Skip to main content
Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs
Press release15 November 2019Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs

Commission publishes updated catalogue of nanomaterials used in cosmetics

The Cosmetics Regulation ensures a high level of human health protection concerning cosmetic products, including those containing nanomaterials. The Commission also publishes a catalogue of all nanomaterials used in cosmetic products placed on the EU market.

The present updated catalogue of nanomaterials follows the one published in June 2017. The catalogue compiles information that responsible persons share with the Commission through the cosmetic products notification portal (CPNP).

It specifies nanomaterials used as UV-filters, colourants and preservatives in different sections. The catalogue also indicates the categories of cosmetic products and foreseeable exposure conditions. This latest update provides an accurate overview of the nanomaterials used in cosmetic products in the EU.

The current edition contains 27 different nanomaterials (‘titanium dioxide’ and ‘zinc oxide’ are present in both the ‘colorants’ and ‘UV-filters’ category. Hence, this catalogue is for information purposes only and is expressly not a list of authorised nanomaterials.

Next steps

We will update the catalogue of nanomaterials used in cosmetics regularly.

The Commission will continue working with EU country authorities and industry stakeholders to improve the quality of the data submitted by the responsible persons.

More information

Related posts from the blog