Tag: preservatives

  • Preservative Limits in Korean Cosmetics: Why Parabens Sit on One Grouped Line, and How the EU Splits It in Two (Ingredient Guide 25)

    Cover image for an article on preservative limits in Korean cosmetics. Article 8 of the Cosmetics Act has the Minister of Food and Drug Safety designate conditions of use for raw materials that need special restrictions, such as preservatives, colorants and UV filters, so a preservative works from an allowed list. Annex 2 of the Cosmetic Safety Standards sets parabens at 0.4 percent as acid for a single ingredient and 0.8 percent for a mixture, and phenoxyethanol at 1.0 percent.

    🇰🇷 국문판 (Korean version)

    Hello, this is Dr. J. Today we are reading the preservative limits in Korean cosmetics — the numbers behind parabens and phenoxyethanol.

    Here is the part that surprises people first. The Korean notice never uses the word “paraben.” Several parabens sit on one grouped line, and the salts ride that line too.

    ――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

    The primary sources

    📄 Cosmetics Act Article 8 (Korea Cosmetic Association)

    📄 Annex 2, raw materials needing restricted use (Korea Law Information Center)

    📄 KCIA ingredient dictionary — ethylparaben

    📄 Commission Regulation (EU) No 1004/2014 · No 358/2014

    📄 Parabens in Cosmetics (U.S. FDA)

    Annex 2 gives each preservative a line of its own: the name, the ceiling, and the condition attached. Find the preservative on your label in that table and you can read off how much is allowed and in which kind of product.

    ――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

    If you are in a hurry — five lines

    ✔ Preservatives work from an allowed list, the way colorants do

    ✔ The paraben line reads 0.4% single, 0.8% mixture (as acid)

    ✔ Phenoxyethanol is 1.0%

    ✔ The EU cuts butyl- and propylparaben to 0.14% inside the same group

    ✔ The United States has no rule aimed at preservatives

    ――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

    Article 8 names preservatives first

    Korea’s Cosmetics Act splits raw materials into two kinds. Some may never be used. Others may be used under conditions.

    Paragraph What it does Text
    Article 8 (1) Designates the raw materials that may not be used “The Minister of Food and Drug Safety shall designate and announce the raw materials that may not be used in the manufacture of cosmetics.”
    Article 8 (2) Sets conditions of use for preservatives, colorants and UV filters For raw materials that need special restrictions, “such as preservatives, colorants and ultraviolet blocking agents”, the Minister shall designate and announce the conditions of use, and a preservative, colorant or UV filter whose conditions of use have not been announced may not be used.
    Article 8 (5) Reviews those conditions periodically The Minister shall periodically review the safety of the announced conditions of use, and may change them according to the result.

    Of the three named in paragraph (2) — preservatives, colorants and UV filters — preservatives come first. And the paragraph closes by barring anything outside the announced list. So a preservative in Korea works from an allowed list, not a banned one: a substance with no announced condition of use cannot go in the bottle at all.

    Paragraph (5) adds one more layer. The ceilings are reviewed periodically and may be changed. That is exactly what happened in Europe, twice, to the same group of parabens — these numbers are reviewed values, not fixed ones.

    Evidence figure on preservative limits in Korean cosmetics. First, Article 8 of the Cosmetics Act names preservatives first among the raw materials that need special restrictions, and a preservative with no announced condition of use cannot be used. Second, the Korean notice does not use the word paraben; it reads p-hydroxybenzoic acid, its salts and esters, excluding phenyl among the esters, at 0.4 percent as acid for a single ingredient and 0.8 percent for a mixture, and salts such as sodium propylparaben follow the same ceiling. Third, other ceilings on the same table are phenoxyethanol 1.0 percent, sorbic acid 0.6 percent, benzoic acid 0.5 percent and 2.5 percent in rinse-off products, salicylic acid 0.5 percent, benzyl alcohol 1.0 percent, phenoxyisopropanol 1.0 percent in rinse-off products only, and the CMIT MIT three to one mixture at 0.0015 percent in rinse-off products only. Fourth, the European Union splits the same group in two: Annex V entry 12 keeps 0.4 and 0.8 percent, entry 12a cuts butylparaben and propylparaben to 0.14 percent as acid from 16 April 2015 and bars them from leave-on products for the nappy area of children under three, while the United States has no rule aimed at preservatives.

