Is Progesterone safe in cosmetics?
Progesterone has a safety rating of "POOR" in our database. EU status: prohibited. US status: prohibited.
POOR
Cosmetic Ingredient
Progesterone
Also known as: Pregn-4-ene-3,20-dione, EINECS 200-350-6, 17alpha-Hydroxy-6alpha-methylpregn-4-ene-3,20-dione, 6alpha-Methylpregn-4-en-17alpha-ol-3,20-dione, NSC-9704 (+14 more)
INCI: PROGESTERONE
Progesterone (CAS 57-83-0) is a cosmetic cosmetic ingredient functioning as Hormonal substance (skin conditioning — historical use). EU Regulation 1223/2009 status: prohibited. Industrial safety data is also available in the chemical safety database. Same-CAS public records also appear in industrial chemical safety and pharmaceutical data.
Cross-Vertical Regulatory Divergence
Progesterone is prohibited in EU cosmetics but has active industrial GHS classifications (H350, H351, H360, H360FD, H361, H362, H410).
Source: Cosmetics: ingredients.eu status; Chemicals: ghs classifications.signal word/hazard statement code
Function
Hormonal substance (skin conditioning — historical use)
Editorial assessment
POOR
Preliminary editorial note — not a computed safety verdict.
Chemistry & Identifiers
IUPAC Name
(8S,9S,10R,13S,14S,17S)-17-acetyl-10,13-dimethyl-1,2,6,7,8,9,11,12,14,15,16,17-dodecahydrocyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-one
InChIKey
RJKFOVLPORLFTN-LEKSSAKUSA-N
Regulatory Status
EU EU Status
prohibited
US US Status
prohibited
US Notes
Prohibited as cosmetic ingredient — classified as drug if hormonal claims/activity present
For full compliance data across multiple jurisdictions, use the Substance Compliance tool.
Safety Data
Margin of Safety, dermal absorption, and sensitization profile summaries for Progesterone.
Calculate MoS for your specific formulation with the MoS Calculator.
ECHA REACH Registration
European Chemicals Agency REACH dossier and Substances of Very High Concern listing.
Registration Type
Full
Tonnage Band
Ceased manufacture
Substance Type
SUBSTANCE
SVHC Candidate
No
Expanded Jurisdictional Detail
Additional regulatory detail beyond the 7-jurisdiction summary: Saudi SFDA, Korea MFDS, ASEAN ACD, Japan/Korea, Brazil/India, and cross-jurisdictional restriction entries.
Additional Jurisdictional Restrictions (2)
| Jurisdiction | Status | Max % | Product Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| CN | banned | - | - |
| GCC | banned | - | All cosmetics |
Expanded Dermal Absorption Data
Cross-database dermal penetration: EPA Dryad physics-based, Roberts Mendeley permeation, and SCCS-aggregated measured values.
Roberts Skin Permeation (Mendeley 2022)
MW: 314.5
Log Kow: 4.04
Log Kp: -2.8239087409443187
Log Jmax: -10.37
Source: Roberts Cheruvu Mendeley 2022
PubChem Annotations
Safety and regulatory annotations from PubChem (NCBI) aggregated sources.
Safety (3)
Carcinogen Classification
2B, possibly carcinogenic to humans. (L135)
Source: Toxin and Toxin Target Database (T3DB)
Evidence for Carcinogenicity
Progesterone: reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen.
Source: Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)
Endocrine Disruptors
Potential endocrine disrupting compound
Source: NORMAN Suspect List Exchange
Regulatory (1)
JECFA Evaluation
LUTEOHORMONE | 2000 | 0-0.03 mg/kg bw | The Committee established an ADI of 0-30 µg/kg bw for progesterone on the basis of the LOEL of 200 mg/day (3.3 mg/kg bw) for changes in the uterus. A safety factor of 100 was used to allow for extrapolation from a LOEL to a NOEL and to account for normal variation among individuals. Based on a calculated excess intake of progesterone of 500 ng/p/d (0.03% of…
Source: WHO/JECFA
Function Categories & List Membership
Cosmetic/Chemical Function Categories
Softener and conditioner
Regulatory List Membership (1)
California Proposition 65 (OEHHA)
Editorial summary
Preliminary editorial summary for Progesterone — not a computed safety verdict. See the sourced toxicological data above.
Regulatory Flags
prop65
Known Synonyms
Pregn-4-ene-3,20-dione
EINECS 200-350-6
17alpha-Hydroxy-6alpha-methylpregn-4-ene-3,20-dione
6alpha-Methylpregn-4-en-17alpha-ol-3,20-dione
NSC-9704
4-Pregnene-3,20-dione
Pregn-4-ene-3,20-dione, 17alpha-hydroxy-6alpha-methyl-
Projestaject
UNII-4G7DS2Q64Y
(1S,2R,10S,11S,14S,15S)-14-acetyl-2,15-dimethyltetracyclo[8.7.0.02,7.011,15]heptadec-6-en-5-one
(8S,9S,10R,13S,14S,17S)-17-acetyl-10,13-dimethyl-1,2,6,7,8,9,11,12,14,15,16,17-dodecahydrocyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-one
(8S,9S,10R,13S,14S,17S)-17-ethanoyl-10,13-dimethyl-1,2,6,7,8,9,11,12,14,15,16,17-dodecahydrocyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-one
17a-Progesterone
17alpha-progesterone
3,20-Pregnene-4
4-Pregnen-3,20-dione
Akrolutin
CIDR
Colprosterone
Chemical Function
Softener and conditioner
Regulatory Lists
Canada; Personal care; Substances in PCP - Canada (4/2014)
pharmaceutical
pharmaceutical
active_ingredient; animal_products; Europe; pharmaceutical; residue
OEHHA Proposition 65 (3/2019)
detected; MN Chemical Screening; surface_water
detected; drinking_water; MN Chemical Screening
detected; drinking_water; MN Chemical Screening
detected; MN Chemical Screening; surface_water
Canada; pharmaceutical
OEHHA Proposition 65 (1/2023)
Cross-Vertical Safety Context
Same-CAS public records found in pharmaceutical data.
SOURCE
ChEMBL / DrugCentral / FAERS
DB_PHARMA CAS match
Pharmaceutical Data
Same-CAS rows from the pharmaceutical spoke database.
Compound
PROGESTERONE
ChEMBL ID
CHEMBL103
Max Phase
4
Adverse Event Associations
4968
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Progesterone allowed in the EU?
Progesterone EU regulatory status: prohibited. This is based on EU Regulation 1223/2009 and its amendments.
What does Progesterone do in cosmetics?
Progesterone functions as: Hormonal substance (skin conditioning — historical use). It is classified as a cosmetic ingredient in our database. CAS number: 57-83-0.
Is Progesterone used outside cosmetics?
Progesterone also appears in industrial chemical safety and pharmaceutical data. The cross-vertical cards on this page render same-CAS public rows from the matched databases.
Does Progesterone have different safety status in cosmetics vs industrial chemicals?
Progesterone is prohibited in EU cosmetics but has active industrial GHS classifications (H350, H351, H360, H360FD, H361, H362, H410).
Compliance Tools
Check Progesterone 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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