Cited skincare — every flag names its source, no upsell.What it does
Benzyl alcohol works both as a fragrance chemical and as a preservative in cosmetics; EU rules allow up to 1% as a preservative. It is on the EU's fragrance-allergen list and an established contact allergen. Because it can be there as a preservative, it can turn up in products labeled fragrance-free.
The EU’s ingredient database lists it as a preservative (holds back germs in the product), a fragrance (adds scent) and a solvent (dissolves other ingredients).European Commission, CosIng (© European Union, CC BY 4.0) · uses put in plain words by Drop ↗
The evidence, graded
moderateFragrance, essential oils, denatured alcohol and certain preservatives (methylisothiazolinone, the formaldehyde-releasers) are the usual suspects on sensitive skin. In the patch-test data read here — patients whose dermatitis was linked to a cleanser — the preservative quaternium-15 topped the list at 11.2% and fragrance mix I came fifth at 7.7%. Test a new product on a small patch of skin before you use it on your face.Warshaw 2018 · Dermatitis ↗ expert consensusBenzyl alcohol and benzyl salicylate are on the EU’s 26-name fragrance label list, and both are known skin allergens. Benzyl alcohol is often in a formula as a preservative rather than for scent, so seeing it does not by itself mean a product is fragranced. It can still reach someone allergic to it in a product labeled fragrance-free. Benzyl salicylate is on the list as a fragrance chemical.SCCS 2012 · European Commission SCCS ↗ Graded per the methodology: strong · moderate · emerging · expert consensus. A weak source on a strong claim gets the weaker label.
Browse all 1238 ingredients — grouped by what they do, each with whatever evidence we can cite.
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