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Words you cannot use in a Thai cosmetic product name
Which rules govern a Thai cosmetic product name
A Thai cosmetic product name is checked at notification, and both the trade name and the cosmetic name count. The 2018 Ministry of Public Health notification on cosmetic notification says trade and cosmetic names must not be boastful, impolite or misleading. If a name breaks this rule, the notification says the receipt is deemed unlawfully issued and the Thai FDA may revoke it.
To show which words fall foul of the rule, the Thai FDA Cosmetics and Hazardous Substances Control Division publishes guidance on words prohibited as, or as part of, cosmetic trade and product names, revised 22 August 2025 and amended 4 December 2025. It is guidance rather than a notification, but it is the yardstick officers apply.
Three points before reading the lists
- Part of a name counts. A long name containing a prohibited word is caught too.
- The tables are examples. Every group is introduced with "for example", so words not listed but carrying the same meaning may be judged under the same category.
- A trademark is no exemption. The Thai FDA cosmetic notification criteria (revised 2021) state that a registered trademark cannot be used to justify a prohibited word.
Every example word in this article is taken from the Thai FDA guidance tables.
Prohibited words in cosmetic names: five categories
The guidance sorts prohibited words into five categories, with the first split into four groups:
- Claims beyond the scope of a cosmetic: 1.1 therapy, relief or prevention of disease or abnormal conditions; 1.2 effects on health, body structure or function; 1.3 delivery into the body or use with medical devices; 1.4 products or purposes that are not cosmetic.
- Words suggesting substances banned in cosmetics, such as human cells or tissues, narcotics, vaccines, toxins or serums.
- Words implying sexual enhancement.
- Words misleading about the essential nature of the cosmetic, such as religion, superstition, beliefs or an owner's name used in a misleading way.
- Impolite words or words against Thai culture.
The logic follows the definition in the Cosmetic Act B.E. 2558 (2015): a cosmetic is used on the outside of the body for cleanliness, beauty or keeping it in good condition. A name that implies more makes consumers think of a drug, a medical device or another product.
Source: Thai FDA guidance on words prohibited in cosmetic trade and product names (revised 22 August 2025)
Category 1.1: words implying therapy, relief or disease
This group has the most examples, 100 entries covering words that claim therapy, relief or prevention, disease names, symptoms, germs and named healing systems. Prohibited examples from the table:
| Type of prohibited word | Examples in the guidance |
|---|---|
| Direct therapy claims (prohibited) | CURE, CURATIVE, HEAL, HEALING, REMEDY, and Thai words for relieve, remedy and cure |
| Drug-like words | MED, MEDICAL, MEDICATED, MEDICATION |
| Diseases and symptoms | ECZEMA, PSORIASIS, DERMATITIS, ALLERGY, PAIN, WOUND |
| Acne claims (prohibited) | ACNE TREATMENT, ACNE THERAPY, STOP ACNE, and the Thai word for acne on its own |
| Inflammation | ANTI INFLAMMATION and Thai equivalents |
| Germs | BACTERIA, VIRUS, FUNGUS, GERM, KILL GERM |
| Safety or skin-test wording | SAFE, HYPOALLERGENIC, DERMATOLOGICAL TEST |
Many brands are caught by words that sound like ordinary marketing. SAFE and HYPOALLERGENIC sit in this group, and the Thai word for acne is listed on its own, not only phrases about clearing acne.
Category 1.2: words implying effects on body structure or function
Group 1.2 covers words implying changes in structure, size, shape, organ function, hormones or body substances, or permanent change in appearance. The guidance lists 82 entries.
- Hair and nails: HAIR GROWTH, STOP HAIR FALL, ANTIBALD, NAIL GROWTH, and Thai words for hair loss and hair planting.
- Body shape: SLIMMING, FAT REDUCE, LIPOLYSIS, CELLULITE CONTROL, BREAST ENLARGEMENT, BUST UP.
- Pigment and skin colour: ANTI MELANIN, ANTI PIGMENTATION, DEPIGMENTATION, SKIN BLEACHING, the Thai words for melasma and freckles, and Thai words meaning whiteness, white skin and white face.
