Ingredient file · Banned

Is methylene chloride banned in cosmetics?

Q: What does EWG Skin Deep say about methylene chloride?

EWG Skin Deep scores methylene chloride 8 out of 10 with robust data, and lists use restrictions as high. Read 23 October 2026.

Yes, in the EU: Annex II lists methylene chloride as a prohibited substance (entry 1389). 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, methylene chloride is prohibited in the EU (Annex II) and named on FDA’s page; EWG Skin Deep scores it 8 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 methylene chloride banned in cosmetics?

Yes, in the EU: Annex II lists methylene chloride as a prohibited substance (entry 1389). California's statute does not list it. FDA's named list includes it: named on the page with the statement that it causes cancer in animals and is likely to be harmful to human health (21 CFR 700.19). EWG Skin Deep scores it 8 out of 10 (data: robust).

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

What does the EU list say about methylene chloride?

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

Methylene chloride in the EU Cosmetics Regulation, found by CAS number 75-09-2
Where	Annex	Cap, threshold and product type	Condition
Annex II, entry 1389 as printed: Dichloromethane; methylene chloride	Prohibited substances	prohibited all cosmetic products	No condition printed in the entry.

What does FDA's page say about methylene chloride?

Methylene chloride is one of the 11 entries on FDA’s prohibited and restricted ingredients page (content current as of 02/25/2022): named on the page with the statement that it causes cancer in animals and is likely to be harmful to human health (21 CFR 700.19).

Is methylene chloride 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 methylene chloride?

EWG’s page gives methylene chloride a hazard score of 8 out of 10 with robust data. Its concerns line reads, in part: Enhanced skin absorption, Use restrictions (high), Persistence and bioaccumulation (moderate), Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (high), and Ecotoxicology (low). The use-restrictions concern is high. 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: Boric acid · Chloroform · Hexachlorophene · 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 (75-09-2) 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.