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Beauty ingredient · Anti-dandruff / colorant source

Coal tar

CAS
8007-45-2

Tar from coal, used in some medicated shampoos; coal-tar-derived dyes are used in hair color.

  • Coal tar
  • Expert review pending
Very high concern Level 4 of 4 How concern levels work

Banned or revoked by a major regulator, or classified by IARC as Group 1 or 2A at relevant exposure. The concern level sets how many points coal tar costs on a product’s receipt.

What the evidence says

  • IARC Group 1 (carcinogenic to humans)Regulatory

    IARC classifies coal-tar distillation as Group 1; crude and refined coal tars are prohibited in EU and Canadian cosmetics. [1][2][3]

Evidence tiers say how sure the evidence is, separately from how much it matters. About evidence tiers.

Rules around the world

WhereStatusDetailsDateSource
European Union Banned Prohibited in cosmetic products (Annex II of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009). (entry 420, crude and refined coal tars). — [2]
Canada Banned Coal tars, crude and refined, are prohibited in cosmetics. — [3]
United States Permitted Coal-tar hair dyes are exempt from color-additive approval if labeled with a caution statement; medicated coal-tar products are OTC drugs. — [4]

“Banned” means explicitly prohibited or withdrawn after review; “not permitted” means never authorized there. We use each regulator’s own words.

Names GoodSwap recognizes on labels (7)
  • coal tar
  • pix carbonis
  • crude coal tar
  • coal tar extract
  • refined coal tar
  • coal tar solution
  • liquor carbonis detergens

Sources

  1. Agents Classified by the IARC Monographs, Volumes 1–142 (List of Classifications)

    International Agency for Research on Cancer (WHO) · IARC

    monographs.iarc.who.int

  2. Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 of 30 November 2009 on cosmetic products

    European Union (Official Journal) · Nov 30, 2009 · Law

    “cosmetic products shall not contain any of the following: (a) prohibited substances — prohibited substances listed in Annex II”

    eur-lex.europa.eu

  3. Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist: prohibited and restricted ingredients

    Health Canada · Aug 13, 2025 · Regulator

    “The following ingredients are only permitted in cosmetic products under the conditions of use specified below:”

    canada.ca

  4. Hair Dyes

    U.S. Food and Drug Administration · Regulator

    “Color additives, with the exception of coal-tar hair dyes, need FDA approval before they’re permitted for use in cosmetics.”

    fda.gov