Worth a closer look
Possible carcinogen Chemical of concern Restricted in the EU
- Also on labels as
- Titanium Dioxide
- What it can be used for
- Adds color, filters UV light (sunscreen), makes the product opaque and protects the product from UV light (the functions the EU ingredient database, CosIng, lists for it; a product may use it for any of them)
- CAS number
- 13463-67-7
Why it’s flagged
Classified as a possible or suspected human carcinogen.
- IARC Group 2B (possibly carcinogenic to humans). Source: IARC Monographs list of classifications
IARC Group 2B means possibly carcinogenic to humans. EU Carc. 2 means suspected human carcinogen. These describe a hazard, not the risk at the amount in one product.
Listed as a chemical of concern by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.
- “Titanium dioxide (inhalable powders)”. Source: Campaign for Safe Cosmetics
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is an advocacy group. Its profiles explain why it considers these ingredients a concern.
Allowed in EU cosmetics only with limits.
- Annex III entry 321; applies to: Titanium dioxide in powder form containing 1 % or more of particles with aerodynamic diameter ≤ 10 μm; products: (a) face products in loose powder form; (b) hair aerosol spray products; (c) other products; max (a) 25 %; (b) 1,4 % for general consumers, and 1.1 % for professional use; a) (b) Only in the pigmentary form; (c) Not to be used in applications that may lead to exposure of the end-user’s lungs by inhalation. Source: EU Cosmetics Regulation, Annex III (restricted)
Annex III (restricted substances) or Annex V (preservatives) of the EU Cosmetics Regulation sets maximum amounts, allowed product types or required warnings.
What this page can’t tell you
These lists describe what a substance can do, its hazard. The risk from one product depends on how much is in it and how you use it, and the label doesn’t say how much.
Not being on a list doesn’t make an ingredient safe. It may never have been assessed.
Check your products
Check a whole labelProducts that list itEWG Skin DeepShop fragrance-free
“Products that list it” opens Open Beauty Facts, a free database anyone can edit.
Flagged the same way
Official lists checked September 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.