REACH compliance for cosmetics

How REACH applies to cosmetics

REACH (Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006) regulates chemical substances, not finished cosmetic products. The substances and ingredients in a formulation are subject to registration by whoever manufactures or imports them into the market in quantities of one tonne a year or more. Human-health risks from a substance's cosmetic use are largely assessed under the Cosmetics Regulation, but REACH still bites through substance registration, the Annex XVII restrictions, and the rules on substances of very high concern. Most brands rely on their suppliers' registrations, but that coverage has to be confirmed rather than assumed, particularly after import.

UK REACH and EU REACH have split

Since Brexit, Great Britain operates UK REACH, administered by the Health and Safety Executive, while Northern Ireland remains under EU REACH. They are now separate systems with separate registrations and increasingly separate candidate and restriction lists, so a substance covered in one is not automatically covered in the other.

The UK registration deadlines

The UK REACH transitional registration deadlines, currently 27 October 2026, 2028 and 2030, are being extended. In January 2026 the UK Government confirmed its intention to move them to 27 October 2029, 2030 and 2031, with the legislation expected during 2026, while it finalises the Alternative Transitional Registration Model designed to reduce duplicate data costs. UK REACH remains fully in force in the meantime, and the obligation to register substances placed on the GB market continues to apply.

What we do

We screen a formulation against the relevant restrictions and substances of concern, confirm where supplier registrations cover you and where they do not, and fold the result into the safety assessment. Where testing is needed to close a gap, our laboratories provide it.