    ――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

    Parabens sit on one grouped line

    Open the preservative table in Annex 2 and the word “paraben” is not there. This is what you find instead.

    How the notice writes it What that one line covers Limit
    “p-hydroxybenzoic acid, its salts and esters
    (excluding phenyl among the esters)”    		 The esters — methyl-, ethyl-, propyl-, butylparaben
    The salts — sodium methylparaben, sodium propylparaben
    The acid itself    		 0.4% (as acid) for a single ingredient
    0.8% (as acid) for a mixture
    What the bracket takes out Phenyl, among the esters Not on this line

    One group name carries three things at once: the acid itself, the esters, and the salts. So when you see sodium propylparaben on a Korean label, it is not a different substance that slipped past the rule — it is the same line and the same ceiling.

    The bracket takes out one ester: phenyl. Europe takes out five. That difference is the next table.

    You can see the grouping for yourself in the Korea Cosmetic Association’s ingredient dictionary: open ethylparaben and sodium propylparaben separately and both carry the same notice name and the same figures.

    ――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

    The rest of the preservative table — the conditions matter as much as the numbers

    A preservative line is rarely a number on its own. Most of them also say which kind of product the substance may go into.

    Preservative Limit Condition attached
    p-hydroxybenzoic acid, its salts and esters (parabens) 0.4% single · 0.8% mixture As acid · phenyl ester excluded
    Phenoxyethanol 1.0% —
    Sorbic acid 0.6% —
    Benzoic acid 0.5% 2.5% in rinse-off products
    Salicylic acid 0.5% Not for products for infants, or labelled as usable by children aged 13 or under (shampoo excepted)
    Benzyl alcohol 1.0% 10% as a solvent in hair dyes
    Phenoxyisopropanol 1.0% Rinse-off products only · banned in all others
    CMIT / MIT mixture 0.0015% As a 3:1 mixture · rinse-off only · banned in all others
    MIT alone 0.0015% Rinse-off only · not to be combined with the mixture above · banned in all others

    Three shapes show up. A plain ceiling (phenoxyethanol, sorbic acid). A ceiling that changes with the product (benzoic acid). And a ceiling that comes with a product type attached (phenoxyisopropanol, the isothiazolinones) — for those, “rinse-off only” is the whole point of the line.

    Salicylic acid carries an age condition: it is not for products for infants, or for products labelled as usable by children aged 13 or under, with shampoo excepted. That is the same rule that shapes Korea’s children’s cosmetics regime (Ingredient Guide 20).

    ――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

    The EU splits the same group in two

    Entry 12 of Annex V to Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 opens with almost the same sentence as the Korean notice: “4-Hydroxybenzoic acid and its salts and esters, other than the esters of isopropyl, isobutyl, phenyl, benzyl and pentyl”. Same grouping habit, same 0,4% / 0,8%.

    What differs is whether the group gets divided again.

    Korea European Union United States
    How parabens are written One grouped line — “p-hydroxybenzoic acid, its salts and esters (excluding phenyl among the esters)” Two entries — Annex V 12 and 12a No list of its own
    Limit 0.4% single · 0.8% mixture (as acid) 12 keeps 0,4% / 0,8%
    12a sets butyl- and propylparaben at 0,14% (as acid)    		 No figure set
    Esters barred outright Phenyl Isopropyl, isobutyl, phenyl, benzyl and pentyl — five (Reg. 358/2014, applied 30 Oct 2014) —
    Age or body-area condition None on the paraben line 12a — “Not to be used in leave-on products designed for application on the nappy area of children under three years of age” (Reg. 1004/2014, applied 16 Apr 2015) —
    Shape of the rule A preservative needs announced conditions of use before it can be used A preservative has to be listed in the annex FDA — “FDA doesn’t have special rules that apply only to preservatives in cosmetics.”

    Europe moved in two steps. From 30 October 2014, five esters were moved out of entry 12 and into the banned annex (Regulation 358/2014) — and that regulation states in its recitals that “measures on propylparaben and butylparaben are under preparation”. From 16 April 2015, those two were cut to 0,14% and given the nappy-area condition (Regulation 1004/2014).

