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Data: Fair

Benzyl Benzoate

  • Products with the EWG VERIFIED mark have met use restrictions and warnings based on EWG review of company data.

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Use restrictions (moderate), Endocrine disruption (low), Ecotoxicology (low), and Occupational hazards (high)

SYNONYMS

● BENYLATE
● BENZOIC ACID, BENZYL ESTER
● BENZOIC ACID, PHENYLMETHYL ESTER
● BENZYL BENZOATE
● BENZYL ESTER BENZOIC ACID
● PHENYLMETHYL BENZOATE
● PHENYLMETHYL ESTER BENZOIC ACID

Restricted

Restricted: EWG VERIFIED products cannot contain this ingredient without adequate substantiation


Benzyl benzoate is used as solvent and preservative; associated with allergies and contact dermatitis.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

  • LOW
    Cancer
  • HIGH
    Allergies & Immunotoxicity
  • LOW
    Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity
  • MODERATE
    Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

  • CONCERNS
  • DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

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fragrance for women199 products
shampoo179 products
conditioner174 products
hair treatment/serum164 products
moisturizer152 products
hair styling aide141 products
lip gloss87 products
lipstick87 products
hair spray68 products
styling gel/lotion59 products
facial moisturizer/treatment59 products
fragrance for men53 products
mask48 products
lip balm46 products
hair color and bleaching42 products
exfoliant/scrub42 products
body wash/cleanser36 products
lip plumper35 products
hand cream34 products
foundation31 products
body spray30 products
body oil29 products
liquid hand soap29 products
styling mousse/foam27 products
antiperspirant/deodorant26 products
serums & essences23 products
facial cleanser22 products
setting powder/spray20 products
detangler18 products
bar soap17 products
sunless tanning15 products
eye shadow15 products
bronzer/highlighter14 products
bath oil/salts/soak13 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)11 products
blush9 products
beard care9 products
body firming lotion8 products
daily use with SPF8 products
polish remover7 products
toners/astringents7 products
hand sanitizer6 products
after shave5 products
cuticle treatment5 products
makeup primer5 products
recreational sunscreen5 products
lip balm with SPF4 products
around-eye cream4 products
shaving cream4 products
4 products
nail treatment3 products
body powder3 products
bubble bath3 products
BB cream3 products
brow liner3 products
beard cleanser3 products
hair removal waxes3 products
baby lotion2 products
foot moisturizer2 products
after sun product2 products
makeup remover2 products
lip liner2 products
anti-aging1 products
diaper cream1 products
depilatory1 products
baby shampoo1 products
hair-loss treatment1 products
damaged skin treatment1 products
tanning oil1 products
beard oil1 products
baby sunscreen1 products
glitter1 products
mascara1 products
body cleansing wipes1 products

Allergies/immunotoxicity

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Known human any toxicant or allergenOpen scientific literature
Possible human immune system toxicant or allergenSCCPNFP Opinion on Fragrance Allergy

Occupational hazards

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Allowed workplace exposures restricted to low dosesCPS&Q - Classification & Labelling

Use restrictions

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Recommended restricted in cosmetics - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - Fragrance subject to restrictions: safe only within recommended use or concentration limitsn)International Fragrance Association Codes & Standards
Restricted in cosmetics - labeling requirement for allergensCosIng

Ecotoxicology

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Wildlife and environmental toxicityCPS&Q - Classification & Labelling
Not suspected to be an environmental toxinEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Endocrine disruption

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Associated with endocrine disruptionOpen scientific literature

Multiple, additive exposure sources

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in foodFDA Everything Added to Food

Informational

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - anyCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmfulEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Classified as a low human health priorityEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Persistence and bioaccumulation

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be persistentEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Not suspected to be bioaccumulativeEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Data gaps

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CONCERN REFERENCE
467 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed
  • Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
  • SCCPNFP (Scientific Committee On Cosmetic Products And Non-Food Products). 1999. Opinion Concerning Fragrance Allergy In Consumers. . SCCNFP/0017/98 Final, December 1999; and SCCPNFP (Scientific Committee On Cosmetic Products And Non-Food Products). 2000. An Initial List Of Perfumery Materials Which Must Not Form Part Of Fragrances Compounds Used In Cosmetic Products. SCCNFP/0320/00, final May 2000.
  • CPS&Q (Consumer Products Safety & Quality) formely known as ECB (European Chemicals Bureau). 2008. Classification and Labelling: Chemicals: Annex VI of Directive 67/548/EEC through the 31st ATP.
  • IFRA (International Fragrance Association). 2006. Codes and Standards.
  • European Commission. 2013. Cosing, the European Commission database with information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. Accessed on March 1, 2013 at http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/cosmetics/cosing/ .
  • EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
  • FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration). 2008. EAFUS [Everything Added to Food]: A Food Additive Database. FDA Office of Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
  • CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review). 2006. CIR Compendium, containing abstracts, discussions, and conclusions of CIR cosmetic ingredient safety assessments. Washington DC.
  • NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2012. PubMed online scientific bibliography data. http://www.pubmed.gov.

Understanding scores

Cosmetics and personal care products are not required to be tested for safety before being allowed on the market. The Skin Deep® scoring system was designed to help the public understand whether a product is safe to use or whether it contains ingredients of concern.

Every product and ingredient in Skin Deep gets a two-part score – one for hazard and one for data availability. The safest products score well by both measures, with a low hazard rating and a fair or better data availability rating.

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES

Hazard score

The Skin Deep ingredient hazard score, from 1 to 10, reflects known and suspected hazards linked to the ingredients. The EWG VERIFIED® mark means a product meets EWG’s strictest criteria for transparency and health.

Score legend

Data availability

The Skin Deep data availability rating reflects the number of scientific studies about the product or ingredient in the published scientific literature.

NONE LIMITED FAIR GOOD ROBUST
Low Availability
Moderate Availability
High Availability

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