The Safety and Technical Standards for Cosmetics (STSC) is China’s core technical benchmark for cosmetic safety supervision and testing. It covers general safety requirements, ingredient management, and testing methods for physicochemical, microbiological, toxicological, human safety, and efficacy evaluations.
Since its implementation in 2016, the STSC has undergone 20 rounds of revisions. As a result, it now includes 1,406 prohibited ingredients, 349 restricted and permitted ingredients, and 176 testing methods. Key revisions include:
Ingredients-related revisions
Addition of 34 prohibited ingredients;
Reclassification of 1 previously permitted sunscreen, 1 hair dye, and 3 preservatives as prohibited ingredients;
Prohibition of 5 plant- or animal-derived ingredients for use as fragrances;
Addition of 1 permitted preservative;
Revision of the limits for 1 restricted ingredient, 4 preservatives, 3 sunscreens and 3 hair dyes;
Inclusion of limits for benzene as an impurity when technically unavoidable;
Amendments to the names and CAS numbers of prohibited ingredients;
Classification and merging of prohibited drug ingredients.
Testing method–related revisions
Addition or revision of testing methods, including 54 physicochemical, 6 microbiological, 35 toxicological, 2 human safety testing, and 2 human efficacy evaluation methods;
Deletion of 7 physicochemical testing methods.
Other revisions
Revision of the total bacterial count limits for eye cosmetics, lip cosmetics, and children’s cosmetics, as well as the limit for dioxane.
For the summary of the ingredient and testing methods revisions, please visit the ChemLinked article "Revisions to Cosmetic Ingredient Lists in China’s STSC: A Complete Compendium" and "An Overview of Historical Revisions to Testing Methods in China’s STSC".
These updates are scattered across numerous NMPA announcements, making it time-consuming and challenging for regulatory professionals to identify and track the latest requirements.
To simplify this process, ChemLinked has compiled a consolidated English translation of the STSC, bringing together all official revisions issued between 2016 and 2026 into one complete, easy-to-reference document.
The full English translation spans over 1,800 pages and is priced at USD 1,580. If you are interested in translations of specific chapters only, please contact ChemLinked for customized pricing.
*Please note that this translation is not included in ChemLinked paid membership benefits.
The following summarizes the contents of the updated STSC, with new or revised content highlighted in red.
Chapter 1 Overview
Chapter 2 Prohibited/Restricted Ingredients Used in Cosmetics
1 Prohibited Ingredients Used in Cosmetics (List 1)
2 Prohibited Plant/Animal Ingredients Used in Cosmetics (List 2)
3 Restricted Ingredients Used in Cosmetics (List 3)
Chapter 3 Permitted Ingredients Used in Cosmetics
1 Permitted Preservatives Used in Cosmetics (List 4)
2 Permitted Sunscreens Used in Cosmetics (List 5)
3 Permitted Colorants Used in Cosmetics (List 6)
4 Permitted Hair Dyes Used in Cosmetics (List 7)
Chapter 4 Physical and Chemical Testing Methods for Cosmetics
1 General Principles of Physical and Chemical Testing
2 Testing Methods of Prohibited Ingredients
3 Testing Methods of Restricted Ingredients
4 Testing Methods of Preservatives
5 Testing Methods of Sunscreens
6 Testing Methods of Colorants
7 Testing Methods of Hair Dyes
8 Testing Methods of Other Ingredients
Chapter 5 Methods of Microbiological Test
1 General Principles
2 Aerobic Bacterial Count
3 Thermotolerant Coliform Bacteria
4 Pseudomonas Aeruginosa
