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Read. Follow. Verify.North Carolina bill bans cosmetics containing PFAS, heavy metals, parabens, and other restricted substances starting January 2026
Last action · April 3, 2025: Ref To Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House (House action)Sponsors: Mary Belk and 17 others
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What This Bill Would Do
North Carolina House Bill 686 prohibits the distribution or sale of cosmetic products containing specified restricted substances—including PFAS, heavy metals, parabens, and phthalates—as intentionally added chemicals or contaminants above s, effective January 1, 2026.
Manufacturers and retailers must pull non-compliant cosmetic products from shelves or face compliance notices, while consumers will see restricted chemical ingredients removed from beauty and personal care items sold in the state.
- State legislatures across the United States have increasingly introduced bills to restrict or ban specific chemical groups, such as PFAS and heavy metals, in consumer personal care products. context
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Cosmetic manufacturers
Manufacturers must ensure their products do not contain restricted substances and provide certificates of compliance upon request by the Board of Agriculture.
Retailers
Retailers must halt the sale of prohibited cosmetic products if notified by manufacturers that compliance has not been verified.
Consumers
Consumers will purchase cosmetic products in the state that are free from specified restricted chemicals.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What chemicals are restricted under the Safe Cosmetics Act?
What must a manufacturer do if the Board of Agriculture issues a notice of compliance?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
3 actions- Apr 3, 2025HouseRef To Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
- Apr 3, 2025HousePassed 1st Reading
- Apr 1, 2025HouseIntroducedFiled
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Show 13 more sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Comprehensive State Cosmetics Ban
The bill shifts North Carolina policy to explicitly prohibit a wide, enumerated list of chemical classes in cosmetics rather than regulating them on an individual basis.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.ncleg.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy60Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz40Current news / social attention level
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