PHENYL MERCURIC BORATE (phenylmercury borate)
Official label name (INCIInternational name of cosmetic ingredients: the one printed on the pack. name, EU glossary of cosmetic ingredient names), No 20721
- Prohibited in cosmetics (Annex II)
- Cited as an example in a rule, no rule of its own (Annex V)
PHENYL MERCURIC BORATE (phenylmercury borate): Prohibited in cosmetics (Annex II, entry 1396); cited as an example in a rule, no rule of its own (Annex V, entry 17), 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:
Preservative: inhibits primarily the development of micro-organisms in cosmetics.
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.
This name is only cited as an example in an entry of Annex V, which covers a family of substances: the exact conditions depend on the form used.
CosIng, Annex II of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 (prohibited substances), retrieved 23 October 2026, source updated 13 October 2026.
CosIng, Annex V of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 (allowed preservatives), retrieved 23 October 2026, source updated 13 October 2026.
Origin and odour
Present in 0.0% of recorded cosmetics (0 out of 20 172).
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 PHENYL MERCURIC BORATE to this Annex II entry.
- Entry
- Annex II, No 1396
- Substance
- Borates, tetraborates, octaborates and boric acid salts and esters, including: Disodium octaborate anhydrous [1] Disodium octaborate tetrahydrate [2] 2-Aminoethanol, monoester with boric acid [3] 2-Hydroxypropyl ammonium dihydrogen orthoborate [4] Potassium borate, boric acid potassium salt [5] Trioctyldodecyl borate [6] Zinc borate [7] Sodium borate, disodium tetraborate anhydrous; boric acid, sodium salt [8] Tetraboron disodium heptaoxide, hydrate [9] Orthoboric acid, sodium salt [10] Disodium tetraborate decahydrate; borax decahydrate [11] Disodium tetraborate pentahydrate; borax pentahydrate [12]
- CAS
- 12008-41-2 [1]/ 12280-03-4 [2]/ 10377-81-8 [3]/ 68003-13-4 [4]/ 12712-38-8 [5]/ -[6]/ 1332-07-6 [7]/ 1330-43-4 [8]/ 12267-73-1 [9]/ 13840-56-7 [10]/ 1303-96-4 [11]/ 12179-04-3 [12]
- EC
- 234-541-0 [1]/ 234-541-0 [2]/ 233-829-3 [3]/ 268-109-8 [4]/ 603-184-6 [5]/ -[6]/ 215-566-6 [7]/ 215-540-4 [8]/ 235-541-3 [9]/ 237-560-2 [10]/ 215-540-4 [11]/ 215-540-4 [12]
Dates in the act (2)
- Entry into force on 11 June 2019
- Application from 1 May 2020
Article 1 shall apply from 1 May 2020.
Excerpts from the English text published in the Official Journal. A date may concern only some substances of the act: the excerpt says so.
Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, Annex II, entry 1396. CosIng, Annex II of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 (prohibited substances), retrieved 23 October 2026, source updated 13 October 2026.
Entry from Regulation (EU) 2019/1966, adopted on 27 November 2019.
Preservative allowed under conditions
CosIng cites the name PHENYL MERCURIC BORATE in this entry, whose regulated name is “PHENYL MERCURIC ACETATE / PHENYL MERCURIC BENZOATE”: the title below says which form or use it covers.
- Product type
- Eye products
- Maximum concentration
- 0.007% (of Hg) If mixed with other mercurial compounds authorized by this Directive, the maximum concentration of Hg remains fixed at 0.007%
- Warning to print
- Contains Phenylmercuric compounds
- Entry
- Annex V, No 17
- Substance
- Phenylmercuric salts (including borate)
- Glossary names
- PHENYL MERCURIC ACETATE / PHENYL MERCURIC BENZOATE
- CAS
- 62-38-4 / 94-43-9
- EC
- 200-532-5 / 202-331-8
Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, Annex V, entry 17. CosIng, Annex V of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 (allowed preservatives), retrieved 23 October 2026, source updated 13 October 2026.
Entry from Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, adopted on 30 November 2009.
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 1396: introduced or replaced by Regulation (EU) 2019/1966
Annex II, entry 1396: applies from this date
Washington State: Prohibited
Identity
- CosIng identifier
- 36529
- CAS (according to CosIng)
- 102-98-7, 6273-99-0
- EC (according to CosIng)
- 203-068-1, 228-465-7
- Declared functions
- Preservative
- Wikidata
- Q10858042
- ECHA InfoCard
- 100.002.790
CosIng cites 2 CAS numbers for this name: it covers several substances.
CosIng inventory. CosIng, inventory of cosmetic ingredients (INCI names, CAS, EC, functions), retrieved 21 October 2026.
Wikidata, items with a CosIng identifier (P3073), retrieved 22 October 2026.
Wikidata, PubChem and ECHA links are published only when verified: same CosIng identifier, a single item, matching CAS number.
