Key Factors for Producers and Suppliers
- Scope: Applies to all deliberately added formaldehyde-releasing chemical substances, not simply the 25 listed substances.
- Timeline: Efficient January 1, 2027, with sell-through permitted till December 31, 2027.
- Enforcement: Detected formaldehyde will probably be presumed deliberately added.
- Compliance Assist: The Washington Division of Ecology will present technical steering, together with a webinar scheduled for October 1, 2025.
- Market Context: Massive retailers are already demonstrating possible reformulation pathways.
Washington has grow to be the primary state within the U.S. to formally undertake a complete ban on 25 formaldehyde-releasing chemical substances in beauty merchandise, based on an August 28 announcement by the state Division of Ecology.
The brand new rule applies to the listed substances within the chart contained on this article, and every other deliberately added formaldehyde releasers utilized in merchandise manufactured, offered, or distributed within the state. Its adoption was pushed by a rising demand to guard public well being pursuits.
Formaldehyde and its releasers are “generally used to increase the shelf lifetime of a product—however formaldehyde can also be a identified carcinogen,” the Washington Division of Ecology stated. Publicity can happen by repeated use of shampoos, eyelash glues, nail polishes, and hair remedies.
Compliance timeline and enforcement
The restrictions take impact January 1, 2027, and retailers can have till December 31, 2027, to promote by present stock. The Washington Division of Ecology said the rule “clarifies the definition of ‘deliberately added,’ limiting all different formaldehyde-releasing chemical substances” along with the next listed substances.
| Chemical Title | Chemical Abstracts Service Registration Quantity (CAS RN) |
|---|---|
| DMDM Hydantoin | 6440-58-0 |
| Diazolidinyl Urea | 78491-02-8 |
| Imidazolidinyl Urea | 39236-46-9 |
| Quaternium-15 | 4080-31-3; 51229-78-8 5 |
| Tosylamide/Formaldehyde Resin (PTSAF) | 25035-71-6 |
| 2-Bromo-2-Nitropropane-1,3-Diol (Bronopol) | 52-51-7 |
| Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate | 70161-44-3 |
| Polyoxymethylene Urea | 9011-05-6; 68611-64-3 |
| Polyoxymethylene Melamine | 9003-08-1 |
| 5-Bromo-5-Nitro-1,3-Dioxane (Bronidox) | 30007-47-7 |
| 7-Ethylbicyclo-oxazolidine (Bioban CS1246) | 7747-35-5 |
| Benzylhemiformal | 14548-60-8 |
| Dimethylhydantoin formaldehyde (DMHF) | 26811-08-5; 9065-13-8 |
| Dimethylol Glycol | 3586-55-8 |
| Dimethylol Urea | 140-95-4 |
| Dimethyl Oxazolidine | 51200-87-4 |
| MDM Hydantoin | 116-25-6; 27636-82-4; 16228-00-5 |
| Methenamine | 100-97-0 |
| Methylal | 109-87-5 |
| Paraformaldehyde | 30525-89-4 |
| Polyoxymethylene | 9002-81-7 |
| Tetramethylolglycoluril | 5395-50-6 |
| Timonacic (when utilized in heat-activated hair straighteners) | 444-27-9 |
| Tris-Hydroxymethylnitromethane | 126-11-4 |
| Urea, polymer with formaldehyde, isobutylated | 68002-18-6 |
To strengthen accountability, the rule presumes that any detected formaldehyde was deliberately added, requiring corporations to confirm the protection of their elements all through their provide chains, the Division’s press assertion confirmed.
Implementation and help
The rule builds on Washington’s Poisonous-Free Cosmetics Act, adopted in Could 2023, which banned formaldehyde itself starting January 2025. The Washington Division of Ecology stated the legislation offers it “the authority to establish and prohibit formaldehyde-releasing chemical substances by rulemaking.”
To help the trade, the Division will host a compliance webinar on October 1, 2025, to clarify restrictions, sell-through provisions, and accessible technical sources. “We’re dedicated to supporting a clean transition for all members of the cosmetics provide chain,” stated Shari Franjevic, who leads the Division’s implementation of the legislation, within the Division’s press assertion.
She added that the Division will work with producers, distributors, retailers, and cosmetics professionals to “assist them perceive the legislation and rule and meet the brand new necessities.”
Well being issues are driving the rule
Formaldehyde is classed as a human carcinogen and linked to leukemia, respiratory illness, and pores and skin irritation. The Washington Division of Ecology’s testing in 2023 discovered elevated ranges in lotions, lotions, and hair merchandise, together with these marketed to girls of colour.
The company highlighted salon employees as significantly weak because of their day by day publicity within the office.
“There are cosmetics merchandise available on the market that do the identical job with out releasing these cancer-causing chemical substances,” Franjevic stated within the press assertion, noting that safer substitutes are already in use.
Advocacy and professional response
Advocacy teams and public well being researchers welcomed the transfer. Poisonous-Free Future stated Washington was “main the best way by banning these cancer-causing chemical substances in merchandise like pores and skin cream, hair styling gels, and eye lash glue,” within the group’s press launch.
Director of presidency and market coverage Cheri Peele added in the identical assertion that “safer options can be found, and we anticipate this landmark motion to immediate the reformulation of merchandise offered all through america.”
Chatting with Poisonous Free Future, cosmetologist Brandi Hyatt referred to as the brand new restrictions “an enormous step ahead in defending individuals’s well being and security,” whereas Columbia College environmental well being scientist Dr. Ami Zota described the ban as “a victory for science, well being, and justice,” significantly for ladies of colour and salon employees who face increased exposures.
Market implications
The retail sector has already begun adjusting to client and regulatory stress. As famous by Poisonous-Free Future, the group’s 2024 Retailer Report Card discovered that corporations, together with Sephora, Goal, and Ulta Magnificence, had restricted formaldehyde releasers in private-label merchandise and elevated their choices of safer options.
Mae Kennedy of WE ACT for Environmental Justice instructed Poisonous-Free Future that the ban “will give all shoppers entry to safer cosmetics whereas additionally addressing the poor well being outcomes confronted particularly by Black girls because of racist, Eurocentric magnificence requirements that encourage chemical hair straightening.”
