With the new EU regulation, more than 200 substances or groups of substances were banned in cosmetic products. Cosmetics marketed in the EU and EEA countries must not contain these prohibited substances or must comply with restrictions on their use. Prohibited substances are carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to reproduction (CMR).

On 22 May 2019, the European Commission published a new Regulation (EU) 2019/831 which amended Annexes II, III and V of the Cosmetics Regulation and became applicable on 12 June 2019. Therefore, cosmetic products sold in Finland or elsewhere in the EU / EEA or marketed in Finland via the online store may no longer contain substances prohibited by the Regulation or the substances must comply with the restrictions on their use.

The EU Cosmetics Regulation bans the use of CMRs in cosmetics. Substances are classified as CMRs according to EU chemicals legislation *. The hazardous properties of a substance do not always pose a risk to health. CMRs can be used in cosmetics if the European Commission Scientific Committee, based on a risk assessment, concludes that the use is safe under certain conditions. The prohibition or restriction on the use of cosmetic products is implemented by amending the annexes to the EU Cosmetics Regulation (Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/831) by adding the names of banned or restricted substances in the annexes. The EU Cosmetics Regulation and its annexes are also directly applicable in Finland.

Find the full TUKES article here (In Finnish).

If you would like more information about the Brexit phases, you can also visit the European Chemicals Agency website – information is available here.