    The regulation also explains where 0,14% comes from. The SCCS figure was 0,19% expressed as esters; because entry 12 is written “as acid”, the Commission converted it to 0,14% as acid so the two entries could be read together. The science did not change between those numbers — the unit did.

    The United States draws no such line. FDA states plainly that it “doesn’t have special rules that apply only to preservatives in cosmetics”, and that cosmetic ingredients other than color additives do not need FDA approval before going on the market.

    ――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

    One substance, three ways of drawing the line

    Korea European Union United States
    Allowed list, by notice under Article 8 (2) Allowed list, Annex V No preservative-specific rule
    Parabens grouped on one line, salts included Same group, split into 12 and 12a Methyl-, propyl-, butyl- and ethylparaben named as the most common, with no limit set
    Conditions attach product types (rinse-off only) and ages (salicylic acid) Conditions attach product types, body areas and ages Safety rests on the manufacturer; FDA may act on a marketed product

    This is the part worth carrying away. A Korean label and a European label can show the same preservative at the same percentage and still sit under different rules — and a U.S. label sits under none written for preservatives at all. The number on the back of the bottle does not tell you which system you are reading.

    ――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

    What to check on the box

    ✔ Preservative names sit near the end of the ingredient list, around the 1% mark

    ✔ For parabens, read methyl-, ethyl-, propyl-, butyl- and the salt names such as sodium methylparaben

    ✔ Some ceilings apply to rinse-off products only, so check whether the product stays on the skin

    ✔ On products labelled for children, Korean packaging prints the preservative content as its own line

    ✔ A ceiling is the upper bound, not the amount in the jar — two different things

    ――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

    What I left out, and why

    ✔ The notice number and effective date — Korea’s law portal was unreachable on the day this was written, so I could not confirm the current number of the Cosmetic Safety Standards. Only the article numbers and the annex name are given here

    ✔ The full Annex 2 preservative table — same reason. The figures above come from the text obtained on 20 September 2026, cross-checked in the KCIA ingredient dictionary

    ✔ The paraben safety debate — I did not open the review papers or the opinions themselves. What the EU changed, and what FDA says, is the range of this article

    ✔ The EU figure for phenoxyethanol — a secondary source gives 1.0%, but I could not obtain the annex table itself, so it is not in the comparison

    ――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

    In one line

    A preservative is used from a list, within the stated ceiling, in the stated kind of product. Where that line gets drawn is what changes between countries.

    Next: the 25 fragrance allergens — why those names are printed separately on the box.

    ――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

    📌 Related reading

    📌 How to Read a Korean Cosmetic Ingredient List (Ingredient Guide 14) — where preservative names sit

    📌 Salicylic Acid (BHA): 0.5% vs 2% (Ingredient Guide 8) — a preservative on the same annex

    📌 Sunscreen SPF and PA (Ingredient Guide 11) — the third material named in Article 8 (2)

    📌 AHA vs BHA: Is Glycolic Acid an AHA? (Ingredient Guide 13)

    About the author · Dr. J

    MS in Veterinary Medicine, PhD in Life Sciences. I worked as a researcher at the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB) and now run Beaurea, a cosmetics manufacturing company, where I write the formulas myself. This blog reads the research papers and the regulatory documents and turns them into plain-language criteria for choosing ingredients. I don’t recommend specific products here – only criteria that apply to any product.

    📄 Sources

    · Cosmetics Act of Korea, Article 8 — paragraphs (1), (2) and (5)

    · Regulation on Cosmetic Safety Standards, Annex 2 (raw materials needing restricted use), preservatives

    · Korea Cosmetic Association ingredient dictionary — ethylparaben, sodium propylparaben, phenoxyisopropanol, methylisothiazolinone, methylchloroisothiazolinone

    · Commission Regulation (EU) No 1004/2014 and No 358/2014 (EUR-Lex) · Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, Annex V entry 12

    · U.S. FDA, Parabens in Cosmetics (updated 18 November 2025)

    ――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

    This article summarises statutes and official notices and is not a substitute for diagnosis or treatment. Korea’s law portal was unreachable on the day of writing, so the Annex 2 figures were matched against text obtained earlier and cross-checked in the Korea Cosmetic Association ingredient dictionary; the current notice number is not stated. EU and U.S. material is taken from each authority’s current public text.

