Last week, several general media outlets interviewed the director of GTF M. Camps, Mercè Camps, to get her opinion as an expert on cosmetics safety, on the occasion of the entry into force of the European regulation on TPO and DMTA in nail polish.
Nail polish. Regulatory change - As of 1 September 2025, a ban on two ingredients used in nail polishes and gels has entered into force in the European Union: diphenylphosphine oxide (TPO, ) and dimethyl-p-toluidine (DMTA).
This regulatory change is not a novelty, it has already been announced. Firstly, through reports on these ingredients published by the SCCS. And later, with the publication, on 13 May last year in the Official Journal of the European Union, of the Regulation (EU) 2025/877, amending Regulation (EC) No Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the use in cosmetic products of certain substances classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to reproduction.
Nail polish and cosmetics regulation changes
Although the SCCS scientific committees at the service of the European Commission initially issued a report in 2014 in favour of TPO in concentrations no higher than 5% in nail polish, in recent years there has been increasing scientific evidence of its negative effect on our bodies. And the European Commission has had to act, updating the Cosmetics Regulation (EU) with Regulation (EU) 2025/877.
In this new Regulation (EU) 2025/877, amending the Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the use in cosmetic products of certain CMR substances classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to reproduction, the ingredients have been classified as follows TPO y DMTA as «carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic for reproduction (CMR)». And after receiving this classification formally, in compliance with Article 15 of Cosmetics Regulation 1223/2008, they may no longer be used in the manufacture of nail polish.
This exclusion to the diphenylphosphine oxide (TPO) and the dimethyl-p-toluidine (DMTA), which applies from 1 September, is due to the fact that after being classified as CMR - due to the danger that, according to the available scientific evidence, they pose to human reproduction - these 2 ingredients become subject to Article 15 of the Regulation and are no longer allowed as ingredients for cosmetic products in the Eurozone.
In short, the European Union understands that the manufacture of cosmetic products should dispense with all those ingredients that, according to scientific evidence, negatively affect our reproductive system.
A word of thanks from our director Mercè Camps
This week has been a week a little out of the ordinary and I wanted first of all to express my sincere thanks for having been present to the current news of the moment by the hand of #3catinfo and #altaveuRTVE in relation to the European regulation on TPO and DMTA in nail polish.
Your interest is essential to highlight a key message that we in the industry strongly believe in: cosmetics are safe.
Our shared commitment to transparency, trust and consumer safety is what allows us to move forward as an industry and provide peace of mind to all those who rely on our products.
Thank you for your involvement and for helping us to reinforce this essential message.