Methylisothiazolinone (MIT) in the EU: rinse-off only
The EU allows methylisothiazolinone only in rinse-off products at up to 0.0015% (15 ppm) — Annex V No 57 — and bans it from leave-on products entirely. The US sets no federal cosmetic limit.
Short answer: in the EU, methylisothiazolinone (MIT) may be used only in rinse-off products, at up to 0.0015% (15 ppm) (Regulation 1223/2009, Annex V No 57, consolidated 18.05.2026). Leave-on products containing MIT are not allowed. The US sets no federal cosmetic limit.
The numbers
| Product type | EU | US |
|---|---|---|
| Rinse-off (shampoo, body wash, cleanser) | ≤ 0.0015% (15 ppm) | No federal limit |
| Leave-on (cream, lotion, wipes) | Not permitted | No federal limit |
The related mixture CMIT/MIT (Methylchloroisothiazolinone and Methylisothiazolinone in a 3:1 ratio) has the same shape: rinse-off only, ≤ 0.0015% of the mixture (Annex V No 39).
US vs EU
The US has no federal concentration ceiling for MIT in cosmetics and the FDA's prohibited-restricted ingredients list does not name it. A US shampoo formula is usually fine on both markets; a US moisturizer, face cream or wipe containing MIT is fine in the US and not shippable to the EU.
This is one of the sharpest US–EU splits for a preservative. Concentration alone is not the test — the product type is.
Common mistakes
- Face creams and lotions preserved with MIT — instantly blocked for the EU market, whatever the concentration.
- Beauty wipes: they are typically leave-on in the regulatory sense, so MIT is not an option for the EU.
- Treating MIT and the CMIT/MIT mixture as two separate problems. Both are rinse-off only; the mixture adds the fixed 3:1 ratio.
- Assuming a low concentration (0.001%) makes a leave-on use acceptable. The entry restricts the product type first, the number second.
Sources
- Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, Annex V No 57 and No 39 — consolidated text 18.05.2026
- FDA, prohibited & restricted ingredients in cosmetics — fda.gov
- 21 CFR 701.3, ingredient designation — eCFR, issue 2026-11-06
Last verified: 2026-11-10.
Not legal advice, and not a guarantee of compliance or of acceptance by any authority.
Want this checked against your own formula? Run the free label check. It flags MIT in leave-on products for the EU and shows the rinse-off cap for everything else. It returns an issue list, not a print-ready label.
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