Ingredient Index

Is Diethanolamine banned in Europe?

Banned in EU

Yes: diethanolamine (DEA) itself is prohibited in EU cosmetics, listed on the banned Annex II since 2013 over nitrosamine and carcinogenicity concerns. The US does not ban it outright, though its use has faded.

CAS: 111-42-2 Also seen as: DEA, 2,2-Iminodiethanol, Diethanolamine

What the EU does

Banned. Diethanolamine, usually written DEA, is on Annex II of the EU Cosmetics Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, the list of substances prohibited in cosmetic products. It was added following a 2012 opinion from the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety and became effective in 2013. So a cosmetic sold in the EU cannot contain DEA as such.

The reason is nitrosamines. DEA is a secondary amine, and in the presence of certain nitrogen-releasing preservatives it can react to form nitrosodiethanolamine (NDELA), a compound that is readily absorbed through skin and is a suspected carcinogen. Rather than police the reaction, the EU removed the parent ingredient. Note the precision the label demands: this ban is on DEA itself, not automatically on every ingredient with "DEA" in the name. The fatty-acid derivatives like cocamide DEA are handled separately, under strict limits rather than a flat ban.

Citation Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, Annex II (diethanolamine, entry 411); SCCS opinion 2012

What the US does

Not banned outright, but declining. The US does not have a federal ban on diethanolamine in cosmetics. The FDA has stated it has monitored DEA and its derivatives for nitrosamine contamination and has no conclusive evidence of a hazard to consumers at the levels used, so it has not restricted them. California's Proposition 65 lists DEA, which nudges reformulation, and manufacturers have quietly moved away from it, but that is market pressure, not a nationwide prohibition.

This is a clean transatlantic split. The EU took the precautionary route and banned the parent amine outright; the US left it legal and leaned on monitoring and market forces. If you compare a European and an American product doing the same job, the European one legally cannot use DEA, while the American one can, even if in practice fewer and fewer do.

Citation FDA statement on diethanolamine (DEA) in cosmetics; California Proposition 65 listing

Products that commonly contain it

DEA and its relatives were used as foaming agents, emulsifiers, and pH adjusters. The parent DEA, now EU-banned, historically appeared in:

Shampoos, bubble baths, and liquid soaps (as a foam booster)
Lotions and creams (as an emulsifier or pH buffer)
Some industrial and older cosmetic formulations
Products that also list "DEA" derivatives, which are a separate, still-limited category

What to look for on a label

Reading the label carefully matters here, because the names look alike:

"Diethanolamine" or "DEA" alone is the banned-in-EU parent substance
"Cocamide DEA", "Lauramide DEA", "TEA", and similar are different ingredients with their own rules
An EU-market product should not list plain DEA at all
US products may still legally contain it, though many have reformulated it out

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Frequently asked questions

Is DEA banned in Europe?

Yes. Diethanolamine itself is on Annex II of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, prohibited in EU cosmetics since 2013, over nitrosamine and carcinogenicity concerns.

Is cocamide DEA also banned?

No, not outright. The fatty-acid derivatives like cocamide DEA are handled under Annex III limits (nitrosamine and purity controls), not the flat Annex II ban that applies to plain DEA.

Is DEA banned in the US?

No. The FDA has not banned it, citing no conclusive evidence of hazard at use levels. California Prop 65 lists it, and use has declined, but there is no federal prohibition.

Why is DEA a concern?

It can react with certain preservatives to form nitrosodiethanolamine (NDELA), a skin-absorbed suspected carcinogen. The EU banned the parent ingredient rather than police the reaction.

Related ingredients

Primary sources

Last reviewed July 6, 2026 · How we assign statuses