Substance or rule
m-Phenylenediamine: a prohibited hair-dye amine
Last checked 10 October 2026
m-Phenylenediamine, the meta isomer of phenylenediamine, is a prohibited cosmetic ingredient in India under Rule 39(2) of the Cosmetics Rules 2020 through entry 1198 of Annex A to IS 4707 Part 2, unlike its para isomer PPD which is permitted in hair dyes within limits; it was found in more than ten batches of VIP Hair Colour Shampoo and in a Beaute Blanc hair colour between the November 2024 and January 2025 CDSCO alerts.
- Classification
- Prohibited (the Cosmetics Rules, 2020 under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940)
- Decided by
- Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; Bureau of Indian Standards
- Reference
- Rule 39(2), Cosmetics Rules 2020; IS 4707 Part 2, Annex A, serial 1198
- Latest action
- 1 January 2025
- Last checked
- 10 October 2026
Photo: Hair coloring, Barbershop From Iran 13.jpg by Mostafameraji (CC0). All photo credits.
IS 8481:2005, Oxidation hair dyes, liquid, emulsion or gel type, specification (PPD limits and caution clauses)
Scope. A record here does not by itself mean a product or company is unsafe or banned today. Regulatory actions can apply to one batch, one formulation, one period or one state. Always check the linked government document for the current position, and tell us if something is out of date. How we label records.
Below: Blacklisted's explanationWe organise and explain what the document says. The document above is the authority.
Key facts
- Status
- Prohibited at any level in cosmetics
- Not to be confused with
- p-Phenylenediamine (PPD), permitted in oxidation hair dyes within IS 8481 limits
- Why prohibited
- A potent skin sensitiser and suspected mutagen; the EU prohibits it too (Annex II)
- Found
- VIP Hair Colour Shampoo (VIMAC, Chennai), ten-plus batches, Nov 2024 to Jan 2025; B&B Beaute Blanc Hair Colour Conditioner (China), Jan 2025
Phenylenediamine comes in three forms. The para isomer, PPD, is the permitted hair-dye ingredient, limited and labelled under IS 8481. The meta isomer, m-phenylenediamine, is prohibited in cosmetics in India through entry 1198 of Annex A to IS 4707 Part 2, which Rule 39(2) of the Cosmetics Rules 2020 adopts, and in the European Union through Annex II of the cosmetics regulation. It is cheaper and a stronger sensitiser, and it has no lawful place in a product applied to hair or skin.
The substance entered India's public record through the Tamil Nadu drug-testing laboratory in Chennai. CDSCO's November 2024 alert listed nine batches of VIP Hair Colour Shampoo, a shampoo-type oxidation dye made by VIMAC in Chennai, as not conforming to the BIS specification; the January 2025 alert added a tenth batch and a Chinese-made Beaute Blanc hair colour conditioner and named the finding, m-phenylenediamine. No licence action has been published since.
What this means for you
Labels will not say 'meta'
A dye that contains the prohibited isomer will usually be labelled as PPD or not labelled at all. The only way it is found is a lab test, which is what happened in Chennai.
If a dye has caused a bad reaction
Keep the pack and batch number and report it to the state drugs controller. That is how a sample gets tested.
This is a record of official orders, not medical advice. Do not stop a prescribed medicine without asking your doctor or pharmacist.
Official sources and primary records
- Regulator
- India's cosmetic ingredient regulations: IS 4707 Part 1 (permitted colourants) and Part 2 (prohibited and restricted substances)SourceChemLinked · 1 January 2026
- IS 8481:2005, Oxidation hair dyes, liquid, emulsion or gel type, specification (PPD limits and caution clauses)RegulatorBureau of Indian Standards · 1 January 2005