- Body systems: IMMUNE, METABOLISM, CIRCULATION, INCREASE BLOOD CIRCULATION, STIMULATE, INHIBIT ENZYME.
- Permanent or age-stopping effects: STOP AGING, WRINKLE ERASER, RESTRUCTURE, ANTI GRAVITY.
The Thai words for white skin and white face are on this list, so skincare brands should check names closely. Descriptive wording that does not imply changing skin colour or structure reduces the risk of hitting this group.
Categories 1.3 and 1.4: devices, injection and non-cosmetic products
1.3 Delivery into the body or use with devices
Words suggesting pushing substances through skin with a device, injection, mesotherapy, or use outside the external body. Examples: LASER, IPL, HIFU, ULTRASOUND, IONTOPHORESIS, GALVANIC, ELECTROPHORESIS, MESOTHERAPY. This mirrors the notification criteria, which say products used with needles or devices to push substances through skin are not cosmetics.
1.4 Non-cosmetic products or purposes
Words implying a drug, narcotic, herbal product, hazardous substance or medical device; use on animals or objects; insect repelling; disinfection; or scar claims. Examples:
- Drugs: DRUG, STEROID, HORMONE, ANESTHETIC, and Thai words for medicine, balm and inhaler.
- Injection and needles: INJECT, INJECTION, MICRONEEDLE, NEEDLE, TRANSDERMAL.
- Disinfection: ANTISEPTIC, DISINFECTANT, ANTIVIRAL, STERILE.
- Insects and animals: INSECT REPELLANT, MOSQUITO, PET, VETERINARY.
- Other products: COSMECEUTICAL, and Thai words for herbal compress, air freshener, food supplement and scar.
COSMECEUTICAL, a common industry term, is on this list, as is the Thai word for food supplement. If you really mean to sell such a product, first check whether it belongs to another product category with the product classification tool.
Categories 2 to 5: banned substances, sexual enhancement, misleading and impolite words
Category 2: banned substances
Examples include STEM CELL, GROWTH FACTOR, EPIDERMAL GROWTH FACTOR, EGF, TOXIN, PLASMA, NICOTINE, and EXOSOME, which carries a note that it may be used where it is the INCI name in the cosmetic reference books.
Category 3: sexual enhancement
Words implying use during intercourse, improved sexual performance or enlargement of sexual organs, including Thai expressions about animal strength and words for sexual organs.
Category 4: misleading about essential nature
Religious, magical, deity or belief words, owners' names or foreign words that mislead. Notable entries: GMP, TOXIC, PHEROMONE, PLANT STEM CELL, PHYTOESTROGEN, Thai words for holy water and luck, and NON ALCOHOL, which is prohibited only for cleansing products and hand sanitising alcohol.
GMP being in this group means that even a certified factory should not put the term into a product name.
Category 5: impolite or against Thai culture
Vulgar, obscene or seductive words. The guidance lists them; we do not repeat them here.
Words allowed only for certain product types
Some entries carry notes limiting the ban to, or exempting, certain product types. Clear examples from the guidance:
| Word | Condition in the guidance |
|---|---|
| ACNE CONTROL | Not prohibited for rinse-off cleansing products for face and body |
| SANITISER, SANITIZING | Not prohibited for hand sanitising alcohol products |
| SLIM, SLIMMING | Not prohibited for make-up, sanitary pads and tampons |
| SHAPE, SHAPER, SHAPING | Not prohibited for make-up, hair styling, hair colouring, straightening or perming |
| SPROUT | Prohibited only for leave-on skincare |
| EXOSOME | Allowed where it is the INCI name in the reference books |
| NON ALCOHOL | Prohibited only for cleansing products and hand alcohol |
So you need to know the product category and use you will enter in the request before checking the name; the same word can pass for one product and fail for another.
When notification is not accepted because of the name
The guidance notes that listed words which do not mislead about the essential nature of the cosmetic are considered case by case with supporting documents. The procedure it sets out:
- File the notification as usual. If the name contains a prohibited word, the system shows the status not accepted.
