Caramel
Caramel colour
No meaningful concern for most people; irritation is possible but rare.
Also written as: E 150a · E 150b · E 150c · E 150d · Caramel Colour
What it is
Caramel is the concentrated brown solution produced by heating sucrose or glucose, the same class of material used as the food colour E 150a to E 150d. In cosmetics it tints products a warm brown, often to reinforce a botanical or clay positioning. It is water-soluble and used at low levels.
What it does well
Provides a natural-looking brown without mineral pigments
It gives a translucent brown tone that suits gels and serums where an opaque pigment would look chalky. This is purely a colour function.
Strong evidence
Worth knowing
Class IV caramels carry a food-side impurity discussion
Some ammonia-process caramel colours contain the by-product 4-methylimidazole, which has been debated in the context of dietary intake from cola drinks. EU cosmetic use requires the same E 150a-d purity criteria as food, and cosmetic exposure is topical and tiny by comparison.
Matters most toEffectively no one at cosmetic use levels.
Where the EU stands
No specific restriction
On the EU positive list of permitted cosmetic colourants with no concentration limit, subject to the purity criteria for E 150a to E 150d.
Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, Annex IV entry 146 · source ↗
