New EU Retinol Legislation: Is Retinol Banned And What Magnificence Merchandise Can I Nonetheless Purchase?

Studies a couple of new EU legislation on retinol, certainly one of skincare’s hottest elements, have rocked the wonder world since they had been introduced final yr. On 1 November 2025 they go into impact, prompting individuals on social media to ask, ‘Is retinol going to be banned in Europe?’

The brief reply isn’t any. You’ll nonetheless have the ability to purchase merchandise containing retinol, however there will likely be new guidelines in place.

Beneath an modification to the EU Cosmetics Regulation, there will likely be a clamp down on the share of retinol – a vitamin A by-product – present in over-the-counter merchandise, together with retinol serums and moisturisers.

Face and hand merchandise will now be restricted to an equal of 0.3% pure retinol, with physique lotions allowed to comprise 0.05%. Any new retinol merchandise that do not adjust to these restrictions can not enter the EU market.

Is skincare with excessive concentrations of retinol unsafe?

In response to marketing consultant dermatologist and surgeon, Dr Magnus Lynch, these new restrictions usually are not implying that merchandise with greater concentrations of retinol are unsafe. As an alternative, the brand new restrictions intention to restrict overexposure to vitamin A.

“The overwhelming majority of vitamin A is consumed by way of weight-reduction plan, both within the type of vitamin dietary supplements or through meals comparable to fish oils, liver, milk, eggs and carrots and is important for imaginative and prescient, immune perform and pores and skin well being,” Dr Lynch says. “Extreme dietary consumption, nonetheless, may cause ‘hypervitaminosis ’, which may result in liver harm and different well being issues.”

That mentioned, it is also essential to do not forget that, in actuality, the amount of retinol absorbed by way of the pores and skin is low. In its report, the EU’s Scientific Committee on Shopper Security mentioned: “In comparison with meals, the contribution of vitamin A from cosmetics is decrease. Nevertheless, it is going to add to the general client publicity, and this can be of concern for customers with the best publicity (5% of the entire inhabitants) to vitamin A from meals and meals dietary supplements.”

Dr Lynch provides that the EU is probably going extra involved “in regards to the theoretical dangers of delivery malformations ought to a girl fall pregnant whereas utilizing retinol and the dangers of pores and skin irritation and irritation from topical software.”

Do these retinol restrictions have an effect on the UK market?

The UK is not within the EU so these new retinol restrictions aren’t legally binding on this nation. Nevertheless, it is probably that they’ll nonetheless have an effect on us, says dermatologist Professor Firas Al-Niaimi. “The UK has continued to carefully align with EU beauty rules, so it’s cheap to count on comparable adjustments to be adopted,” he notes.