Ingredient file · Banned

Is m-phenylenediamine banned in cosmetics?

Q: What does EWG Skin Deep say about m-phenylenediamine?

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

Yes, in the EU: Annex II lists m-phenylenediamine as a prohibited substance (entry 1204). 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, m-phenylenediamine is prohibited in the EU (Annex II) and banned in California; 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 m-phenylenediamine banned in cosmetics?

Yes, in the EU: Annex II lists m-phenylenediamine as a prohibited substance (entry 1204). California bans it from 1 January 2025 (list (a)(10)). FDA's named list does not include it. EWG Skin Deep has no exact-name page for it.

m-Phenylenediamine: 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 m-phenylenediamine. The EWG row marks its score; a bar shows a range.

What does the EU list say about m-phenylenediamine?

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

m-Phenylenediamine in the EU Cosmetics Regulation, found by CAS number 108-45-2
Where	Annex	Cap, threshold and product type	Condition
Annex II, entry 1204 as printed: m-Phenylenediamine and its salts	Prohibited substances	prohibited all cosmetic products	No condition printed in the entry.

Is m-phenylenediamine on California's banned list?

Yes. California's Health and Safety Code section 108980 bans m-phenylenediamine from 1 January 2025 (list (a)(10)), when intentionally added.

What does EWG Skin Deep say about m-phenylenediamine?

EWG Skin Deep's search returned no exact-name page for m-phenylenediamine 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: PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) · Lily aldehyde (butylphenyl methylpropional) · Cyclotetrasiloxane (D4) · 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 (108-45-2) 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.