The perfume materials that safety rules have capped or banned, with the rule, the date and the reason for each.
Which perfume ingredients are banned or restricted?
Two rulebooks decide. IFRA is the fragrance industry’s own body and its Standards cap or ban materials for its members. EU law bans substances in Annex II of the Cosmetics Regulation and caps others in Annex III. Lyral and the oakmoss allergens atranol and chloroatranol had to leave EU shelves by 23 August 2021. Lilial followed on 1 March 2022. Musk ambrette is banned under both.
Definition: two rulebooks
A restricted material can still be used but only up to a set level or in certain products. A banned material cannot be used at all. Some materials carry a purity rule instead. IFRA calls that a specification [1].
IFRA is the International Fragrance Association. It is an industry body and its Standards bind its own members [2]. When I cite IFRA here I am citing the industry’s own rulebook. IFRA’s dates apply to the fragrance mixtures that suppliers ship. They do not apply to bottles already in shops [1]. IFRA Standards and amendments explains how those deadlines work.
EU law is separate and binds anything sold in the EU. Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 lists banned substances in Annex II and restricted ones in Annex III [3][4]. EU dates usually come in two steps. First a product can no longer be placed on the market. Later it can no longer be sold at all [5]. For the wider picture see How fragrance is regulated in cosmetics.
The figures below are for perfume. In IFRA terms that is Category 4 (hydroalcoholic products on unshaved skin) [6]. Other product types have their own limits. The IFRA figures are from the 51st Amendment, which is the latest in force on 5 November 2026. A 52nd is in consultation [2][7].
Oakmoss and treemoss: atranol and chloroatranol
Oakmoss (Evernia prunastri) and treemoss are lichen extracts. They hold two strong skin allergens called atranol and chloroatranol [5][8]. See Oakmoss and Treemoss.
IFRA (restriction and specification; current text 2020, Amendment 49). Each of atranol and chloroatranol must be below 100 ppm in the extract. Oakmoss and treemoss together may not exceed 0.10% in perfume [1]. IFRA says these upper levels have not been raised since the 43rd Amendment in 2008 [1]. Earlier versions date from 1991 and 2001 [1].
EU (ban; Regulation (EU) 2017/1410 of 2 August 2017). Atranol and chloroatranol went into Annex II as entries 1381 and 1382 [5]. Products containing them could not be placed on the EU market from 23 August 2019. They could not be sold at all from 23 August 2021 [5][9]. The reason was a 2012 opinion of the SCCS, the EU’s scientific committee on consumer safety. It found these were among the fragrance allergens behind the most contact allergy cases [5][9]. The extracts themselves stay allowed and must be named on the label above a low threshold [4]. See The EU fragrance allergen list and Allergens in cosmetics.
The rule seems to have worked. A German clinic network found oakmoss allergy fell from 1.9% to 0.8% of tested patients between 2012/13 and 2020/21 [10]. Low-atranol oakmoss causes fewer reactions but is still an allergen [8][11].
Lyral and Lilial
Lyral (HICC, hydroxyisohexyl 3-cyclohexene carboxaldehyde). Lyral is a trade name for HICC [1]. The same 2017 EU regulation banned it as Annex II entry 1380 [5][9]. The dates match the oakmoss allergens: 23 August 2019 for new products and 23 August 2021 for all sales [5]. The reason was again its high rate of contact allergy [5][9]. Allergy to HICC in the German data fell from 1.8% to 0.9% over the same years [10].
Lilial (butylphenyl methylpropional). Lilial is a trade name for this material [14]. Regulation (EU) 2021/1902 of 29 October 2021 put it in Annex II as entry 1666 [12]. From 1 March 2022 no cosmetic containing it could be sold in the EU [12][13]. The reason was not allergy. The EU had classed it as toxic for reproduction under Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/1182 [12]. EU law bans such substances in cosmetics unless an exemption is granted [12].
IFRA has not banned either one outright. Its 2020 Standard (Amendment 49) caps Lyral at 0.20% in perfume [1]. The same amendment caps Lilial at 1.4% in perfume and bans it only in lipsticks and oral care [1][14]. See Lily of the valley for what this did to the muguet palette.