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) | Restricted differs from the EU | not cited |
| Washington State | Prohibited | not cited |
| Canada | Prohibited | not cited |
| Japan | No entry in the lists recorded | not cited |
| South Korea | No entry in the lists recorded | 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 | Prohibited | not cited |
| Taiwan | No entry in the lists recorded | not cited |
| Brazil | Prohibited | not cited |
United Kingdom (Great Britain)
- Prohibited in cosmetics (Annex II)
- Cited as an example in a rule, no rule of its own (Annex V)
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
- Restricted: Use of mercury compounds in cosmetics including use as skinbleaching agents in cosmetic preparations also regarded as drugs
21 CFR 700.13. (a) Mercury-containing cosmetic preparations have been represented for many years as skin-bleaching agents or as preparations to remove or prevent freckles and/or brown spots (so-called age spots). Preparations intended for such use are regarded as drugs as well as cosmetics. In addition to such use as skin-bleaching agents, mercury compounds have also been widely used as preservatives in cosmetics such as hand and body creams and lotions; hair shampoos, hair sets and rinses, hair straighteners, hair coloring, and other preparations; bath oils, bubble bath, and other bath preparations; makeup; antiperspirants and deodorants; and eye-area cosmetics. (b) The toxicity of mercury compounds is extensively documented in scientific literature. It is well known that mercury compounds are readily absorbed through the unbroken skin as well as through the lungs by inhalation and by intestinal absor…
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: Mercury and mercury compounds (CAS 7439-97-6)
RCW 70A.560.020 (1)(e), 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.
Canada
- Prohibited: Mercure et ses composés (Mercury and its compounds)
Hotlist, prohibited ingredients. Synonyms and related compounds: Mercuric oxide; Phenyl mercuric acetate; Phenyl mercuric benzoate; Phenyl mercuric borate; Thimerosal
Canada, Health Canada Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist (prohibited and restricted ingredients), retrieved 24 October 2026.
Source: Health Canada, Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist (canada.ca, French and English pages); table extracted and formatted by the publisher of this site, not the official version, with no endorsement by Health Canada.
ASEAN (South-East Asia)
- Prohibited: Mercury and its compounds
Annex II (prohibited substances), entry 221, page 9.
ASEAN Cosmetic Directive, Annexes II, III, IV, VI and VII (version 2026-1 of 22 June 2026, Annex VII 2025-2), retrieved 24 October 2026.
Source: ASEAN Cosmetic Documents, Annexes of the ASEAN Cosmetic Directive, as published by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA, Singapore); table extracted and formatted by the publisher of this site, with no endorsement by HSA or ASEAN.
Brazil
- Prohibited: Boratos, tetraboratos, octaboratos e sais e ésteres do ácido bórico, incluindo: Octaborato dissódico anidro (DISODIUM OCTABORATE ANHYDROUS) Octaborato dissódico tetra-hidratado (DISODIUM OCTABORATE TETRAHYDRATE) 2-Aminoetanol, monoéster com ácido bórico (MEA-BORATE) Di-hidrogenoortoborato de (2-hidroxipropil) amônio (MIPA-BORATE) Borato de potássio, sal de potássio do ácido bórico (POTASSIUM BORATE, BORIC ACID POTASSIUM SALT) Borato de trioctildodecila (TRIOCTYLDODECYL BORATE) Borato de zinco (ZINC BORATE) Borato de sódio, tetraborato de dissódio anidro; ácido bórico, sal de sódio (SODIUM BORATE, DISODIUM TETRABORATE ANHYDROUS; BORIC ACID, SODIUM SALT) Heptóxido de tetraboro e dissódio hidratado (TETRABORON DISODIUM HEPTAOXIDE, HYDRATE) Ácido ortobórico, sal de sódio (ORTHOBORIC ACID, SODIUM SALT) Tetraborato dissódico deca-hidratado; bórax deca-hidratado (DISODIUM TETRABORATE DECAHYDRATE; BORAX DECAHYDRATE) Tetraborato dissódico penta-hidratado; bórax penta-hidratado (DISODIUM TETRABORATE PENTAHYDRATE; BORAX PENTAHYDRATE) Borato fenil mercúrico (PHENYL MERCURIC BORATE)
RDC 529/2021, Anexo (prohibited substances): inclusões by RDC 1.030/2026, Art. 2º, entry 1407, page 1;2;3.
Conditions, source text, in Portuguese
Nº UE: 1396
Brazil, ANVISA resolutions RDC 529/2021, 528/2021, 600/2022 and 628/2022, retrieved 22 October 2026.
Source: ANVISA. Text of the adopted draft resolutions, as the Official Journal could not be accessed; the 2021 lists of prohibited substances and preservatives were compared with the copy of the published text distributed by the State of Paraná, the 2022 lists of UV filters and colorants were not.
Glossary: Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/1175. Page updated on 23 October 2026.