    — Dr. J Ingredient Notes

  • How to Read a Korean Cosmetic Ingredient List — Where the Order Stops at 1%, and the 25 Fragrance Allergens Behind “Fragrance” (Ingredient Guide 14)

    Cover image for a Dr. J Ingredient Notes guide on how to read a cosmetic ingredient list, ingredient guide 14. Ingredients are listed from the largest amount to the smallest, but ingredients at 1 percent or less, fragrances and colorants may be listed in any order in Korea, and the United States and the European Union draw the same 1 percent line. The guide also covers the 25 fragrance allergens that Korea requires to be named on the label.

    🇰🇷 한국어판: 화장품 전성분 보는 법 – 1% 이하는 순서가 없다 (성분 백과 ⑭)

    Hello, I’m Dr. J. If you are trying to read the ingredient list on a Korean skincare product, here is the rule most guides leave out: ingredients are listed from most to least — but only down to 1%. Below that line, the order is free. This is Ingredient Guide 14.

    People often treat the whole list as a ranking and draw conclusions from where something sits. The top of the list does support that. The bottom does not, and the law says so in plain words. Knowing where the ranking stops tells you which parts of a label to read closely and which to read for what is there rather than how much.

    The same line runs through the rules in the United States and the European Union, which makes this one of the few label habits that works on a product from almost anywhere. Below, the three sets of rules side by side, plus the one place where Korean labels spell things out: the fragrance allergens.

    ――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

    📄 If you’d rather read the primary sources

    📄 Korea — Enforcement Rule of the Cosmetics Act, Annex 4: labelling standards (Korean)

    📄 Korea — Annex 2: the 25 fragrance allergens, with CAS numbers (Korean)

    📄 Korea — Regulation on Cosmetic Safety Standards, Annex 2: restricted ingredients (Korean)

    📄 US — 21 CFR 701.3, designation of ingredients (eCFR)

    📄 EU — Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, Article 19 (EUR-Lex)

    📄 EU — Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/1545, the expanded allergen list (EUR-Lex)

    🏠 Korean Cosmetic Association ingredient dictionary — paste a name from your label

    The two Korean annexes are the ones English-language guides rarely quote. Annex 4 holds the order rule and its 1% proviso; the allergen Annex 2 lists all 25 names.

    ――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

    ――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

    The short version

    ● Ingredients are listed from the largest amount to the smallest

    ● Ingredients at 1% or less, plus fragrances and colorants, may be listed in any order

    ● So near the bottom of the list, position does not tell you which is more

    ● Unfamiliar names after 「fragrance」 are allergens Korea requires by name once they pass a threshold

    ● The US and the EU draw the same 1% line

    ――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

    Most first — and how far down that holds

    Korea’s labelling rules live in Annex 4 of the Enforcement Rule of the Cosmetics Act. The basic instruction is short: list what went into the product starting with the ingredient used in the largest amount. Then come several provisos, and they are what change how you read a label.

    Rule What the Korean text says How to read your label
    Basic order Listed from the ingredient used in the largest amount downward The first few lines really are in order of amount
    The 1% proviso Ingredients used at 1 percent or less, fragrances and colorants may be listed regardless of order Further down, position no longer tells you which is more
    Blended raw materials Each individual ingredient in a blend is named One raw material can turn into several lines
    Fragrance May be listed as 「fragrance」 (향료) Unless a listed allergen is above the threshold; then it is named too
    pH adjusters May be listed as the product of the neutralisation The name on the label can differ from what went into the tank
    Colour cosmetics After 「± or +/-」, all colorants used across the shade range may be listed A colorant after +/- is not necessarily in your shade

    The second row is the one that matters most. It creates a stretch of the list where the fifth ingredient is not necessarily present in a larger amount than the twelfth. That does not mean the label is wrong. It means the rule stops asking for an order in that stretch.

    The pH row explains a small puzzle as well. A formula might use an acid and a base to set the pH, and the label is allowed to show the salt they form instead. If you have ever looked for an ingredient you know is in a product and found a different name, this is one reason.

