Great Britain’s TPO ban: key dates & what it means for nail products, suppliers & techs

Trimethylbenzoyl diphenylphosphine oxide (TPO), a photoinitiator that helps gel nail products cure quickly under UV light and maintain colour stability, will be banned from cosmetic products placed on the market in Great Britain from 15 August 2026. This follows the ban of the ingredient within the EU cosmetics market that was enforced on 1 September 2025.

“In January, the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) published a Statutory Instrument (SI) amending the Annexes to the UK Cosmetics Regulations, which includes a ban on TPO,” details Caroline Rainsford, director of science at The Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery Association (CTPA). “For product manufacturers, the ‘placing on the market’ deadline is 15 August 2026; the ‘making available on the market’ (off-shelf) deadline is 14 February 2027.

“This means that professionals will not be able to purchase products containing TPO after 14 February 2027.  However, professionals operating in Great Britain can still use products they have already purchased after this date.”

The differing dates of the enforcement between the UK and EU are because they have ‘parallel, but separate, regulatory systems for chemicals and cosmetics’. The EU Cosmetics Regulation applied in Northern Ireland, so products containing TPO have not been legal to purchase in the region since 1 September 2025. The 2026/2027 dates apply to England, Scotland and Wales.

TPO: its purpose

As a photoinitiator, TPO absorbs UV/LED light to kick-start the polymerisation (‘curing’) process, which is required to produce a hard-wearing artificial nail enhancement. “When exposed to such light from a nail lamp, the TPO molecule splits into two sections,” Caroline shares. “These ‘cap’ the ends of the long polymer chains which form the nail surface. TPO is therefore broken down quickly during the curing process and even in the unlikely event that very minor residual amounts remain, they will be trapped in the hard polymer network of the formed nail coating.  This means that it is unlikely we will be exposed to any TPO from the product.”

Are you enjoying this content?

Join our community to receive more like this

LinkedIn

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Email(Required)

Safety matters

“The reason why TPO has been banned in cosmetic products is based on its hazardous properties, meaning how a substance might behave under a ‘worst-case’ situation, when our bodies are exposed to a very large amount,” Caroline continues. This is not how TPO is used in cosmetics. The amount of this ingredient used in nail products is over a thousand times less than the amount which could have any negative effect on fertility. Plus, these products are applied to the nail, so the potential for the ingredient to be absorbed into our bodies is even smaller.

“The ban on the ingredient in the EU and GB is based on extreme caution and doesn’t mean that current cosmetic products containing TPO are unsafe. This is further supported by independent expert scientific panel, the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS), which conducted a detailed safety review of TPO in 2014 and concluded that the way it is used in cosmetics is safe.”

Note the dates

• Manufacturers must not place any products containing TPO on the market in Great Britain from 15 August 2026.
• Distributors will not be able to make any products containing TPO available for professionals to purchase after 14 February 2027.
• Practicing nail technicians in Great Britain will not be able to purchase products containing TPO after 14 February 2027. However, professionals operating in Great Britain can still use any products they have already purchased after this date.

CTPA’s website www.thefactsabout.co.uk provides facts and key advice on cosmetics and personal care products.