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Turkey has proposed sweeping amendments to its cosmetics regulation, including bans on more than 40 substances and new restrictions for 21 ingredients.
The draft, prepared by the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency (TİTCK), would align national rules with the EU Cosmetic Products Regulation (CPR), while also introducing national provisions on digital labelling, regulatory fees and a temporary restriction on cosmetics containing the siloxanes D5 and D6.
If the proposal is adopted, Turkey would add 43 entries to Annex II, the list of substances prohibited in cosmetic products. Most of these ingredients are classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic (CMR) under the EU CLP Regulation and were red-listed in EU cosmetics between 2024 and 2026.
Substantial revisions to Annex III include new restrictions on fragrance allergens, such as concentration limits for citral, ranging from 0.032% in deodorants and antiperspirants to 1.2% in certain hair and rinse-off products. The ingredient would need to be declared on labels where concentrations exceed 0.001% in leave-on products or 0.01% in rinse-off products.
The proposal would also add kojic acid, retinol and retinyl esters to Annex III, mirroring EU measures intended to limit overall vitamin A exposure from cosmetics.
And it would amend permitted-use conditions for triclosan, triclocarban, o-phenylphenol and sodium o-phenylphenate, while introducing a new preservative entry for silver zinc zeolite that would limit its use to a 1% concentration in spray deodorants and powder foundation products.
Digital labelling
In a national measure that does not mirror the EU, the proposal would allow manufacturers to supply mandatory cosmetics information digitally through a data carrier, such as a QR code.
TİTCK would also gain authority to charge fees for activities carried out through its national electronic database.
The proposal would introduce a temporary restriction on cyclosiloxanes. Rinse-off cosmetics containing D5 at concentrations of 0.1% or above could no longer be marketed from 31 December this year, while all cosmetics containing D5 and/or D6 at or above that level would be banned from 6 June 2027.
TİTCK says the measure should prevent unrestricted circulation of products that do not comply with the recently implemented EU REACH restriction on cyclosiloxanes until equivalent provisions are incorporated into Turkey's chemicals legislation.
Compliance deadlines for the measures in the proposal would begin in 2027, with some market-availability deadlines extending into 2028.
Bans and restrictions
The draft proposal would add the following new entries to Annex II of Turkey's cosmetics regulation:
- styrene/acrylates copolymer (nano);
- copper (nano);
- silver (nano);
- gold (nano);
- platinum (nano);
- 4-methylbenzylidene camphor (4-MBC);
- trimethylbenzoyl diphenylphosphine oxide (TPO);
- tetrabromobisphenol A;
- transfluthrin;
- clothianidin;
- bisphenol AF;
- difenoconazole;
- benfluralin;
- foramsulfuron;
- s-metolachlor;
- pyraclostrobin;
- triphenyl phosphate;
- acetone oxime;
- fenpropidin;
- multi-walled carbon nanotubes and related carbon tubes;
- dimethyl propylphosphonate;
- dibutyltin maleate;
- dibutyltin oxide;
- 4-methylimidazole;
- benthiavalicarb-isopropyl;
- trimethyl borate; and
- n,n′-methylenediacrylamide.
Further additions to Annex II include several phosphonium salts and reaction masses.
New or substantially revised Annex III entries cover:
- water-soluble zinc salts;
- citral;
- benzyl salicylate;
- hydroxyapatite (nano);
- genistein;
- daidzein;
- kojic acid;
- retinol;
- retinyl acetate;
- retinyl palmitate;
- alpha-arbutin;
- arbutin;
- hexyl salicylate;
- aluminium-containing ingredients;
- micron-sized silver;
- acetylated vetiver derivatives;
- HC Blue No 18;
- hydroxypropyl-p-phenylenediamine;
- hydroxypropyl-p-phenylenediamine 2HCl;
- HC Yellow No 16; and
- HC Red No 18.