Oc
o-Cymen-5-ol
o-Cymen-5-ol
A germ-fighting ingredient used to preserve products and in deodorants.
What it does
It’s a small phenol with the same atoms as thymol, the compound found in thyme, arranged a little differently.
The EU’s ingredient database lists it as a preservative (holds back germs in the product).European Commission, CosIng (© European Union, CC BY 4.0) · uses put in plain words by Drop ↗
The evidence, graded
expert consensusUS safety reviewers (2006) judged o-cymen-5-ol, with related cresols and thymol, safe at up to 0.5% in cosmetics. They set that cap to rule out chemical leukoderma, a loss of skin color. It caused no skin irritation at or above the amounts used, and the group was not a significant cause of allergy or light-triggered allergy. Some of these ingredients may help others pass into skin. Its highest reported use was 0.5% in perfumes.Andersen 2006 · International Journal of Toxicology ↗
Graded per the methodology: strong · moderate · emerging · expert consensus. A weak source on a strong claim gets the weaker label.
Also known as
4-isopropyl-m-cresol, isopropyl methylphenol
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