmetic and personal care formulations.

By Sabine Waldeck

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