Hair Dye Ingredients in the Korean Codex: 63 Monographs Listed

The Korean functional cosmetics codex has 63 raw-ingredient monographs for hair colouring products, in Annex 6. The list runs from oxidising agents such as hydrogen peroxide solution to dye intermediates such as the phenylenediamines, and it includes alkalis and a plant-based powder. The notice is published by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS).

This page lists the monograph names, groups them by what the names contain, and explains what the list does and does not tell you. It is a reading of names, not advice about dyeing hair.

The facts on this page come from two Korean legal texts: the MFDS notice "Standards and Test Methods for Functional Cosmetics" (기능성화장품 기준 및 시험방법), MFDS Notice No. 2025-89, amended 16 December 2025, which its general annex calls the Korean Functional Cosmetics Codex (KFCC), and Article 2 of the Enforcement Rule of the Cosmetics Act. Both were read in Korean. Korean statutes and notices are not copyright-protected (Copyright Act, Article 7), so they are quoted directly. No product, price or ranking appears here.

Which functional claim type do these belong to?

Hair colour change is item 6 of the closed list of functional cosmetic types in Article 2 of the Enforcement Rule of the Cosmetics Act. The Korean text reads:

모발의 색상을 변화[탈염(脫染)ㆍ탈색(脫色)을 포함한다]시키는 기능을 가진 화장품. 다만, 일시적으로 모발의 색상을 변화시키는 제품은 제외한다.

In English: item 6 of Article 2 covers a cosmetic that changes the colour of hair (including removing dye and bleaching), excluding products that change hair colour only temporarily. The proviso matters: a product that changes hair colour only temporarily is not a functional cosmetic under this item.

What are the 63 monograph names?

Same source, the MFDS codex. The English names follow the form used in the ingredient index of this site; the Korean column is the name printed in the codex.

No.	Ingredient (English form)	Name printed in the codex
1	Strong Ammonia Solution	강암모니아수
2	Sodium Perborate, Monohydrate	과붕산나트륨일수화물
3	Sodium Perborate tetrahydrate	과붕산나트륨사수화물
4	Hydrogen Peroxide Solution 35 %	과산화수소수 35%
5	Hydrogen Peroxide Solution 50 %	과산화수소수 50%
6	Sodium Percarbonate	과탄산나트륨
7	Sodium Persulfate	과황산나트륨
8	Ammonium Persulfate	과황산암모늄
9	Potassium Persulfate	과황산칼륨
10	α-Naphthol	α-나프톨
11	Nitro-p-Phenylenediamine	니트로-p-페닐렌디아민
12	p-Nitro-o-Phenylenediamine	p-니트로-o-페닐렌디아민
13	2,6-Diaminopyridine	2,6-디아미노피리딘
14	1,5-Dihydroxynaphthalene	1,5-디히드록시나프탈렌
15	Resorcinol	레조시놀
16	2-Methylresorcinol	2-메칠레조시놀
17	2-Methyl-5-Hydroxyethylaminophenol	2-메칠-5-히드록시에칠아미노페놀
18	Monoethanolamine	모노에탄올아민
19	Gallic Acid	몰식자산
20	Sodium Hydroxide	수산화나트륨
21	Steartrimonium Chloride	스테아트리모늄클로라이드
22	2-Amino-4-nitrophenol	2-아미노-4-니트로페놀
23	2-Amino-5-nitrophenol	2-아미노-5-니트로페놀
24	2-Amino-3-hydroxypyridine	2-아미노-3-히드록시피리딘
25	5-Amino-o-Cresol	5-아미노-o-크레솔
26	m-Aminophenol	m-아미노페놀
27	o-Aminophenol	o-아미노페놀
28	p-Aminophenol	p-아미노페놀
29	2,4-Diaminophenoxyethanol Hydrochloride	염산 2,4-디아미노페녹시에탄올
30	2,4-Diaminophenol Hydrochloride	염산 2,4-디아미노페놀
31	1,3-Benzenediamine Hydrochloride	염산 m-페닐렌디아민
32	p-Phenylenediamine Hydrochloride	염산 p-페닐렌디아민
33	Toluene-2,5-diamine Hydrochloride	염산 톨루엔-2,5-디아민
34	Hydroxypropyl bis(N-hydroxyethyl-p-phenylenediamine) Hydrochloride	염산 히드록시프로필비스(N-히드록시에칠-p-페닐렌디아민)
35	Powdered Indigofera Tinctoria Leaf	인디고페라엽가루
36	Catechol	카테콜
37	Toluene-2,5-diamine	톨루엔-2,5-디아민
38	m-Phenylenediamine	m-페닐렌디아민
39	N-Phenyl-p-Phenylenediamine	N-페닐-p-페닐렌디아민
40	p-Phenylenediamine	p-페닐렌디아민
41	Phenyl Methyl Pyrazolone	페닐메칠피라졸론
42	Pyrogallol	피로갈롤
43	Picramic Acid	피크라민산
44	Sodium Picramate	피크라민산나트륨
45	Hematein	헤마테인
46	Henna Leaf Powder	헨나엽가루
47	1-Hydroxyethyl-4,5-Diaminopyrazole Sulfate	황산 1-히드록시에칠-4,5-디아미노피라졸
48	2-Amino-5-nitrophenol Sulfate	황산 2-아미노-5-니트로페놀
49	5-Amino-o-Cresol Sulfate	황산 5-아미노-o-크레솔
50	m-Aminophenol Sulfate	황산 m-아미노페놀
51	o-Aminophenol Sulfate	황산 o-아미노페놀
52	p-Aminophenol Sulfate	황산 p-아미노페놀
53	m-Phenylenediamine Sulfate	황산 m-페닐렌디아민
54	N,N-Bis(2-hydroxyethyl)-p-phenylenediamine Sulfate	황산 N,N-비스(2-히드록시에칠)-p-페닐렌디아민
55	o-Chloro-p-phenylenediamine Sulfate	황산 o-클로로-p-페닐렌디아민
56	p-Nitro-o-Phenylenediamine Sulfate	황산 p-니트로-o-페닐렌디아민
57	p-Methylaminophenol Sulfate	황산 p-메칠아미노페놀
58	p-Phenylenediamine Sulfate	황산 p-페닐렌디아민
59	Ferrous Sulfate Hydrate	황산철수화물
60	Toluene-2,5-diamine Sulfate	황산 톨루엔-2,5-디아민
61	Hydroxybenzomorpholine	히드록시벤조모르포린
62	N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-2-nitro-p-phenylenediamine	N-(2-히드록시에칠)-2-니트로-p-페닐렌디아민
63	6-Hydroxyindole	6-히드록시인돌

