South Korea to Revise Cosmetic Safety Standards

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) unveiled the draft of Regulation on Safety Standards, etc. for Cosmetics¹ for public opinions on May 4, 2023. Following the risk assessment results, the authority proposed to designate seven restricted ingredients as new prohibited ingredients. Stakeholders can send suggestions to MFDS prior to July 4, 2023. 

The seven restricted ingredients proposed to be designated as prohibited ingredients are:

• Nitro-p-Phenylenediamine    (니트로-p-페닐렌디아민)

• 2-Amino-4-nitrophenol (2-아미노-4-니트로페놀)

• 2-Amino-5-nitrophenol (2-아미노-5-니트로페놀)

• 2-Amino-5-nitrophenol Sulfate(황산 2-아미노-5-니트로페놀)

• o-Aminophenol Sulfate(황산 o-아미노페놀)

• o-chloro-p-Phenylenediamine Sulfate (황산 o-클로로-p-페닐렌디아민)

• m-Phenylenediamine Sulfate (황산 m-페닐렌디아민)

These ingredients are hair dyes. Once the draft is passed and the Regulation came into effect, enterprises were prohibited from manufacturing hair dye products using these ingredients. MFDS also gave out a grace period of two years for enterprises to sell the products that have been manufactured or imported before the implementation of the Regulation. 

The current ingredient lists of prohibited and restricted ingredients can be found in ChemLinked CosmeList:

•  South Korea: Restricted List of Hair Dye Ingredients

•  South Korea: Restricted List of Preservatives in Cosmetics

•  South Korea: Restricted List of UV-Filters in Cosmetics

•  South Korea: Prohibited Ingredients in Cosmetics