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The ingredients banned in Europe from 2027

A draft act adds 16 substances to the banned list from 1 February 2027, and restricts CBD and BHA. Here is what it covers and what it does not.

By Patrick and Michelle9 min read
Article in one pictureMostly obscure, with one exception
  • Mostly already unusedMercury preservatives, some hair dyes, two filters
  • Eyelash serumsProstaglandin analogues are the real change
  • Restricted is not bannedCBD and BHA get ceilings, not prohibition
Sixteen substances prohibited, two more capped. One category people actually use.
On this pageWhat is on the list5

Quick answer

The bottom line

A draft European act notified in July 2026 would add 16 substances to the prohibited list from 1 February 2027, and restrict two more. The banned list is mostly obscure: two mercury-containing preservatives, some hair dyes, two benzophenone filters, and prostaglandin analogues, which are the ingredients behind eyelash-growth serums. Cannabidiol and BHA are restricted rather than banned, with concentration ceilings. Most people will notice nothing. If you use an eyelash serum or a CBD product, those are the two categories worth checking. The dates in the draft are not final, and transitional periods mean some products stay on shelves for a year or two after the ban starts, so a product still being sold is not necessarily non-compliant.

At a glance

Three things worth remembering

  1. The draft adds 16 substances to the prohibited list from 1 February 2027, including two mercury-containing preservatives and several hair dyes.[1][2]
  2. Prostaglandin analogues are on the list. Those are the active ingredients in eyelash-growth serums, which is the change most people will actually notice.[1][2]
  3. Cannabidiol and BHA are restricted rather than banned, with concentration ceilings and limits on which product types may contain them.[2][1]

Section 01

What is on the list

Sixteen substances are proposed for the prohibited annex. They are a mixed group rather than a theme: two mercury-containing preservatives, two benzophenone ultraviolet absorbers, several hair dyes, and prostaglandins with their analogues.[1][2]

Most of these are already rare in products sold in Europe. Mercury preservatives in particular have been effectively out of use for years; formally prohibiting them closes a gap rather than removing something from your bathroom.[1][3]

The exception is the prostaglandin group, which matters to a real product category and is covered below.[1]

Section 02

The one that affects a real product

Prostaglandin analogues are the ingredients that make eyelash-growth serums work. They were developed as glaucoma medicines, and lash growth was noticed as a side effect.[1][2]

The known effects are the reason for concern: darkening of the eyelid skin, changes to iris colour that may not reverse, and irritation of the eye surface. Those are documented consequences of the medicine, not speculation about the cosmetic.[1]

If you use a lash serum, check its ingredient list for a name ending in "prost". Products using peptides or panthenol instead are unaffected, and also do considerably less.[1][2]

Section 03

Restricted rather than banned

Two ingredients are being limited rather than removed. Cannabidiol gets a concentration ceiling and a strict limit on how much of the psychoactive compound may be present as an impurity. BHA, an antioxidant preservative, gets a lower ceiling and is excluded from oral care and anything inhaled.[2][1]

A restriction is a very different signal from a ban. It means a scientific opinion found a level below which use is acceptable, which is the normal outcome when a substance is useful and the concern is dose-related.[2][3]

Section 04

Dates, and why products may linger

The headline date is 1 February 2027 for the first group. Other entries in the draft carry transitional periods: typically a year before non-compliant products can no longer be newly placed on the market, and two years before they can no longer be sold at all.[2][1]

So a product containing a listed substance may legitimately still be on sale after the headline date. That is the rule working as designed rather than someone ignoring it.[2]

  • This is a draft act; dates and the final list can still shift.[2]
  • Placing on the market and making available are different legal steps with different deadlines.[4][1]
  • Check an eyelash serum and any CBD product; most other categories are unaffected.[1]

Section 05

How to read a ban like this

A prohibition usually follows a scientific committee opinion or a reclassification of the substance under chemicals law, not a wave of injuries. It is a precautionary system doing routine housekeeping.[3][5]

That matters for how you feel about a product you have already used. A substance moving to the prohibited list is not evidence that it harmed you, and treating every ban as a near miss makes it harder to notice the ones that genuinely matter.[3][2]

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