Ingredient file · Not listed

Is citric acid banned or restricted in cosmetics?

Q: What does EWG Skin Deep say about citric acid?

EWG Skin Deep scores citric acid 1 to 2 out of 10 with good data, and lists use restrictions as moderate. Read 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, citric acid is on none of the EU, California or FDA lists we checked; EWG Skin Deep scores it 1 to 2 out of 10.

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

Is citric acid 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 scores it 1 to 2 out of 10 (data: good).

Citric acid: 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 citric acid. The EWG row marks its score; a bar shows a range.

What does the EU say about citric acid?

We searched Annexes II, III, V and VI of the EU Cosmetics Regulation, consolidated on 1 May 2026, by CAS number 77-92-9 and found no entry. That means it is not on those four lists; it does not mean any regulator has approved it.

Is citric acid 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 citric acid?

EWG’s page gives citric acid a hazard score of 1 to 2 out of 10 with good data. Its concerns line reads, in part: Use restrictions (moderate). The use-restrictions concern is moderate, although we found no entry in the EU annexes. The score is a hazard score on EWG's own scale; it is not a regulatory status.

Where is this read from?

More ingredient files: Allantoin · Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) · Cetyl alcohol · 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 (77-92-9) 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.