Is Charcoal Powder safe in cosmetics?
Charcoal Powder has a safety rating of "GOOD" in our database. EU status: permitted. US status: permitted.
Charcoal Powder
Also known as: ACTIVATED CARBON, Acticarbone, Adsorbit, AG 3, AG 5 (+15 more)
INCI: CHARCOAL POWDER
Charcoal Powder (CAS 7440-44-0) is a cosmetic cosmetic ingredient functioning as Insufficient Data. EU Regulation 1223/2009 status: permitted, max 10%; GHS signal word DANGER. Industrial safety data is also available in the chemical safety database. Same-CAS public records also appear in pharmaceutical and food safety data.
Function
Insufficient Data
Editorial assessment
GOOD
Preliminary editorial note — not a computed safety verdict.
Chemistry & Identifiers
IUPAC Name
methane
InChIKey
OKTJSMMVPCPJKN-UHFFFAOYSA-N
SMILES
C
Regulatory Status
EU EU Status
permitted
EU Max Conc.
10%
US US Status
permitted
US Notes
CIR: S - IJT 36(Suppl. 3):51-129, 2017
For full compliance data across multiple jurisdictions, use the Substance Compliance tool.
Safety Data
Margin of Safety, dermal absorption, and sensitization profile summaries for Charcoal Powder.
Calculate MoS for your specific formulation with the MoS Calculator.
GHS Hazard Classification
Globally Harmonized System classification per ECHA C&L inventory and ILO/WHO International Chemical Safety Cards.
Signal Word
DANGER
Pictograms
FlamFlame
Hazard Statements
Catches fire spontaneously if exposed to air
EPA ToxValDB — Toxicity Values
10 toxicity values from EPA ToxValDB (aggregated from CCTE, HPV, ToxRefDB, IRIS, and other regulatory dossiers).
| Endpoint | Value | Species | Route | Duration | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LD50 | >2000 mg/kg | Rat | dermal | acute | ECHA |
| NOAEL | >=1051 mg/kg-day | Rat | oral | subchronic (developmental) | ECHA |
| NOAEL | >=994 mg/kg-day | Rat | oral | subchronic (developmental) | ECHA |
| NOAEL | >=1521 mg/kg-day | Rat | oral | subchronic (developmental) | ECHA |
| NOAEL | >=859 mg/kg-day | Rat | oral | subchronic (developmental) | ECHA |
| LD50 | >2000 mg/kg | Rat | dermal | - | ECHA |
| LD50 | >2000 mg/kg | Rat | dermal | acute | ECHA |
| LEL | =10 mg/m3 | Rat | inhalation | - | ECHA |
| LD50 | >2000 mg/kg | Rabbit | dermal | acute | ECHA |
| LEL | >4.6 mg/m3 | Rat | inhalation | - | ECHA |
PubChem Annotations
Safety and regulatory annotations from PubChem (NCBI) aggregated sources.
Safety (3)
Endocrine Disruptors
Potential endocrine disrupting compound
Source: NORMAN Suspect List Exchange
ICSC Safety Card
0702
Source: WHO/JECFA
Skin Eye Respiratory Irritation
It can cause a dust irritation, particularly to the eyes and mucous membranes.
Source: Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)
Regulatory (1)
JECFA Evaluation
DECOLOURIZING CARBON | 1987 | NOT LIMITED | TRS 759-JECFA 31/25 | FAS 70.39/NMRS 48A-JECFA 14/79 (1970)
Source: WHO/JECFA
Function Categories & List Membership
Cosmetic/Chemical Function Categories
Alloying element
Degradant/impurity
Dye
Filler
Hardener
No specific technical function
Processing aids not otherwise specified
Editorial summary
Preliminary editorial summary for Charcoal Powder — not a computed safety verdict. See the sourced toxicological data above.
Known Synonyms
ACTIVATED CARBON
Acticarbone
Adsorbit
AG 3
AG 5
AK
Aqua nuchar
Calcotone Black
Carbon, colloidal
Caswell No. 161
Cecarbon
CF 8
Colgon BPL
Colgon PCB-D
Colgon PCB 12X30
Conductex
EINECS 231-153-3
EPA Pesticide Chemical Code 016001
Hydrodarco
MA 100
Chemical Function
Dye
Filler
Hardener
Regulatory Lists
active_ingredient; Pesticides
active_ingredient; Pesticides
active_ingredient; Pesticides
active_ingredient; Pesticides
active_ingredient; Pesticides
active_ingredient; Pesticides
active_ingredient; Pesticides
active_ingredient; Pesticides
active_ingredient; Pesticides
active_ingredient; Pesticides
active_ingredient; Pesticides
active_ingredient; Pesticides
inert_ingredient; Pesticides
inert_ingredient; non_food_use; Pesticides
inert_ingredient; non_food_use; Pesticides
active_ingredient; Pesticides
active_ingredient; Pesticides
active_ingredient; Pesticides
Australian Status
AICIS status: listed
Cross-Vertical Safety Context
Same-CAS public records found in pharmaceutical and food safety data.
SOURCE
ChEMBL / DrugCentral / FAERS
DB_PHARMA count match
Pharmaceutical Data
Same-CAS rows from the pharmaceutical spoke database.
Adverse Event Associations
742
SOURCE
EFSA / FDA GRAS
food_additives
Food Safety Data
Same-CAS food additive or FDA GRAS records from the core public database.
Food Name
Vegetable carbon
E Number
E153
ADI
NO ADI ALLOCATED mg/kg bw
Food Category
colorant
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Charcoal Powder allowed in the EU?
Charcoal Powder EU regulatory status: permitted. Maximum allowed concentration: 10%. This is based on EU Regulation 1223/2009 and its amendments.
What does Charcoal Powder do in cosmetics?
Charcoal Powder functions as: Insufficient Data. It is classified as a cosmetic ingredient in our database. CAS number: 7440-44-0.
Is Charcoal Powder classified as hazardous under GHS?
Charcoal Powder carries a GHS signal word of "DANGER". Hazard statements: Catches fire spontaneously if exposed to air. This classification is based on the ILO/WHO International Chemical Safety Card and ECHA C&L inventory data. Note: GHS classification applies to the pure substance — at cosmetic use concentrations, hazard thresholds may not be met.
Is Charcoal Powder used outside cosmetics?
Charcoal Powder also appears in pharmaceutical and food safety data. The cross-vertical cards on this page render same-CAS public rows from the matched databases.
Compliance Tools
Check Charcoal Powder compliance across multiple jurisdictions:
Ingredient Decoder
Paste a full ingredient list for instant analysis
82 Allergen Checker
Check for EU declarable fragrance allergens
Substance Compliance
Check compliance across multiple jurisdictions
MoS Calculator
Calculate Margin of Safety using SCCS methodology
Heavy Metal Limits
Compare limits across jurisdictions
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