Regulatory Status
For full compliance data across 55 jurisdictions, use the Substance Compliance tool.
Safety Data
Calculate MoS for your specific formulation with the MoS Calculator.
Expert Verdict
Structural hydroquinone analogue. Hydroquinone is banned in EU cosmetics due to skin irritation, contact dermatitis, and exogenous ochronosis risk. Even if dimethylhydroquinone is not explicitly listed in Annex II, an EU Responsible Person would need to demonstrate it does not metabolize to hydroquinone and does not share the same toxicological profile. No CIR or SCCS opinion available. Do not formulate without independent toxicological review.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Dimethylhydroquinone safe in cosmetics?
Structural hydroquinone analogue. Hydroquinone is banned in EU cosmetics due to skin irritation, contact dermatitis, and exogenous ochronosis risk. Even if dimethylhydroquinone is not explicitly listed in Annex II, an EU Responsible Person would need to demonstrate it does not metabolize to hydroquinone and does not share the same toxicological profile. No CIR or SCCS opinion available. Do not formulate without independent toxicological review. The EU classifies Dimethylhydroquinone as "prohibited". Safety rating: POOR.
Is Dimethylhydroquinone allowed in the EU?
Dimethylhydroquinone EU regulatory status: prohibited. This is based on EU Regulation 1223/2009 and its amendments.
What does Dimethylhydroquinone do in cosmetics?
Dimethylhydroquinone functions as: Antioxidant / stabilizer. It is classified as a cosmetic ingredient in our database. CAS number: 654-42-2.
What is the Margin of Safety for Dimethylhydroquinone?
not established The Margin of Safety (MoS) is calculated using SCCS methodology. A MoS above 100 is generally considered safe. Use the MoS Calculator tool to calculate MoS for your specific formulation and product category.
Compliance Tools
Check Dimethylhydroquinone compliance across multiple jurisdictions:
Related Ingredients
Is Dimethylhydroquinone in Your Products?
Scan any product label with Piro — our free ingredient scanner. Point your camera at the ingredients list and get instant safety scores for every ingredient.
Try Piro Free →Analyze Your Full Ingredient List
Paste any INCI list into the Decoder for instant safety analysis, or calculate the Margin of Safety for Dimethylhydroquinone in your formulation.