Beauty ingredient · Active / skin conditioning
Kojic acid
A skin-brightening agent; the EU limits it in face and hand products since 2024.
- Skin-lightening agent
- Expert review pending
Concern level
A minor or very limited concern, such as being an ultra-processing marker only. The concern level sets how many points kojic acid costs on a product’s receipt.
What the evidence says
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Restricted useRegulatory
The EU set concentration limits for kojic acid, alpha-arbutin and arbutin in 2024. [1]
Evidence tiers say how sure the evidence is, separately from how much it matters. About evidence tiers.
Rules around the world
| Where | Status | Details | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| European Union | Restricted | Concentration limits set by Regulation (EU) 2024/996. | — | [1] |
“Banned” means explicitly prohibited or withdrawn after review; “not permitted” means never authorized there.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 (2)
- kojic acid
- kojic dipalmitate
Sources
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“vitamin A is safe in cosmetic products up to concentrations of 0,05 % Retinol Equivalent (RE) in body lotion and 0,3 % RE in other leave-on and rinse-off products.”
eur-lex.europa.eu