Ingredient Index
Is Quaternium-15 banned in Europe?
Yes: quaternium-15 is prohibited in EU cosmetics (Annex II), while the US still permits this formaldehyde-releasing preservative with no concentration limit.
What the EU does
Banned. Quaternium-15 appears on Annex II of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 (entry 1481), the prohibited list, a consequence of the EU's CMR machinery: once the substance was caught by carcinogen classification through its formaldehyde chemistry, the Cosmetics Regulation's automatic prohibition applied. Among the major formaldehyde-releasing preservatives, it is the one the EU removed entirely rather than capped.
Even before the ban, European formulators had largely abandoned it: of the formaldehyde donors, quaternium-15 releases the most formaldehyde and carries the worst sensitization record.
Citation Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, Annex II, entry 1481
What the US does
Legal, with no concentration limit, under the general cosmetics safety standard. It was named American Contact Dermatitis Society "Allergen of the Year" in 2005, a designation that reflects how often it shows up in patch-test results, not a regulatory action.
Its US use has declined as mass-market brands reformulated (Johnson & Johnson removed it from baby shampoo in 2014 after public pressure), but it still appears in some lotions, mascaras, and budget personal care.
Citation FD&C Act general safety standard (no ingredient-specific limit)
Products that commonly contain it
A preservative for water-based formulas. In the US it can still appear in:
- Lotions and creams
- Shampoos (mostly older or budget formulations)
- Mascaras and eye makeup
- Some sunscreens and shaving products
What to look for on a label
Worth checking if you have sensitive skin:
- "Quaternium-15" in the ingredient list; note many other quaternium-numbered ingredients are unrelated conditioning agents
- Should not appear on any EU-market product
- Formaldehyde-sensitized people react to it more often than to any other releaser
Or skip the squinting: paste the whole ingredient list into our checker and it flags everything in our database. Nothing you paste leaves your browser.
Frequently asked questions
Is quaternium-15 banned in Europe?
Yes. It is listed on Annex II (entry 1481) of the EU Cosmetics Regulation and cannot be used in any cosmetic product sold in the EU.
Is quaternium-15 legal in the United States?
Yes, with no concentration limit, though many major brands have voluntarily removed it since the mid-2010s.
Why did the EU ban quaternium-15 but not DMDM hydantoin?
Quaternium-15 was caught by the EU's automatic CMR prohibition through its formaldehyde chemistry and classification; DMDM hydantoin was not classified the same way and remains permitted at 0.6% with release labeling.
Are all quaternium ingredients a concern?
No. "Quaternium" and "polyquaternium" name a large family of mostly unrelated conditioning and antistatic agents. Quaternium-15 is the specific formaldehyde-releasing preservative with the allergy record.
Related ingredients
Related reading
Primary sources
Last reviewed June 10, 2026 · How we assign statuses