Ingredient file · Banned

Is hexachlorophene banned in cosmetics?

Q: What does EWG Skin Deep say about hexachlorophene?

EWG Skin Deep had no exact-name page for hexachlorophene when read on 23 October 2026.

Yes, in the EU: Annex II lists hexachlorophene as a prohibited substance (entry 371). 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, hexachlorophene is prohibited in the EU (Annex II) and named on FDA’s page; 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 hexachlorophene banned in cosmetics?

Yes, in the EU: Annex II lists hexachlorophene as a prohibited substance (entry 371). California's statute does not list it. FDA's named list includes it: may be used only when no other preservative has been shown to be as effective, at no more than 0.1 percent, and not in cosmetics applied to mucous membranes (21 CFR 250.250). EWG Skin Deep has no exact-name page for it.

Hexachlorophene: 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 Hexachlorophene is one of them. The EWG row marks its score; a bar shows a range.

What does the EU list say about hexachlorophene?

Annex II is the EU's list of prohibited substances. The entries for hexachlorophene are in the table below, as printed in the regulation consolidated on 1 May 2026.

Hexachlorophene in the EU Cosmetics Regulation, found by CAS number 70-30-4
Where	Annex	Cap, threshold and product type	Condition
Annex II, entry 371 as printed: 2,2'-Dihydroxy-3,3',5,5',6,6'-hexachlorodiphenylmethane (Hexachlorophene (INN))	Prohibited substances	prohibited all cosmetic products	No condition printed in the entry.

What does FDA's page say about hexachlorophene?

Hexachlorophene is one of the 11 entries on FDA’s prohibited and restricted ingredients page (content current as of 02/25/2022): may be used only when no other preservative has been shown to be as effective, at no more than 0.1 percent, and not in cosmetics applied to mucous membranes (21 CFR 250.250).

Is hexachlorophene 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 hexachlorophene?

EWG Skin Deep's search returned no exact-name page for hexachlorophene 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?

More ingredient files: Formaldehyde · Isobutylparaben · Hydroquinone · 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 (70-30-4) 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.