South Korea updates the Regulations on Safety Standards for Cosmetics

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) in South Korea updates the Regulations on Safety Standards for Cosmetics under the Cosmetic Act on Feb 21^st, 2023. This is to strengthen safety management of cosmetics and protect public health by designating raw materials that cannot be used in cosmetics, considering the results of risk assessment and overseas regulatory trends.

The main updates are as follow:

Change some of hair dye ingredients from the restricted list of cosmetics to the prohibited list of cosmetics.

• Add O-aminophenol, M-phenylenediamine, and Hydrochloric acid M-phenylenediamine to the prohibited list
• Change from Catechol (Pyrocatechol) (exception for a hair dye component of a mixture based on to the usage or capacity of oxidation hair dye, below 1.5%) to Catechol (Pyrocatechol)
• Change from Pyrogallol (exception for a hair dye component of a mixture based on to the usage or capacity of hair dye, below 2%) to Pyrogallol
• Update hair dye ingredient in Annex 2

The amendment came into effect in 6 months from the published date.