How do the names group?

This page grouped the names by words they contain. The grouping is this page's own tally, not a classification in the codex:

Group by name	Number of monographs	Examples
Peroxide, perborate, percarbonate and persulfate compounds	8	Sodium Perborate, Monohydrate, Sodium Perborate tetrahydrate, Hydrogen Peroxide Solution 35 %
Names containing 페닐렌디아민 (phenylenediamine)	14	Nitro-p-Phenylenediamine, p-Nitro-o-Phenylenediamine, 1,3-Benzenediamine Hydrochloride
Names containing 아미노페놀 (aminophenol)	9	2-Methyl-5-Hydroxyethylaminophenol, m-Aminophenol, o-Aminophenol
Names containing 레조시놀 (resorcinol)	2	Resorcinol, 2-Methylresorcinol
Names containing 톨루엔-2,5-디아민 (toluene-2,5-diamine)	3	Toluene-2,5-diamine Hydrochloride, Toluene-2,5-diamine, Toluene-2,5-diamine Sulfate
Other named dye intermediates and couplers	18	α-Naphthol, 2,6-Diaminopyridine, Gallic Acid
Everything else (alkalis, ammonia, leaf powders, salts, other)	9	Strong Ammonia Solution, 1,5-Dihydroxynaphthalene, Monoethanolamine

The groups add up to 63. A group of names built on the same stem, such as the phenylenediamines, can include the free base, a hydrochloride and a sulfate, because the codex gives each salt form its own monograph.

What did the list look like when the codex was checked against the source?

An automatic extraction of the Annex 6 file first produced 44 names. A line-by-line check against the original on 9 October 2026 added 20 that had been missed, removed 1 duplicate and corrected spacing in 3 names, giving the 63 on this page. The point of mentioning it is that a list this long is easy to get wrong when extracted by software, and the count has been checked by hand against the source.

What does one of these 63 monographs actually contain?

Same source, the MFDS codex, Annex 6. A name on a list says little, so here are three of the 63 read in full, to show the shape of a monograph.

Monograph	Assay floor	Other limits printed
Strong Ammonia Solution (강암모니아수)	Ammonia (NH3, 17.03) 28.0 to 30.0%	Iron 1 ppm or less; heavy metals 5 ppm or less; residue on evaporation 1 mg or less, that is 0.01 w/v% or less; stored in a tight container
Sodium Perborate Monohydrate (과붕산나트륨일수화물)	NaBO3 and H2O, 99.81; 90.0% or more	White crystalline grains or powder, odourless; four identification tests, including sodium, borate and peroxide reactions
Hydrogen Peroxide Solution 35% (과산화수소수 35%)	Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2, 34.01) 34.5 to 35.5%	pH 2.0 to 3.7; specific gravity 1.132 to 1.137; the monograph states the raw material contains a suitable stabiliser

Read side by side, the pattern is the same one the other annexes use: a formula, an assay band, a description, identification reactions and a short list of impurity limits. Nothing in any of the three states a use level or a colour result.

What does a monograph tell you, and what not?

Rule 1 of the codex's general annex says the notice defines when a company seeking functional cosmetic review may be excused from submitting its own standards and test methods. A monograph therefore shows that the codex has a quality standard for the raw material. It does not say the ingredient is allowed in every product, how much of it may be used, or that a dye is safe for any person. Use limits and safety rules sit in other notices not read for this page.

Hair colour label checklist

• Check that the product is marked as a functional cosmetic for hair colour change
• Remember that temporary colour products are outside item 6
• Do not read a monograph as permission or a safety rating
• Look up the ingredient by its Korean name in the table above
• Ask for the notice number if a brand cites the codex

How to look up a hair dye ingredient

• Find the ingredient on the label
• Match it to the Annex 6 name list
• Open MFDS Notice 2025-89 and read the monograph
• Check use limits in the other notices

Use limits and safety advice for hair dyes. They sit in other MFDS notices not read for this page.

Every functional type and its codex ingredients are grouped in our K-beauty functional ingredient index.

Sources and how to check

• 기능성화장품 기준 및 시험방법 (Standards and Test Methods for Functional Cosmetics, KFCC), MFDS Notice No. 2025-89, amended 16 December 2025: Annex 1 (general rules), Annex 6 (hair colour monographs). Korean Law Information Center: https://www.law.go.kr/LSW/admRulInfoP.do?admRulSeq=2100000269816&chrClsCd=010201
• 화장품법 시행규칙 제2조 (Enforcement Rule of the Cosmetics Act, Article 2), quoted above: https://www.law.go.kr/법령/화장품법%20시행규칙/제2조
• Checked as of 13 October 2026, against the annex files of the notice. Licence: unprotected works under Copyright Act Article 7.