    Evidence figure on how far the order of a cosmetic ingredient list can be trusted. First, ingredients are listed in descending order of the amount used and blended raw materials are broken out into individual ingredients, Korea's Enforcement Rule of the Cosmetics Act, Annex 4. Second, ingredients at 1 percent or less, fragrances and colorants may be listed in any order, and the United States under 21 CFR 701.3(f) and the European Union under Regulation 1223/2009 Article 19(1)(g) draw the same 1 percent line. Third, fragrance may be listed as one word, but 25 allergens must be named when above 0.01 percent in rinse-off and 0.001 percent in leave-on products, in Korea since 1 January 2020, and the EU added 56 more under Regulation (EU) 2023/1545. Fourth, in five European countries 12,377 adults were interviewed and 3,119 were patch tested; fragrance mix I was positive in 2.6 percent and fragrance mix II in 1.9 percent, and women tested positive about twice as often as men, Diepgen and colleagues, British Journal of Dermatology 2015.

    ――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

    Where is the 1% line? Clues from the preservative limits

    No label marks the 1% point. There are clues, though. Korea’s Regulation on Cosmetic Safety Standards, Annex 2, caps how much of each preservative a product may contain, and several of those caps are at or below 1%.

    Preservative Korean limit Note
    Phenoxyethanol 1.0% —
    Benzyl alcohol 1.0% 10% when used as a solvent in hair dyes
    Sorbic acid and its salts 0.6% as sorbic acid
    Benzoic acid and its salts 0.5% 2.5% for benzoic acid and its sodium salt in rinse-off products
    Salicylic acid and its salts 0.5% as a preservative; functional-cosmetic limits are separate
    Parabens 0.4% single · 0.8% mixed as acid

    When ingredients like these start to appear, you are probably near or below the 1% line. Fragrance, colorants and thickeners such as carbomer and xanthan gum are usually used below 1% too.

    I would not go further than “probably”. A cap is a maximum, not the amount actually used — a product could contain 0.5% phenoxyethanol. From that point down, I stop reading the order and read which ingredients are present.

    ――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

    Behind the word “fragrance” — the 25 allergens Korea names

    A fragrance is a blend of many aromatic materials, so it may appear on a label as a single word. Since 1 January 2020, Korea has made an exception. If any of 25 fragrance allergens listed by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety is above a threshold, it must be named separately after 「fragrance」.

    ● Rinse-off products — above 0.01%

    ● Leave-on products — above 0.001%

    ● Each allergen is judged on its own, not added up with the others (Korean Cosmetic Association guidance)

    1. Amyl cinnamal 2. Benzyl alcohol 3. Cinnamyl alcohol 4. Citral 5. Eugenol
    6. Hydroxycitronellal 7. Isoeugenol 8. Amylcinnamyl alcohol 9. Benzyl salicylate 10. Cinnamal
    11. Coumarin 12. Geraniol 13. Anise alcohol 14. Benzyl cinnamate 15. Farnesol
    16. Butylphenyl methylpropional 17. Linalool 18. Benzyl benzoate 19. Citronellol 20. Hexyl cinnamal
    21. Limonene 22. Methyl 2-octynoate 23. Alpha-isomethyl ionone 24. Oak moss extract 25. Tree moss extract

    How common is fragrance allergy? A cross-sectional study across five European countries — Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden — interviewed a random sample of 12,377 adults aged 18 to 74 and patch tested a random subsample of 3,119.

    ● Fragrance mix I positive: 2.6% (95% CI 2.1–3.2)

    ● Fragrance mix II positive: 1.9% (95% CI 1.5–2.4)

    ● Clinically relevant fragrance allergy, estimated conservatively: 1.9%; using a lifetime history of contact dermatitis instead: 0.8%

    ● Women tested positive about twice as often as men

    Diepgen TL et al., British Journal of Dermatology 2015;173:1411-1419

    Two or three people in a hundred is not a small number. That is why the extra names after 「fragrance」 are not something hidden — they are something disclosed. If a scent ingredient has bothered you before, keep its name and check it against the label.

    ――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

    Korea, the US and the EU draw the same 1% line

    This is not a Korean quirk. Put Korea’s Annex 4 next to the US rule, 21 CFR 701.3, and the EU Cosmetics Regulation, 1223/2009 Article 19, and the structure is almost the same.

