Me
Methyl Salicylate
Methyl Salicylate
A scent ingredient that EU law caps, and labels must name because it has caused allergies.
What it does
It’s there for scent, and wintergreen and sweet birch oils are rich in it. A review of essential oils says it, and oils rich in it, should be avoided in pregnancy and while breastfeeding.
The EU’s ingredient database lists it as a fragrance (adds scent).European Commission, CosIng (© European Union, CC BY 4.0) · uses put in plain words by Drop ↗
The evidence, graded
expert consensusSeveral essential-oil constituents have documented reproductive toxicity and should be avoided in pregnancy — trans-sabinyl acetate, thujone, camphor, pulegone and methyl salicylate. The review behind this flag names the oils rich in them: juniper savin, thuja, Dalmatian sage, Spanish lavender, sweet fennel, wintergreen, sweet birch and pennyroyal, plus hyssop on a separate constituent. Clary sage and rosemary are not in that review. Read INCI lists; essential oils often hide under fragrance.Dosoky 2021 · International Journal of Molecular Sciences ↗
expert consensusIn 2023 the EU added more fragrance ingredients to the ones a label must name. Among them are lavender, rose, ylang-ylang, clove and sandalwood oils, terpineol and methyl salicylate. The EU says its scientific committee found these have clearly caused allergies in people. Labels name them so people who are already allergic can avoid them.EU 2023 · Official Journal of the European Union ↗
expert consensusEU Regulation 1223/2009, Annex III entry 324, caps methyl salicylate at 0.06% in most leave-on and rinse-off skin and hair products, with lower caps in face makeup (0.05%), lip products (0.03%), sprays (0.003% to 0.04%) and eye makeup and makeup remover (0.002%). It is not to be used in products for children under 6, except toothpaste. Its presence must be named in the ingredient list above 0.001% in leave-on products and 0.01% in rinse-off products.EU 2026 · Official Journal of the European Union (consolidated version, EUR-Lex) ↗
Graded per the methodology: strong · moderate · emerging · expert consensus. A weak source on a strong claim gets the weaker label.
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