Me
Methyl Benzoate
Methyl Benzoate
A sweet-smelling oil used for scent and as a solvent.
What it does
It’s a colorless oil made from benzoic acid and methanol. Products also use it to soften skin.
The EU’s ingredient database lists it as a preservative (holds back germs in the product), a fragrance (adds scent) and an emollient (gives skin a soft, smooth look).European Commission, CosIng (© European Union, CC BY 4.0) · uses put in plain words by Drop ↗
The evidence, graded
expert consensusEU Regulation 1223/2009, Annex V entry 1a, lists the salts and esters of benzoic acid, methyl benzoate among them, with a maximum of 0.5% (acid) in the ready-for-use preparation. No Annex III entry names methyl benzoate, so under Article 14(1)(d)(ii) that cap holds whatever its job in the product.EU 2026 · Official Journal of the European Union (consolidated version, EUR-Lex) ↗
expert consensusUS safety reviewers (2012) assessed alkyl benzoates, which products use for scent, to soften or condition skin, to preserve, to dissolve other ingredients or to keep films flexible. Methyl benzoate is a fragrant, colorless oil. In people it didn’t irritate at 4% or cause allergy in a test at 4%, and a perfume with 0.028% caused no irritation or allergy in 110 people. The reviewers found these esters don’t damage DNA in tests and don’t cause skin allergy, and judged them safe as used.Becker 2012 · International Journal of Toxicology ↗
Graded per the methodology: strong · moderate · emerging · expert consensus. A weak source on a strong claim gets the weaker label.
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