Is Cyclomethicone banned?
Cyclomethicone is permitted by the US FDA. Several countries restrict, warning-label, or have reviewed it for safety concerns. The US has more lenient additive rules than the EU, UK, Canada, and Japan, which is why this ingredient remains widely used here.
Why Cyclomethicone is flagged
Cyclomethicone itself has a good short-term safety profile at cosmetic use levels. However, the EU has restricted specific cyclic silicones D4 (cyclopentasiloxane — now banned from rinse-off in EU) and D5/D6 (≤0.1% in rinse-off products) due to persistence, bioaccumulation, and potential endocrine-disrupting effects in aquatic organisms. Human health risk at cosmetic concentrations is considered low, but regulatory caution is appropriate. D5 has been studied for potential endocrine disruption in animals; evidence for human endocrine effects at cosmetic doses is not established.
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