TPO Banned From September 2025: The UV Gel-Nail Chemical the EU Swept Out
Not every 'UV' product is sunscreen — the EU's September 2025 TPO ban targeted the UV-cured gel manicures sitting right next to your SPF.
Commission Regulation (EU) 2025/877 added Trimethylbenzoyl Diphenylphosphine Oxide (TPO) to Annex II as a CMR substance, and from 1 September 2025 cosmetic products containing TPO can no longer be placed on the EU market.
Regulatory analysts note that the EU's CMR mechanism automatically sweeps newly hazard-classified chemicals out of cosmetics, which is why an ingredient in gel manicures — not sunscreen — ended up banned under the same framework that governs SPF ingredients.
Questions we get a lot
What is TPO and why was it banned in the EU?
TPO, or Trimethylbenzoyl Diphenylphosphine Oxide, is a photoinitiator used in UV-curing gel nail systems to harden the product under a lamp. It was newly classified as a CMR substance — carcinogenic, mutagenic, or reprotoxic — and added to Annex II of the EU Cosmetics Regulation by Commission Regulation (EU) 2025/877. From 1 September 2025, cosmetics containing TPO can no longer be placed on the EU market.
Does the TPO ban affect sunscreen?
No. TPO is a gel-nail curing chemical, not a UV filter used in sunscreen. The confusion comes from the word 'UV' — gel manicures cure under UV lamps, while sunscreens protect against UV light. The ban is a good reminder that 'UV product' and 'sun protection' are not the same category.
What does 'CMR' mean in EU cosmetics rules?
CMR stands for carcinogenic, mutagenic, or reprotoxic. When a substance receives a CMR hazard classification, the EU's framework moves to restrict or ban it from cosmetics, often by adding it to Annex II. That is the mechanism that removed TPO from the market in 2025.
r/RedditLaqueristas: 'Is my gel polish actually banned now? I keep seeing TPO on the ingredient list and I'm confused about what changed.'