Ingredient Index

Is HEMA banned in Europe?

Restricted in EU

Restricted, not banned. The EU restricts HEMA, a gel-nail monomer, to professional use only, with mandatory warnings. It is not prohibited, and the US sets no federal restriction at all.

CAS: 868-77-9 Also seen as: HEMA, 2-Hydroxyethyl methacrylate, Hydroxyethyl methacrylate

What the EU does

Restricted to professionals, not banned. This is the whole trap with HEMA. Commission Regulation (EU) 2020/1682 added HEMA to Annex III of the Cosmetics Regulation as allowed for professional use only, with two mandatory label warnings: "For professional use only" and "Can cause an allergic reaction." It set no maximum concentration. The molecule stays legal; the EU narrowed who can apply it and how it must be labeled. Great Britain carries the same restriction as assimilated law.

The science behind the move is specific. The safety committee, in opinion SCCS/1592/17, found HEMA safe when applied to the nail plate at concentrations up to 35%. The restriction targets the real-world problem, untrained at-home application that lets uncured product touch skin and sensitize people, not the substance itself. HEMA does carry a harmonized CLP classification as a skin sensitizer and skin and eye irritant, but it is not classified as a CMR (carcinogenic, mutagenic, or toxic to reproduction) substance.

Citation Commission Reg (EU) 2020/1682 (HEMA and Di-HEMA trimethylhexyl dicarbamate, Annex III professional-use-only); SCCS/1592/17; CLP harmonized classification (Skin Sens. 1, Skin Irrit. 2, Eye Irrit. 2)

What the US does

No federal restriction. The US sets no concentration limit and no professional-use rule for HEMA in nail products. Under the cosmetics framework the FDA does not pre-approve most cosmetic ingredients, so HEMA is used freely in gel polishes and, crucially, in the at-home gel kits sold across online marketplaces.

That is the sharp end of the divergence: the exact consumer gel products the EU judged unsuitable for untrained at-home use in 2021 remain widely available in the US, where the same monomer sits on the same nails without the professional-only gate or the mandatory allergy warning.

Citation US: no federal restriction on HEMA in cosmetics; FDA cosmetics framework (FD&C Act; MoCRA) does not cap HEMA concentration

Products that commonly contain it

HEMA is a nail-product monomer, so it shows up in the gel category:

Gel nail polishes and builder gels
At-home gel manicure kits, freely sold in the US
Some artificial-nail and adhesive products
Professional salon gel systems in the EU, where its use is restricted to professionals

What to look for on a label

HEMA is one nail ingredient you often can read off the label:

Look for "HEMA" or "2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate" in the ingredient list
On EU products expect the warnings "For professional use only" and "Can cause an allergic reaction"
If you have had a gel-allergy reaction, HEMA and related methacrylates are the usual suspects

Or skip the squinting: paste the whole ingredient list into our checker and it flags everything in our database. Nothing you paste leaves your browser.

Frequently asked questions

Is HEMA banned in Europe?

No. Since 2021 the EU restricts HEMA to professional nail use with mandatory warnings, but it is not banned and has no concentration cap.

Why does the restriction exist?

The safety committee found HEMA safe on the nail plate up to 35%. The concern is untrained at-home application letting uncured product touch skin and cause allergies, so the EU limited use to professionals.

Is HEMA allowed in the US?

Yes, with no federal restriction. It is used in salon gels and in at-home gel kits, which is why the same consumer products the EU limited are freely sold in the US.

Related ingredients

Primary sources

Last reviewed August 25, 2026 · How we assign statuses