M-PHENYLENEDIAMINE SULFATE
Official label name (INCIInternational name of cosmetic ingredients: the one printed on the pack. name, EU glossary of cosmetic ingredient names), No 16956
- Prohibited in cosmetics (Annex II)
M-PHENYLENEDIAMINE SULFATE: Prohibited in cosmetics (Annex II, entry 1204), under Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009. Annexes of the Regulation consulted on 23 October 2026.
Who it concerns
This ingredient is prohibited in cosmetics in the European Union: what follows describes its hazards, not a permitted use.
What official classifications and rules say for each group. A classification describes the hazard of the pure substance, not the risk of a product that contains it, which depends on the dose and the exposure.
Prohibition or serious classificationThe text prohibits the substance for this use, or ranks it among the most serious hazards (known or presumed carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic, identified endocrine disruptor).Worth watchingThe text sets a condition or flags a hazard worth knowing: allergen, suspected effect, condition for children, hazard to the aquatic environment.For informationOfficial information with no condition on a finished product: warning to read, irritation of the pure substance.
Pregnancy and breastfeeding
Prohibited in cosmetics in the European Union for everyone, whatever the age or situation: no specific condition is therefore needed for this group.
Babies and children
Prohibited in cosmetics in the European Union for everyone, whatever the age or situation: no specific condition is therefore needed for this group.
Skin, eyes and allergies
No harmonised classification for sensitisation, irritation or eye damage, and no obligation to label it as an allergen.
Environment
No harmonised classification as hazardous to the aquatic environment, and it is not on ECHAEuropean Chemicals Agency.'s Candidate List as an endocrine disruptor for the environment.
Read on the label
The Cosmetics Regulation requires no warning to be printed for this ingredient.
In plain words
What it is used for
Functions declared by manufacturers:
Hair dyeing: colours hair.
Functions declared in the CosIngThe European Commission's database of cosmetic ingredients. inventory. CosIng, inventory of cosmetic ingredients (INCI names, CAS, EC, functions), retrieved 21 October 2026.
Definitions of functions (decision repealed on 8 May 2020, cited for information). Decision 2006/257/EC, inventory of cosmetic ingredients (definitions of functions), retrieved 22 October 2026.
What the rules say
It is prohibited to use it in a cosmetic product sold in the European Union, whatever the dose. If it appears on the ingredient list of a recent product, this needs checking: the record may be old or wrong, or the product intended for another market.
CosIng, Annex II of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 (prohibited substances), retrieved 23 October 2026, source updated 13 October 2026.
Origin and odour
No natural occurrence recorded in Wikidata (LOTUS database); this does not prove that the ingredient is synthetic.
Basis: one CosIng CAS, with no natural occurrence recorded in this database.
Wikidata: names of substances in six languages and taxa in which they occur (largely from the LOTUS database), retrieved 23 October 2026.
Present in 0.0% of recorded cosmetics (0 out of 22 622).
Open Beauty Facts, export of cosmetic products, retrieved 23 October 2026.
Data “Open Beauty Facts and its contributors”, licensed under ODbL 1.0 (opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/1-0); derived table distributed under the same licence.
The text of the annexes
Prohibited in cosmetics
CosIng links the name M-PHENYLENEDIAMINE SULFATE to this Annex II entry.
- Entry
- Annex II, No 1204
- Substance
- m-Phenylenediamine and its salts
- CAS
- 108-45-2
- EC
- 203-584-7
Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, Annex II, entry 1204. CosIng, Annex II of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 (prohibited substances), retrieved 23 October 2026, source updated 13 October 2026.
Entry from Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, adopted on 30 November 2009.
SCCSEU Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety: it assesses cosmetic ingredients. opinions cited: Opinion concerning Request for Confirmation of the SCCNFP Opinion 0474/01 on Chemical Ingredients in Cosmetic Products Classified as Carcinogenic, Mutagenic or Toxic to Reproduction according to Council Directive 67/548/EEC; Opinion concerning Request for Confirmation of the SCCNFP Opinion 0474/01 on Chemical Ingredients in Cosmetic Products Classified as Carcinogenic, Mutagenic or Toxic to Reproduction according to Council Directive 67/548/EEC.
