Cited skincare — every flag names its source, no upsell.
Ph

Phenoxyethanol

Phenoxyethanol

The most common preservative in skincare. It keeps water-based products from growing bacteria and mold.

What it does

It stops bacteria and mold growing in products that contain water. When parabens fell out of favor with brands, it became the default preservative across much of the industry. It works in small amounts and across a wide pH range. There are occasional skin-allergy reports, though far fewer than for fragrance.

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

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 ↗

Graded per the methodology: strong · moderate · emerging · expert consensus. A weak source on a strong claim gets the weaker label.

Pairs worth knowing

Ethylhexylglycerin · works together ↗Caprylyl Glycol · works together ↗

Browse all 1238 ingredients — grouped by what they do, each with whatever evidence we can cite.

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