In July 2025, during the first session of the 119th Congress, representatives introduced the Safer Beauty Bill Package, which, if passed, will institute significant ingredient restrictions for cosmetic and personal care products to eliminate “toxic” chemicals in them. The Safer Beauty Bill Package is a suite of four bills aimed at addressing the purported gaps in federal regulations on cosmetic safety by banning specific chemicals deemed toxic to human health, requiring disclosure of hazardous chemicals on product labels, requiring supply chain transparency, and protecting the health of women of color and salon workers. If approved, the Safer Beauty Bill Package will significantly increase the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) enforcement power on cosmetic and personal care products and have far-reaching implications for the cosmetic industry.
Background
While countries worldwide have adopted stronger ingredient safety standards for cosmetic and personal care products, the United States has been criticized for allegedly “lagging” with such regulations. For example, the European Union has banned more than 2,400 chemicals deemed toxic in personal care products, while the FDA has banned or restricted fifteen toxic chemicals from personal care products since 1938.1 While it is the FDA’s role to institute federal regulations to protect public health, some states, such as Vermont, California, Oregon, and Washington, have instituted statewide bans on particular chemicals used in cosmetics within the last two years.2
In 2022, Congress passed the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act (MoCRA), a substantial update to the regulation of cosmetics in the United States since the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), which was enacted in 19383 Under MoCRA, the FDA is empowered with expanded regulatory authority over cosmetic products in the United States to order mandatory recalls for cosmetic products and establish mandatory good manufacturing practice requirements for cosmetic manufacturers.4 Additionally, under MoCRA’s requirements, cosmetic facilities are required to be registered with the FDA, manufacturers must maintain an updated annual listing of all marketed cosmetic products with the FDA, and responsible persons (manufacturers, packers, and/or distributors) are required to report adverse events associated with cosmetic products to the FDA5. While MoCRA signified a significant shift in the regulatory practices of the cosmetic and personal care industry, it did not specifically change or alter the safety regulations regarding the actual ingredients in cosmetic and personal care products. The Safer Beauty Bill Package aims to take MoCRA a step further and address the safety of ingredients in cosmetic and personal care products.
What the Safer Beauty Bill Package Consists Of
The Safer Beauty Bill Package consists of four bills:
The Toxic-Free Beauty Act (H.R.4433) - seeks to ban eighteen substances, including mercury, lead, asbestos, toluene, and parabens, as well as two whole classes of chemicals (phthalates and formaldehyde-releasing preservatives) from cosmetic and personal care products6.
The Cosmetic Supply Chain Transparency Act (H.R. 4434) - would require “suppliers of raw materials, ingredients, and private label products to provide complete ingredient disclosures and safety data to cosmetic companies” to promote the creation and reformulation of safer cosmetic and personal care products7.
The Cosmetic Hazardous Ingredient Right to Know Act (H.R. 4435) - would require product labels and websites to disclose “all ingredients that can pose a health risk to consumers.” The proposed bill is expansive in that it requires disclosing any fragrances or “flavors” of ingredients that may be deemed a health hazard. Cosmetic and personal care companies would also be required to provide consumers with direct links to safety information for any product ingredient known to impact human health negatively8.
The Cosmetic Safety Protections for Communities of Color & Salon Workers (H.R. 4436) - would fund “research, resource materials, education and outreach, and the development of safer chemicals to protect the health of women of color and salon workers9.” Both women of color and salon workers have been deemed two vulnerable populations because of the specific cosmetic products marketed toward them or commonly found within their workplaces. The proposed bill would also require the FDA to ensure the safety of synthetic hair products10.
Potential Implications for the Cosmetic Industry
The Safer Beauty Bill Package would impose new and extensive compliance obligations across the cosmetic industry if enacted. With cosmetic brand owners carrying much of the liability for ingredient safety, the Safer Beauty Bill Package will further add to cosmetic companies’ already existing obligations to perform detailed examinations into the safety of the ingredients used in their cosmetic and personal care products.
For cosmetic companies to remain compliant, they will need to conduct ingredient audits of products11. Where a product may have a chemical banned under the Safer Beauty Bill Package, brands will be forced to reformulate the product to comply with the new regulations. The reformulation process may lead to increased product costs for using safer alternatives and product performance and shelf-life changes. Moreover, the Safer Beauty Bill Package also seeks to undermine existing trade secret protections for ingredients, such as fragrance, which have long been kept off product labels to protect proprietary blends. Cosmetic companies will be forced to think of innovative ways to protect their proprietary blends while remaining in compliance with the new transparency regulations.
While the Safer Beauty Bill Package is still in its early stages, it has garnered bipartisan support and has had endorsements from more than 150 health, environmental justice, consumer organizations, and safer beauty brands. Since its formal introduction, the Safer Beauty Bill Package was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce for review, which will conduct hearings, scrutinize, and potentially amend the language of the four bills. If the bills pass the Committee’s review, each bill will proceed to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives for debate and voting. Passage of the Safer Beauty Bill Package will require House and Senate approval and a presidential signature. If passed, this legislative package will significantly change product formulation, labeling, and ingredient disclosures in the cosmetic industry.
[5]
While MoCRA’s registration and listing requirements were implemented in 2024, several of its regulations have not taken full effect. The need for more detailed regulatory guidance and industry feedback has caused implementation delays. MoCRA’s good manufacturing practice requirements were originally scheduled to take effect on December 29, 2024; however, the FDA postponed its implementation to October 2025 to allow businesses time to prepare for compliance. SeeMoCRA GMP Delayed Until October 2025: What You Need to Know
[9]
Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, “Federal Bill Package Will Make Safer Beauty Available to All,” (May 25, 2023), Federal Bill Package Will Make Safer Beauty Available to All - Breast Cancer Prevention Partners (BCPP), supra n. 7.
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