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On Oct. 17, 2019, South Korean MFDS released the amended Cosmetic Safety Standard [1]. Except for the amendments on Article 1, 5, 6 and table 4, the amended Cosmetics Safety Standard will be implemented on April 18, 2020.
The main amendments are as follows:
1. Prohibited ingredients are newly added and the limitation on restricted ingredients are more stringent.
Prohibited ingredients that are newly added: Tagetes Erecta Flower Extract and Oils
4 Restricted ingredients that are newly added:
| Ingredients | Limitation |
| Tagetes Patula Flower Extract and Oils | - For rinse-off product 0.1% / For leave-on product 0.01% - Not to be used in sunscreen products or products marketed for exposure to natural/artificial UV light |
| Tagetes Minuta Flower Extract and Oils | - For rinse-off product 0.1% / For leave-on product 0.01% - Not to be used in sunscreen products or products marketed for exposure to natural/artificial UV light |
| Extract, oils and derivatives of peanuts | The maximum concentration of peanut protein shall not exceed 0.5 ppm |
| Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein | The maximum average molecular weight of peptide in Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein shall not exceed 3.5 kDa |
Restricted ingredients whose limitations are tightened:
| Ingredients | Previous limitation | Limitation after amendments |
| P-Chloro-m-Cresol | 0.2% | 0.04% |
| 4,4-dimethyl -1,3-oxazolidine(dimethyl oxazolidine) | 0.1% | 0.05% |
| Methylisothiazolinone | 0.01% for rinse-off products (However, prohibited to be used in combination with mixture of methylchloroisothiazolinone and methylisothiazolinone) | 0.0015% for rinse-off products (However, prohibited to be used in combination with mixture of methylchloroisothiazolinone and methylisothiazolinone) |
| Benzyl Alcohol | 1% (10% for hair dyes) | 1.0% (10% for hair dyes) |
| phenoxyethanol | 1% | 1.0% |
| Chlorophene (2-Benzyl-4-Chlorophenol | 0.2% | 0.05% |
| Propionic acid and its salts | 2% | 0.9% |
2. Two preservatives, Salicylic acid and its salts and Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate (IPBC), which were previously prohibited to use in cosmetics for children under 3 years old, now are prohibited to use in cosmetics for children under 13 years old.
3. Seven ingredients permitted for use in hair dyes are newly added and the limitations are set.
| Ingredients | Limitation | Note |
| 2-Amino-3-Hydroxypyridine | Oxidation hair dyes 1.0% | Prohibited to use in other products |
| 4-Amino-m-cresol | Oxidation hair dyes 1.5% | |
| 5-Amino-6-Chloro-o-Cresol | Oxidation hair dyes 1.0% Non-oxidative hair dyes 0.5% | |
| Hydroxypropyl Bis(N-Hydroxyethyl-p-Phenylenediamine) HCI | Oxidation hair dyes 0.4% | |
| 1-Hydroxyethyl 4,5-Diamino Pyrazole Sulfate | Oxidation hair dyes 3.0% | |
| hydroxybenzomorpholine | Oxidation hair dyes 1.0% | |
| 6-Hydroxyindole | Oxidation hair dyes 0.5% |
4. Except for the following ingredients, other ingredients can be used in customized cosmetics (Effective date: March 14, 2020).
Prohibited ingredients in Annex 1 of Cosmetic Safety Standard [2].
Restricted ingredients in Annex 2 of Cosmetic Safety Standard.
Functional ingredients used in functional cosmetics that are announced by MFDS, except for functional ingredients in the functional cosmetics which have been registered with MFDS.
5. Testing standards and methods for soaps are newly set and the content of free base in soaps must be below 0.1% (Effective date: Dec. 31, 2019).
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