Ingredient file · Banned

Is paraformaldehyde banned in cosmetics?

Q: What does EWG Skin Deep say about paraformaldehyde?

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

Yes, in the EU: Annex II lists paraformaldehyde as a prohibited substance (entry 1578). 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, paraformaldehyde 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 paraformaldehyde banned in cosmetics?

Yes, in the EU: Annex II lists paraformaldehyde as a prohibited substance (entry 1578). California bans it from 1 January 2025 (list (a)(4)). FDA's named list does not include it. EWG Skin Deep has no exact-name page for it.

Paraformaldehyde: 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 paraformaldehyde. The EWG row marks its score; a bar shows a range.

What does the EU list say about paraformaldehyde?

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

Paraformaldehyde in the EU Cosmetics Regulation, found by CAS number 30525-89-4
Where	Annex	Cap, threshold and product type	Condition
Annex II, entry 1578 as printed: Paraformaldehyde	Prohibited substances	prohibited all cosmetic products	No condition printed in the entry.

Is paraformaldehyde on California's banned list?

Yes. California's Health and Safety Code section 108980 bans paraformaldehyde from 1 January 2025 (list (a)(4)), when intentionally added.

What does EWG Skin Deep say about paraformaldehyde?

EWG Skin Deep's search returned no exact-name page for paraformaldehyde 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: Boric acid · Chloroform · Methylene chloride · 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 (30525-89-4) 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.