EU
Restricted
Annex III · entry 377
Rule
Restricted
Regulation
(EU) 2024/996
New products
Must comply from 1 February 2025
Products on sale
Must comply from 1 November 2025
Hydroquinone
No more than unavoidable traces
Is alpha-arbutin restricted in cosmetics? In the EU, yes. In Türkiye, no limit.
Alpha-arbutin is a skin-lightening ingredient. The EU allows it up to 2% in face creams and 0.5% in body lotions, with hydroquinone kept to unavoidable traces. New products must comply from 1 February 2025, and every product on sale from 1 November 2025. Türkiye’s annexes do not list it.
Türkiye
Not listed
Not in the annexes
Rule
No prohibition or limit in Ek II–VI
What applies
The general safety rule: the safety assessor decides the level.
A product made in Türkiye for the EU market has to meet the EU limits.
What it is. The EU annex entry.
INCI name | Alpha-Arbutin |
|---|---|
Chemical name | 4-Hydroxyphenyl-alpha-D-glucopyranoside |
CAS | 84380-01-8 |
EC | 617-561-8 |
EU entry | Annex III · 377 · (EU) 2024/996 |
Entry updated | 04/04/2024 |
Conditions · EU text
Face cream
Max 2 %
Hydroquinone levels shall remain as low as possible in formulations containing alpha-Arbutin and shall not be higher than the unavoidable trace level. From 1 February 2025 cosmetic products containing that substance and not complying with the conditions shall not be placed on the Union market. From 1 November 2025 cosmetic products containing that substance and not complying with the conditions shall not be made available on the Union market.
Body lotion
Max 0,5 %
Hydroquinone levels shall remain as low as possible in formulations containing alpha-Arbutin and shall not be higher than the unavoidable trace level. From 1 February 2025 cosmetic products containing that substance and not complying with the conditions shall not be placed on the Union market. From 1 November 2025 cosmetic products containing that substance and not complying with the conditions shall not be made available on the Union market.
The EU entry is from the Commission’s CosIng file of 13 Oct 2026; Türkiye’s from the current annex text on mevzuat.gov.tr, read 2 Nov 2026.
Why. The reason behind the rule.
The SCCS found alpha-arbutin safe at 2% in face creams and 0.5% in body lotions, together with arbutin, and said hydroquinone should stay at unavoidable trace levels in these products (opinion of 31 January 2023). The limits follow that opinion.
Questions about this ingredient.
What is the alpha-arbutin limit?
In the EU, 2% in face creams and 0.5% in body lotions, with hydroquinone at no more than unavoidable traces.
Is alpha-arbutin restricted in Türkiye?
Türkiye’s annexes do not list it, so there is no annex limit there. A product for the EU has to meet the EU limits.