3. Compositional Aspects

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Cosmetics
South Korea

This section provides the compositional requirements for the category and/or products in scope and information on permitted nutrients, ingredients, and additives.

3.1 Ingredients Requirements

The banned & restricted lists are managed by MFDS and they can be only amended when MFDS has collected enough safety data in their own research.

Positive List

List of allowed ingredients.

Negative List

List of banned ingredients [1]

Not possible to use any ingredients on the list
Approximately 900 individual ingredients are listed (except salt and estelle)
Materials banned by other laws (drugs, chemicals)
BSE specified risk material from the risk region

List of Restricted Ingredients

A list establishing specific limits for some ingredients, including preservatives, UV filters, and hair dye ingredients. Approximately 200 (except salt and estelle) ingredients are listed [2].

3.2 Specifically regulated categories

Colorants - positive list - See the restricted ingredients [2,3]

Preservatives - See the restricted ingredients [2]

UV filters - See the restricted ingredients [2]

Functional Cosmetic ingredient - The same as the restricted ingredients but required when the ingredient is the functional/active ingredient of functional cosmetics [4,5].

3.3 EU REACH Equivalent

Cosmetics and cosmetic ingredients are not part of the Chemical Substances Control Act (Paragraph 4 of Article 3 of the Act). [6]

3.4 Additional Notes

An approved functional cosmetic must have an active ingredient and its efficacy should be proven in the application. Then it is a functional cosmetic ingredient. Some popular ingredients are listed in the Standard and Test Methods of Functional Cosmetics. Please refer to Standards and Test Methods of Functional Cosmetics for some test methods already posted by MFDS. Note that these are test methods for functional cosmetics, not functional ingredients.

For successful functional ingredient sales (B2B sales to cosmetic manufacturers), the ingredient's certificate of analysis should have the same identification test method as the Standards and Test Methods of Functional Cosmetics. MFDS looks at the quantitative test results of the functional ingredient in a functional cosmetic and most likely does not ask for the ingredient's certificate of analysis from the cosmetic-responsible distributor of the functional cosmetic.