If 2025 made anything clear, it was that regulation and geopolitics are no longer background forces for the beauty and personal care industry – they are central to strategy, cost structure, and innovation. From chemical bans and ingredient scrutiny to trade retaliation, sustainability laws, and enforcement crackdowns, the year saw a sharp escalation of regulatory complexity in global markets.
The European Commission has tabled proposals to restrict PFAS in cosmetics and consumer goods, while France has adopted national legislation to ban the chemicals from January 2026.
The Commission has set out a 2026 roadmap for the start of non-animal testing in cosmetics and chemicals, while the EU’s Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) has issued its final opinion on tea tree oil, confirming the safe use levels and reinforcing the need for sustainability data in line with updated ISO standards.
Environmental and plastics regulation has accelerated globally. Australia’s New South Wales Environment Protection Agency has ordered nine beauty products to be removed from store shelves after identifying banned microbeads, stepping up enforcement as part of the country’s piecemeal plastic ban. South Africa has proposed a bill to ban plastic microbeads in cosmetics and personal care, while Morocco has moved to ban cosmetic products containing TPO, aligning its national laws with new EU restrictions on nail polish.
Washington state was the first US state to ban formaldehyde-releasing chemicals in cosmetics, forcing brands to prepare for significant formulation revisions. Brazil proposed bans on 28 substances to better align with EU standards, with benzophenone emerging as a flashpoint due to endocrine and environmental concerns. India imposed five-year anti-dumping duties on cosmetic-grade vitamin A and insoluble sulfur to bolster domestic supply chains.
In the US, regulatory signals were mixed. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed standard asbestos testing methods for cosmetics containing talc under the Cosmetic Regulatory Modernization Act of 2022, but later withdrew the proposal, indicating that a revised rule is still expected to be enacted. Separately, the agency approved three new color additives derived from algae, minerals, and butterfly pea flowers, highlighting growing demand for natural alternatives, and took steps to add bemotrizinol to the U.S. sunscreen ingredient list.
Portugal’s halt to sales of CBD-containing cosmetics highlighted ongoing tensions between national authorities and European Union court rulings that CBD is non-intoxicating. Korea tightened oversight of cosmetics advertising, banning exaggerated claims and medical endorsements to restore consumer trust in the digital beauty landscape.
Taken together, 2025 confirmed that regulation and trade are now among the most defining forces shaping the future of beauty. Ingredient selection, formulation timelines, supply strategies, and market access are increasingly shaped by political decisions as much as consumer demand. For global beauty players, regulatory mastery has evolved from a compliance function to a core strategic capability – one that increasingly determines who can compete, innovate, and scale in a fragmented world.