    Korea United States European Union
    Basic order Largest amount first Descending order of predominance Descending order of weight at the time of addition
    Below 1% At 1% or less, plus fragrances and colorants: any order Not more than 1%: any order, after those above 1%; colour additives last, any order Less than 1%: any order, after those above 1%
    Fragrance 「향료」 (fragrance) fragrance parfum · aroma
    Fragrance allergens 25 named when above 0.01% rinse-off / 0.001% leave-on, since 1 Jan 2020 MoCRA (2022) directs FDA to write a rule; as of March 2026 none had been issued Original 26 plus 56 added by Reg. (EU) 2023/1545, same thresholds; applies to products placed on the market from 31 Jul 2026
    Shade ranges ± or +/- may contain may contain or +/-

    Two differences are worth knowing. First, the US and the EU say in so many words that the below-1% ingredients come after the ones above 1%; the Korean text says only “regardless of order”. Second, the EU list of fragrance allergens has grown. Regulation (EU) 2023/1545 kept the original 26 and added 56 more, at the same 0.001% and 0.01% thresholds. Products newly placed on the EU market from 31 July 2026 must comply, and older stock may be sold until 31 July 2028.

    In the US, the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 directs FDA to set fragrance allergen labelling rules. FDA’s own MoCRA page lists that requirement without a rule attached, and a March 2026 review by the law firm Foley & Lardner reported that none had been issued. For now, a US label may still say “fragrance” and stop.

    The practical result: a label follows the rules of the market it was made for. A European product may carry a longer run of named allergens after “parfum” than a Korean one; a US product may carry none. That is a difference in rules, not necessarily in the formula.

    ――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

    Five things to check when you buy

    ✔ The first few lines — this is the above-1% zone; read it as a ranking

    ✔ After the first capped preservative — stop comparing amounts by position

    ✔ Names after 「fragrance」 — check them against any scent ingredient that has bothered you

    ✔ ± or +/- — in colour cosmetics, colorants after this mark cover the whole shade range, not necessarily yours

    ✔ Samples of 10 mL or less — Korean rules allow a shorter label; check the full-size product

    ――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

    In one line

    The top of the list is a ranking; below 1%, it is a list. Knowing where one turns into the other is half of reading a label.

    Next in the series: arbutin and the 2–5% Korea set for brightening claims (Ingredient Guide 15).

    ――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

    📌 Earlier guides

    📌 Skincare Ingredient Compatibility Chart – 12 Ingredients

    📌 Skin Concern Ingredient Map – Dark Spots, Acne, Pores, Lines

    📌 Niacinamide: How Much Is Enough

    📌 Salicylic Acid (BHA): 0.5% vs 2%, Explained

    📌 Retinol: Start at 0.1% – How to Read the Concentration Numbers

    About the author · Dr. J

    MS in Veterinary Medicine, PhD in Life Sciences. I worked as a researcher at the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB) and now run Beaurea, a cosmetics manufacturing company, where I write the formulas myself. This blog reads the research papers and the regulatory documents and turns them into plain-language criteria for choosing ingredients. I don’t recommend specific products here – only criteria that apply to any product.

    📄 References

    · Korea — Enforcement Rule of the Cosmetics Act, Annex 4: labelling standards and methods

    · Korea — Regulation on Precautions for Use and Allergen Labelling of Cosmetics, Annex 2: fragrance allergens

    · Korea — Regulation on Cosmetic Safety Standards, Annex 2: restricted ingredients, preservatives

    · US — 21 CFR 701.3, Designation of ingredients (eCFR)

    · EU — Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, Art. 19(1)(g); Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/1545 (EUR-Lex)

    · US FDA — Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 (MoCRA) page; Foley & Lardner, “How MoCRA Is Reshaping FDA Oversight of Cosmetics in 2026” (March 2026)

    · Diepgen TL et al., Br J Dermatol 2015;173:1411-1419 — fragrance contact allergy in the general population of five European countries

    ――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

    This article summarises regulatory texts and published research. It is information, not a diagnosis or a treatment plan. If something about your skin worries you, please talk to a professional.

    — Dr. J Ingredient Notes