Retinol, retinyl acetate and retinyl palmitate are forms of vitamin A. The EU limits them to 0.05% retinol equivalent in body lotion and 0.3% in other products, with a vitamin A warning on the label. New products must comply from 1 November 2025, and every product on sale from 1 May 2027. Türkiye’s annexes do not list them.
EU
Restricted
Rule
Restricted, with a label warning
Regulation
(EU) 2024/996
New products
Must comply from 1 November 2025
Products on sale
Must comply from 1 May 2027
Label
“Contains Vitamin A. Consider your daily intake before use.”
Türkiye
Not listed
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 limits and carry the warning.
INCI name | Retinol; Retinyl Acetate; Retinyl Palmitate |
|---|---|
Chemical name | (2E,4E,6E,8E)-3,7-dimethyl-9-(2,6,6-trimethylcyclohexen-1-yl)nona-2,4,6,8-tetraen-1-ol; [(2E,4E,6E,8E)-3,7-dimethyl-9-(2,6,6-trimethylcyclohexen-1-yl)nona-2,4,6,8-tetraenyl] acetate; [(2E,4E,6E,8E)-3,7-dimethyl-9-(2,6,6-trimethylcyclohexen-1-yl)nona-2,4,6,8-tetraenyl] hexadecanoate |
CAS | 11103-57-4, 68-26-8, 127-47-9, 79-81-2 |
EC | 234-328-2, 200-683-7, 204-844-2, 201-228-5 |
EU entry | Annex III · 376 · (EU) 2024/996 |
Entry updated | 04/04/2024 |
Conditions · EU text
Max 0,05 % Retinol Equivalent (RE)
From 1 November 2025 cosmetic products containing that substance and not complying with the conditions shall not be placed on the Union market. From 1 May 2027 cosmetic products containing that substance and not complying with the conditions shall not be made available on the Union market.
For any cosmetic product containing Retinol, Retinyl Acetate or Retinyl Palmitate the following, labelling is obligatory: ‘Contains Vitamin A. Consider your daily intake before use’.
Max 0,3 % RE
From 1 November 2025 cosmetic products containing that substance and not complying with the conditions shall not be placed on the Union market. From 1 May 2027 cosmetic products containing that substance and not complying with the conditions shall not be made available on the Union market.
For any cosmetic product containing Retinol, Retinyl Acetate or Retinyl Palmitate the following, labelling is obligatory: ‘Contains Vitamin A. Consider your daily intake before use’.
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.
The SCCS found vitamin A safe in cosmetics up to these levels, but noted that the people who already get the most vitamin A from food and supplements could go over the upper intake level. The limits and the label warning address that (SCCS opinion of October 2022).
In the EU, 0.3% retinol equivalent in leave-on and rinse-off products other than body lotion, where the limit is 0.05%. The label has to carry the vitamin A warning.
Türkiye’s annexes do not list retinol or its esters, so there is no annex limit there. A product for the EU has to meet the EU limits.
