Skincare ingredients in glass bowls with a dropper and cream jar on marble surface.

Illustrative skincare and laboratory materials representing the new EU limits on PFHxA and certain related substances in cosmetics, effective October 10, 2026.

EU PFHxA Limits for Cosmetics Take Effect October 10, 2026

October 10, 2026 · 8:45 p.m. ET

By Regina Bonham Bordeaux

New European Union limits on PFHxA and certain related chemicals in cosmetics take effect today, October 10, 2026. The EU adopted the rule in September 2024. What’s new is that the two-year transition period for cosmetics has ended.

If you buy skincare from brands that sell in both Europe and the United States, this matters because the rules for the two markets are different. The EU has new limits, but the regulation does not automatically change the products sold in the U.S.

What changed

Regulation (EU) 2024/2462 restricts cosmetics placed on the EU market from October 10 when they contain PFHxA and its salts at a combined concentration of 25 parts per billion (ppb) or higher, or PFHxA-related substances at a combined concentration of 1,000 ppb or higher. The limits apply to trace concentrations in the material being tested—not just ingredients intentionally added to a formula.

PFHxA is part of the wider PFAS family. The restriction covers PFHxA, its salts, and specified related substances that can break down into PFHxA. It is not a ban on every PFAS chemical in cosmetics.

Products demonstrably placed on the EU market before October 10 are exempt from this particular restriction. That means qualifying existing inventory does not automatically have to be withdrawn when the deadline arrives.

What this means for you

If you’re buying skincare in Europe, newly marketed products must meet these specific limits. If you buy the same brand in the United States, don’t assume the formula or sourcing is identical across markets—but don’t assume it has changed, either. The regulation itself identifies no brand-specific reformulations, and it does not impose the EU limits on U.S.-only sales.

You also can’t check compliance against such small limits by reading an ingredient list. The FDA explains that some PFAS are deliberately used in cosmetics, while others can be present unintentionally through raw-material impurities or the breakdown of other PFAS ingredients.

If a product is promoted as “PFAS-free,” ask what the claim covers and whether the brand has testing to support it. That broad claim is not the same as documentation that a particular product meets the EU’s two PFHxA limits. If you buy versions sold in both countries, you can also ask whether the formulas are the same.

What remains unknown

The October 10 deadline does not tell you which brands have reformulated, which products meet or fail the new limits, or whether any particular U.S. skincare product is unsafe. Those conclusions require product-specific evidence. The news is a change in European market rules, not a finding about a named product.

Sources