The nitro musks
Musk ambrette (ban). IFRA first acted on it in 1981 [1]. Its current Standard (2006, Amendment 40) says it should not be used as a fragrance ingredient at all [1]. IFRA names photosensitization and neurotoxicity as the reasons [1]. A 1986 study of 34 patients linked it to facial eczema made worse by light [15]. A 1984 rat study found nerve damage at doses far above human use [16]. The EU lists it as banned in Annex II entry 414 [3]. I could not confirm the year the EU first listed it.
Musk moskene and musk tibetene (ban). IFRA has prohibited both since 2008 [1]. The EU bans them in Annex II entries 421 and 422 [3].
Musk xylene (ban by IFRA; tight EU control). IFRA prohibited it in 2009 (Amendment 44) [1]. The reason is environmental. IFRA calls it vPvB, meaning very persistent and very bioaccumulative [1][17]. Under REACH, the EU’s general chemicals law, it has needed an authorization for EU use since a sunset date of 21 August 2014 [18][19]. The EU cosmetics annex still carries limits for it (entry 96: 1.0% in fine fragrance) [4].
Musk ketone (allowed with a purity rule). IFRA does not cap musk ketone itself. Its 2010 Specification (Amendment 45) says it may contain less than 0.1% musk xylene [1]. The EU caps it at 1.4% in fine fragrance and 0.56% in eau de toilette (Annex III entry 97) [4]. See Musk.
Capped but allowed: coumarin, citral, methyl eugenol and bergamot
Coumarin. It is not banned. IFRA caps it at 1.5% in perfume (2020, Amendment 49; first Standard 2008) [1]. IFRA lists skin sensitization and systemic toxicity as the drivers [1]. The EU names it as a labeled allergen above 0.001% in leave-on and 0.01% in rinse-off products (Annex III entry 77) [4][20]. See Coumarin.
Citral. IFRA caps it at 0.60% in perfume (2020, Amendment 49; earlier versions 2002, 2008 and 2013) [1]. The EU names it as a labeled allergen at the same thresholds as coumarin (Annex III entry 70) [4][20].
Methyl eugenol. It occurs naturally in some essential oils [21]. The EU caps it at 0.01% in fine fragrance and 0.004% in eau de toilette (Annex III entry 102) [4]. Those limits follow a 24 October 2000 opinion that it should not be added on purpose. That opinion drew on a long-term rat cancer study [21]. IFRA’s newest Standard (2023, Amendment 51) caps it at 0.011% in perfume. Its deadline for existing fragrances was 30 October 2025 [1].
Bergamot and furocoumarins. Expressed bergamot oil holds bergapten (5-MOP). On skin it can cause a reaction triggered by sunlight [1][22]. IFRA first set a bergamot Standard in 1974. Today it caps expressed bergamot at 0.40% in leave-on products such as perfume (2020, Amendment 49) [1]. A wider IFRA Standard caps bergapten from all citrus oils at 0.0015% in leave-on products [1]. The EU bans added furocoumarins but allows the normal content of natural essences. In sun and tanning products they must stay below 1 mg/kg (Annex II entry 358) [3]. See Bergamot.
Where IFRA and EU law differ
The two rulebooks often agree on the risk but not on the remedy. These are the clearest gaps I found.
| MATERIAL | IFRA (INDUSTRY STANDARD) | EU LAW |
|---|---|---|
| Lyral (HICC) | Restricted, 0.20% in perfume (2020) | Banned (Annex II 1380; off shelves 23 Aug 2021) |
| Lilial | Restricted, 1.4% in perfume (2020) | Banned (Annex II 1666; from 1 Mar 2022) |
| Oakmoss, treemoss | Extract capped; atranol and chloroatranol each under 100 ppm | Atranol and chloroatranol banned; extract allowed and labeled |
| Musk xylene | Prohibited (2009) | REACH authorization needed since 21 Aug 2014; cosmetics annex still lists caps |
| Musk ketone | Purity rule only (2010) | Capped (1.4% fine fragrance) |
| Methyl eugenol | 0.011% in perfume (2023) | 0.01% in fine fragrance |
Timing differs too. An IFRA deadline stops suppliers shipping the old mixture [1]. An EU deadline stops the finished product being sold [5]. A bottle you bought before either date does not change. These are summaries of rules and not legal advice. What “reformulated” means covers how these rules change a perfume you know.
Sources
All accessed 5 November 2026.