What has changed, and what will change
Dates of the texts that cover this ingredient. A text date may cover several substances: the details of each entry are below.
Annex II, entry 1204: introduced or replaced by Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009
Annex II, entry 1204: applies from this date
Washington State: Prohibited
Identity
- CosIng identifier
- 84981
- CAS (according to CosIng)
- 541-70-8
- EC (according to CosIng)
- 208-791-6
- Declared functions
- Hair dyeing
CosIng inventory. CosIng, inventory of cosmetic ingredients (INCI names, CAS, EC, functions), retrieved 21 October 2026.
Elsewhere in the world
Information on other jurisdictions, with no effect on sale in France. What is covered, and what is not yet.
Comparison between countries
Most restrictive status in each country, and the maximum concentration cited. The details and the source of each rule follow.
| Country | Rule | Maximum concentration cited |
|---|---|---|
| European Union | Prohibited in cosmetics | not cited |
| United Kingdom | Prohibited in cosmetics | not cited |
| Switzerland | EU Regulation applies | not cited |
| United States (federal) | No federal rule recorded | not cited |
| Washington State | Prohibited | not cited |
| Canada | No entry in the lists recorded | not cited |
| Japan | No entry in the lists recorded | not cited |
| South Korea | Prohibited | not cited |
| China | Not on the prohibited lists recorded (lists of allowed substances are not recorded) | not cited |
| Australia | No entry in the lists recorded | not cited |
| ASEAN | No entry in the lists recorded | not cited |
| Taiwan | Prohibited | not cited |
| Brazil | No entry in the lists recorded | not cited |
United Kingdom (Great Britain)
- Prohibited in cosmetics (Annex II)
Same entries as in the European Union. Their maximum concentrations are compared in the “Comparison between countries” table; other conditions (product types, warnings) may differ.
Annexes II to VI in force. United Kingdom, Annexes II to VI of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 as retained and amended, retrieved 21 October 2026.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Northern Ireland applies EU law.
Switzerland
Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 applies in Switzerland (Article 54 of the Ordinance on Foodstuffs and Utility Articles).
Switzerland, FDHA Ordinance on Cosmetic Products (OCos, SR 817.023.31), consolidated version, retrieved 22 October 2026.
United States, federal rules
None of the integrated sections of the federal code (21 CFR 700.11 to 700.27 and 250.250) targets this name. The FDA does not publish a list of allowed ingredients.
United States, 21 CFR part 700 and section 250.250 (FDA rules on cosmetic ingredients), eCFR, retrieved 21 October 2026.
The eCFR is not an official legal edition of the Code of Federal Regulations.
Washington State (United States)
- Prohibited: m-phenylenediamine and its salts (CAS 108-45-2)
RCW 70A.560.020 (1)(g), from 1 January 2025. Prohibited when intentionally added to a cosmetic product.
Washington State, Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act: RCW 70A.560.020 and WAC 173-339, retrieved 22 October 2026.
South Korea
- Prohibited: 황산 m-페닐렌디아민
별표 1 (prohibited substances), entry 903, page 45.
South Korea, MFDS Regulation on Safety Standards for Cosmetics, Notification 2026-19, retrieved 22 October 2026.
Source: 식품의약품안전처 (MFDS), 화장품 안전기준 등에 관한 규정, via law.go.kr; table formatted by the publisher of this site.
Taiwan
- Prohibited: m-Phenylenediamine and its salts
化粧品禁止使用成分表 (prohibited substances).
Taiwan, TFDA cosmetic ingredient tables (prohibited, restricted, preservatives, UV filters, colorants), open data, retrieved 24 October 2026.
Source: Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA), open datasets on data.gov.tw (Open Government Data License, version 1.0); table formatted by the publisher of this site.
Glossary: Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/1175. Page updated on 23 October 2026.