UK Sets Restrictions on Methyl Salicylate in Cosmetics

In January 2025, UK submitted a draft regulation to the WTO proposing restrictions on Methyl Salicylate (CAS No. 119-36-8) in cosmetics. The final version of the regulation, The Cosmetic Products (Restriction of Chemical Substances) Regulations 2025, was issued on March 31, 2025, and will be enforced from September 30, 2025.¹

Under Regulation 1272/2008 on Classification, Labelling and Packaging of Substances and Mixture in Great Britain (GB CLP Regulation), Methyl Salicylate is currently classified for reproductive toxicity (category 2), acute toxicity (category 4), and skin sensitization (category 1B). Given the existing prohibition on CMR substances (those classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic for reproduction) in the UK's Regulation (EC) 1223/2009 (Cosmetics Regulation), the Scientific Advisory Group on Chemical Safety of Non-Food and Non-Medicinal Consumer Products (SAG-CS) carried out a safety evaluation to determine whether this substance could be used safely in cosmetics. Based on the results of this evaluation, UK has prepared the Regulation, which includes Methyl Salicylate as a restricted ingredient under the Cosmetics Regulation, with restrictions outlined below.

Ref. No.	Substance Identification				Restrictions
Ref. No.	Chemical Name / INN	Name of Common Ingredients Glossary	CAS No.	EC No.	Product Type	Maximum Concentration
324	Methyl 2-hydroxybenzoate	Methyl salicylate	119-36-8	204-317-7	(A) Rinse-off skin & hair products (except hand wash products)	(A) (1) 0.02% (products intended for children 0.5-1 years) (2) 0.06% (products intended for children above 1 year and adults)
					(B) Hand wash products	(B) (1) 0.02% (products intended for children 0.5-1 years) (2) 0.6% (products intended for children above 1 year and adults)
					(C) Leave on skin products (except face makeup, spray and aerosol body lotion, spray and aerosol deodorant, and hydroalcoholic-based fragrances), and hair products (non-aerosol)	(C) (1) 0.02% (products intended for children 0.5-1 years) (2) 0.06% (products intended for children above 1 year and adults)
					(D) Lip products	(D) (1) 0.02% (products intended for children 0.5-1 years) (2) 0.03% (products intended for children above 1 year and adults)
					(E) Face makeup products	(E) 0.05%
					(F) Eye makeup products & makeup remover	(F) 0.002%
					(G) Toothpaste	(G) 2.5%
					(H) Mouthwash	(H) (1) 0.1% (products intended for children 6 to 10 years) (2) 0.4% (products intended for children above 10 years and adults)
					(I) Mouth spray	(I) 0.65%
					(J) Hydroalcoholic-based fragrances	(J) 0.6%
					(K) Deodorant spray and aerosol products	(K) 0.003%
					(L) Hair products (spray and aerosol)	(L) 0.009%
					(M) Body lotion spray	(M) 0.04%
*Notes:* Cosmetic products containing methyl salicylate that do not comply with the restrictions, provided that they are placed on the market by September 30, 2025, may continue to be made available on the market until March 31, 2026.

Similarly, Methyl Salicylate is regulated as a restricted ingredient under the EU's cosmetics framework, with certain differences when compared to the UK regulations. To be specific,

Due to concerns over its reproductive toxicity, EU published Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/1531 in September 2022 to govern the use of Methyl Salicylate, effective December 17, 2022. These EU restrictions differ from those listed in the table above, which can be found in the Cosme-list.
On July 27, 2023, EU adopted Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/1545, identifying Methyl Salicylate as a fragrance allergen and imposing individual labelling requirements on it. By contrast, the UK's new regulation does not yet enforce the fragrance allergen labelling requirement for Methyl Salicylate.

UK Sets Restrictions on Methyl Salicylate in Cosmetics

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