Following the mandate given by the European Commission in March 2024, the SCCS (Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety) has assessed the safety of the hair dye ingredient HC Red No. 18, and has just published its final Opinion.
Background
HC Red No. 18 (CAS No.: 1444596-49-9, EC No.: -) can be used as an ingredient in oxidative hair dye formulations.
In 2015, an initial assessment by the SCCS concluded that the substace was safe at 1.5%, but that data on its purity and impurities needed to be provided. The industry submitted these in February 2024 and the SCCS published its preliminary Opinion in December 2024.
For an exhaustive background information, see the articles
• Hair dyes: requests for Opinions to the SCCS for B123 and B124, CosmeticOBS, 9 April 2024 • HC Red No. 18: preliminary Opinion of the SCCS, CosmeticOBS, 16 December 2024
This preliminary Opinion has been subject to a commenting period of eight weeks after its initial publication (from 10 December 2024 to 13 January 2025). No comment was received and therefore no change was made to the final text.
Opinion
1. In light of the data provided, does the SCCS consider HC Red 18 safe, when used as an ingredient at 1.5% in oxidative hair dye and at 0.5% in non-oxidative hair dye formulations?
In light of the data provided, the SCCS considers HC Red 18 safe when used as an ingredient …