- Write to the Director of the Cosmetics and Hazardous Substances Control Division asking to use the word and explaining why it is needed.
- Attach the notification request and the supporting documents the guidance asks for.
In practice, if packaging is not yet printed, changing the name before filing is usually simpler than justifying it afterwards. Filing steps are in Filing cosmetic notification online.
Changing the formula but keeping the name
A Thai FDA clarification on notifying a changed formula under the existing product name (amended 29 October 2025) says a new receipt number is issued, and the applicant writes a request attaching the old receipt and the new J.K.1. Accepted reasons include raw material shortages, changes in foreign cosmetic law, or complaints received. If the reason does not qualify, the old receipt must be cancelled first and the product notified again under the same name.
Your cosmetic label name must match the notification
The notified name then goes on the label. The 2019 Cosmetic Committee notification on cosmetic labels requires the cosmetic name and trade name on the label, and the Cosmetic Act requires products to be made or imported as notified. The name on the box and on sales pages should therefore match the receipt.
Watch the wording around the name too. Even with an accepted name, label text using words from the same groups, such as therapy claims or claims about changing the body, can make the product look like more than a cosmetic. What a label must show, and wording that is not allowed, is covered in Thai cosmetic label requirements, and you can check a draft with the label checker.
Checklist before you name a cosmetic
- Check both the trade name and the cosmetic name, in Thai and English.
- Test every word against the five categories, not only the tables.
- Watch marketing-sounding words: SAFE, HYPOALLERGENIC, COSMECEUTICAL, GMP, white skin.
- Match exemption notes to the category and use you will file.
- Do not rely on a trademark registration to justify a word.
- Check the name before printing packaging, and use one name across the request, label and sales pages.
Ask a first question with the RA Advisor, or have our team review the name, formula and label through registration and notification services.
- ✓Check trade name and cosmetic nameIn both Thai and English
- ✓Test against the five categories, not just the tablesThe tables in the guidance are examples
- ✓Read exemption notes for your product typeFor example, ACNE CONTROL is allowed for rinse-off cleansers
- ✓A trademark is not an exemption
- ✓Use one name in the request, label and sales pages
Source: Thai FDA guidance on prohibited words in cosmetic names (2025) · Cosmetic notification criteria (2021)
Frequently asked questions
If my brand is a registered trademark, can I use it as the cosmetic name?
Not necessarily. The Thai FDA notification criteria state that a registered trademark is not an exemption. If the name contains a prohibited word, notification will not be accepted.
Can I use the Thai words for white skin or white face in a name?
The Thai FDA guidance revised on 22 August 2025 lists the Thai words for whiteness, white skin and white face among words implying effects on body structure or function, so they should not form part of a name.
Can I put GMP in the product name if the factory is certified?
The guidance lists GMP among words misleading about the essential nature of a cosmetic, so it should not be used as or in a name.
Is a word safe if it is not in the tables?
Not necessarily. The tables are examples; a word with the same meaning as one of the five categories may still be judged prohibited.
What if I believe a listed word is not misleading?
File as usual. When the status shows not accepted, write to the Director of the Cosmetics and Hazardous Substances Control Division explaining why, with the request form and supporting documents. Officers decide case by case.
Sources
- Thai FDA guidance on words prohibited as or in cosmetic trade and product names (revised 22 August 2025) · Open source · Search our archive
- MOPH Notification on notification, issue, renewal, amendment and replacement of cosmetic notification receipts (2018) · Open source · Search our archive
- Thai FDA cosmetic notification criteria (revised 2021) · Open source · Search our archive
- Cosmetic Act B.E. 2558 (2015) · Open source · Search our archive
- Thai FDA clarification on notifying a changed formula under the existing product name · Open source · Search our archive
- Cosmetic Committee Notification on cosmetic labels (2019) · Open source · Search our archive
This article is for general information. It is not a Thai FDA ruling or legal advice, and rules change — check the latest notification or ask an expert before filing or producing.
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