Ingredient file · Not listed

Is ascorbic acid (vitamin C) banned or restricted in cosmetics?

Q: What does EWG Skin Deep say about ascorbic acid (vitamin C)?

EWG Skin Deep had no exact-name page for ascorbic acid (vitamin C) when read on 23 October 2026.

It is on none of the lists we checked: no entry by CAS number in EU Annexes II, III, V or VI, none in California's statute, none among FDA's 11 entries. California, the EU and FDA's named list, read 23 October 2026, with EWG Skin Deep's score.

SlipperSkin finding

Read on 23 October 2026, ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is on none of the EU, California or FDA lists we checked; EWG Skin Deep has no exact-name page for it.

From the California statute, the EU Cosmetics Regulation as consolidated on 1 May 2026, FDA’s page and EWG Skin Deep, read 23 October 2026. We report what each says; we do not rate the ingredient.

Is ascorbic acid (vitamin C) banned in cosmetics?

It is on none of the lists we checked: no entry by CAS number in EU Annexes II, III, V or VI, none in California's statute, none among FDA's 11 entries. EWG Skin Deep has no exact-name page for it.

Ascorbic acid (vitamin C): where it standsread 23 October 2026

Filled red marks a ban, blue a restriction, pale an ingredient that list does not name. FDA's page names 11 entries and none is ascorbic acid (vitamin C). The EWG row marks its score; a bar shows a range.

What does the EU say about ascorbic acid (vitamin C)?

We searched Annexes II, III, V and VI of the EU Cosmetics Regulation, consolidated on 1 May 2026, by CAS number 50-81-7 and found no entry. That means it is not on those four lists; it does not mean any regulator has approved it.

Is ascorbic acid (vitamin C) on California's banned list?

No. It is on neither list (a), in force since 1 January 2025, nor list (b), in force from 1 January 2027, of California's Health and Safety Code section 108980.

What does EWG Skin Deep say about ascorbic acid (vitamin C)?

EWG Skin Deep's search returned no exact-name page for ascorbic acid (vitamin C) on 23 October 2026, so we show none rather than guess. That is not a statement that it is absent from EWG.

Where is this read from?

Where to buy

Vitamin C products on Amazon

Vitamin C serumSearch results list products by name; check the form and the percentage on the label.Check the formView on Amazon → Broad-spectrum SPF 30+Daily sun protection goes with any active; check the product label for its own directions.SPF 30 or higherView on Amazon →

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More ingredient files: Sodium hyaluronate · Panthenol · Squalane · all 66 ingredient files

Method: California's section 108980 and the EU's annexes were read in Chrome on 23 October 2026; EU lookups are by CAS number (50-81-7) across Annexes II, III, V and VI; EWG's page was kept only if its name matched exactly; the PubChem link is the compound the CAS number resolves to. Statutes change and EWG revises pages, nothing here is a safety verdict, and an ingredient that is not on a list is not endorsed.