Japan updates its positive lists for hair dyes and quasi-drugs

Hair dyes and "quasi-drugs" are governed under the Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Act in Japan. Before producing or promoting their products, businesses must first meet registration requirements and receive approval from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW).

 The MHLW announced in two separate notifications on 23 December 2022, that it will remove two additives from its list of additives for quasi-drugs products and one from its positive list for hair dyes. They become operative on 1 January 2023.

Methylrosaniline chloride and Stearyl dimethyl amine are removed from the approved list for quasi-drugs. The updated list consists of total 2746 additives. Two additives i.e. Hydrogenated Lanolin and Methoxyethylene Maleicanhydride Copolymer, are also renamed to "Lanolin, Hydrogenated" and "Methoxyethylene Maleic Anhydride Copolymer" respectively. The names of further six additives such as N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine, Ethanolamine, Synthetic Zeolite, etc. are also revised.

The positive list for hair dyes was also updated to eliminate methylrosaniline chloride and also renamed the additive "3-Propanol (Reagent)" as "2-Propanol (Reagent)". There are a total of 1848 additives in the most recently updated list.

The additives are used in pharmaceuticals and health products as well as some cosmetic products like skin whiteners, deodorants, hair coloring dyes, etc.