5 Staphylococcus Aureus
6 Molds and Yeast Count
7 General Guidelines in Toothpaste
8 Aerobic Plate Count in Toothpaste
9 Detection of Thermotolerant Coliform Bacteria in Toothpaste
10 Detection of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa in Toothpaste
11 Detection of Staphylococcus Aureus in Toothpaste
12 Molds and Yeasts Count in Toothpaste
Chapter 6 Methods of Toxicological Test
1 General Principles
2 Acute Oral Toxicity Test
3 Acute Dermal Toxicity Test
4 Dermal Irritation/Corrosion Test
5 Acute Eye Irritation/Corrosion Test
6 Skin Sensitisation Test
7 Skin Phototoxicity Test
8 Bacterial Reverse Mutation Assay
9 In Vitro Mammalian Cells Chromosome Aberration Test
10 In Vitro Mammalian Cell Gene Mutation Test
11 In Vivo Mammalian Bone Marrow Cell Chromosome Aberration Test
12 Mammalian Erythrocyte Micronucleus Test
13 Testicle Cells Chromosome Aberration Test
14 Subchronic Oral Toxicity Test
15 Subchronic Dermal Toxicity Test
16 Teratogenicity Test
17 Combined Chronic Toxicity / Carcinogenicity Test
18 In-vitro 3T3 Neutral Red Uptake Phototoxicity Test Method for Chemicals Used in Cosmetics
19 In Vitro Skin Corrosion: Transcutaneous Electrical Resistance Test (TER) for Chemicals Used in Cosmetics
20 Skin Photoallergy Test
21 Short Time Exposure In Vitro Test Method (STE)
22 Skin Sensitization: Local Lymph Node Assay: DA (LLNA: DA)
23 Skin Sensitization: Local Lymph Node Assay: BrdU-ELISA (LLNA: BrdU-ELISA)
24 In Chemico Skin Sensitization: Direct Peptide Reactivity Assay (DPRA)
25 In Vitro Mammalian Cells Micronucleus Test
26 In Vitro Skin Sensitisation: Human Cell Line Activation Test (h-CLAT)
27 In Chemico Skin Sensitisation: Amino acid Derivative Reactivity Assay (ADRA)
28 Fluorescein Leakage In Vitro Test Method
29 Acute Oral Toxicity Test: Up-and Down Procedure
30 Acute Oral Toxicity Test: The Fixed-Dose Procedure
31 Acute Oral Toxicity Acute: Toxic Class Method
32 In Vivo Mammalian Alkaline Comet Assay
33 General Rule for Pretreatment of Cosmetic in Toxicological Experiments
34 Acute Inhalation Toxicity Study
35 Acute Inhalation Toxicity-Acute Toxic Class Method
36 Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) Assay for Photoreactivity
37 U937 Cell Line Activation Test
38 Skin Absorption: in Vivo Method
39 Repeated Dose 28-Day Oral Toxicity Study
40 28-Day Inhalation Toxicity Study
41 90-Day Inhalation Toxicity Study
42 Extended One-Generation Reproductive Toxicity Study
43 Two-Generation Reproductive Toxicity Study
44 In Chemico Skin Sensitisation The ARE-Nrf2 Luciferase LuSens Test
45 Bovine Corneal Opacity and Permeability (BCOP) Assay
46 In Chemico Skin Sensitisation: Kinetic Direct Peptide Reactivity Assay (kDPRA)
47 Skin Absorption: In Vitro Method
48 Immunotoxicity Test
49 Oral Mucous Irritation Test
50 Skin Sensitization: Local Lymph Node Assay: BrdU-Flow Cytometry Method (LLNA: BrdU-FCM)
51 Toxicokinetics Test
Chapter 7 Human Body Safety Testing Method
1 General Principles
2 Human Skin Patch Test
3 Safety Evaluation of Using Tests of Cosmetics on Human Body
Chapter 8 Human Body Efficacy Evaluation Testing Method
1 General Principles
2 Determination Methods of Sun Protection Factor (SPF)
3 Determination Methods of Sunscreen Water Resistant Performance
4 Determination Methods for PFA of Sunscreen Cosmetics
5 Test Method for Efficacy Measurement of Skin Whitening Cosmetic Products
6 Test Method for Efficacy Measurement of Anti-hair Loss Cosmetic Products
Note: If you wish to purchase specific chapters, please reach out to [email protected] for pricing details.
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