Product record
VIP Hair Colour Shampoo and Beaute Blanc: hair dyes with a prohibited amine (2024 to 2025)
Last checked 10 October 2026
Between the November 2024 and January 2025 alerts, CDSCO listed more than ten batches of VIP Hair Colour Shampoo (VIMAC, Chennai) and a B&B Beaute Blanc hair colour conditioner (made in China) as not of standard quality because they contain m-phenylenediamine, a substance prohibited in cosmetics by IS 4707 Part 2, and fail the IS 8481 standard for oxidation hair dyes.
- Classification
- Declared Not of Standard Quality (NSQ)
- Decided by
- Tamil Nadu drug-testing laboratory, Chennai (state lab); listed by CDSCO
- Reference
- CDSCO NSQ alerts, November 2024, December 2024 and January 2025, state lab list
- 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 Always check the linked government document for the current position, and tell us if something is out of date.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
- Finding
- Contains m-phenylenediamine (meta-phenylenediamine), listed at serial 1198 of Annex A (prohibited substances) of IS 4707 Part 2
- Also failed
- IS 8481:2005 limits for resorcinol and phenyl methyl pyrazolone in oxidation hair dyes
- Batches
- At least ten VIP Hair Colour Shampoo batches (black, brown and dark brown) in the Nov 2024 to Jan 2025 alerts; one Beaute Blanc batch
- Makers
- VIMAC, Chennai (VIP); Guangdong Rongsheng / Gabt Co, China (Beaute Blanc)
- Why it matters
- Phenylenediamines are the hair-dye chemicals most associated with severe allergic reactions; the permitted one (PPD) is capped at 4%, the meta isomer is not allowed at all
The Tamil Nadu drug-testing laboratory in Chennai sampled VIP Hair Colour Shampoo repeatedly in late 2024. CDSCO's November 2024 alert lists nine batches, in black, brown and dark brown shades, each 'not conforming to BIS specification for oxidation hair dyes'. The January 2025 alert adds another VIP batch and a B&B Beaute Blanc Hair Colour Conditioner in Natural Black, made in China, and names the problem: the samples contain m-phenylenediamine.
Indian hair-dye rules work in two layers. IS 8481:2005 sets what an oxidation hair dye may contain and in what amount: p-phenylenediamine (PPD) up to 4 per cent for black shades, with limits on resorcinol and phenyl methyl pyrazolone, and a mandatory caution about skin testing and eye-area use. IS 4707 Part 2, which the Cosmetics Rules 2020 adopt through Rule 39(2), lists substances that may not be used at all; m-phenylenediamine is entry 1198 in its Annex A.
A failed batch test does not itself ban a product. It gives the state licensing authority grounds to act against the manufacturer's licence, and it tells the public which batches to avoid. No licence action against VIMAC has been published. The Beaute Blanc product has a second defect: as an import it needs a CDSCO registration number on the pack, and none is recorded.
What this means for you
One batch, not the brand
A failed lab test names a batch number and the lab that tested it. It does not mean every pack of that product is affected. Check the batch on your pack against the one in the record.
Patch test, every time
IS 8481 requires hair dyes to carry a caution to test on the skin 48 hours before use. A dye with an unpermitted amine makes that warning more important, not less.
Shampoo-type dyes are oxidation dyes
A 'hair colour shampoo' is a hair dye in a shampoo base and is tested against the same standard as a cream dye.
This is a record of official orders, not medical advice. Do not stop a prescribed medicine without asking your doctor or pharmacist.
Common questions
Is VIP hair colour shampoo banned in India?
No ban has been published. More than ten batches failed state lab tests between November 2024 and January 2025 because they contain a prohibited amine. Whether the maker reformulated is not on record.
What is m-phenylenediamine?
The meta isomer of phenylenediamine. India permits the para isomer (PPD) in oxidation hair dyes within limits; the meta isomer is on the prohibited list in IS 4707 Part 2.
Official sources and primary records
- Regulator
- IS 8481:2005, Oxidation hair dyes, liquid, emulsion or gel type, specification (PPD limits and caution clauses)RegulatorBureau of Indian Standards · 1 January 2005
- India's cosmetic ingredient regulations: IS 4707 Part 1 (permitted colourants) and Part 2 (prohibited and restricted substances)SourceChemLinked · 1 January 2026