Find products and ingredients Learn how Skin Deep® works Meet our experts Discover EWG VERIFIED®

Data: Fair

Eugenol

  • This ingredient’s score is higher if used in products that are inhalable (e.g., sprays, powders) because of respiratory concerns.
  • Products with the EWG VERIFIED mark have met use restrictions and warnings based on EWG review of company data.

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

SEARCH PRODUCTS

Other Concerns

Use restrictions (moderate) and Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate)

SYNONYMS

● 1-ALLYL-4-HYDROXY-3-METHOXYBENZENE
● 1-HYDROXY-2-METHOXY-4-ALLYLBENZENE
● 2-HYDROXY-5-ALLYLANISOLE
● 2-METHOXY-4-(2-PROPENYL)- PHENOL
● 2-METHOXY-4-(2-PROPENYL)PHENOL
● ALLYLGUAIACOL
● CARYOPHYLLIC ACID
● EUGENIC ACID
● EUGENOL
● PHENOL, 2-METHOXY-4-(2-PROPENYL)-
● PHENOL, 2METHOXY4(2PROPENYL)

Restricted

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


Eugenol is a naturally occuring scent chemical found in clove oil; also manufactured synthetically. Has been 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

Expand content Collapse content
fragrance for women146 products
fragrance for men71 products
facial moisturizer/treatment67 products
moisturizer62 products
hair treatment/serum57 products
shampoo53 products
hair styling aide47 products
conditioner39 products
lip balm37 products
antiperspirant/deodorant29 products
hand cream27 products
lip gloss27 products
hair spray26 products
body spray25 products
styling gel/lotion25 products
body wash/cleanser25 products
bar soap25 products
serums & essences23 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)22 products
foundation20 products
liquid hand soap18 products
body oil16 products
exfoliant/scrub14 products
mask13 products
beard care11 products
styling mousse/foam10 products
facial cleanser10 products
lipstick10 products
after shave8 products
bath oil/salts/soak8 products
toners/astringents7 products
bronzer/highlighter7 products
blush6 products
body firming lotion5 products
lip plumper5 products
beard cleanser5 products
shaving cream4 products
nail treatment4 products
hand sanitizer4 products
setting powder/spray4 products
daily use with SPF4 products
hair color and bleaching3 products
shaving cream (men's)3 products
recreational sunscreen3 products
anti-aging2 products
toothpaste2 products
foot moisturizer2 products
around-eye cream2 products
body powder2 products
cuticle treatment2 products
muscle/joint soreness2 products
detangler1 products
sunless tanning1 products
facial powder1 products
after sun product1 products
lip balm with SPF1 products
depilatory1 products
oil controller1 products
bubble bath1 products
skin fading/lightener1 products
beard oil1 products
1 products
lip liner1 products
brow liner1 products
hair removal waxes1 products
nail glue1 products
body cleansing wipes1 products

Allergies/immunotoxicity

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Known human immune system toxicant or allergenSCCPNFP Opinion on Fragrance Allergy
Human any toxicant or allergen - strong evidenceOpen scientific literature
Limited evidence of any toxicity or allergiesOpen scientific literature
Limited evidence of immune system toxicity or allergiesNational Library of Medicine HazMap

Use restrictions

Expand content Collapse content
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

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Classified as expected to be toxic or harmfulEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Classified as medium human health priorityOpen scientific literature

Persistence and bioaccumulation

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be persistentOpen scientific literature
Not suspected to be bioaccumulativeOpen scientific literature

Data gaps

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
4337 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed

Cancer

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Not likely to be carcinogenic in humansInt'l Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) - Carcinogens
Limited or incomplete evidence of cancer according to safety/hazard data – government assessment cannot classify as human carcinogen due to data gapsOpen scientific literature

Ecotoxicology

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be an environmental toxinOpen scientific literature

Multiple, additive exposure sources

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in foodFDA Everything Added to Food
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in foodFDA Food Additive Status
  • 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.
  • Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
  • NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2006. HazMap — Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Agents.
  • 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.
  • NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2012. PubMed online scientific bibliography data. http://www.pubmed.gov.
  • IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer). 2008. Overall Evaluations of Carcinogenicity to Humans, as evaluated in IARC Monographs Volumes 1-99 (a total of 935 agents, mixtures and exposures).
  • 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.
  • FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) 2006. Food Additive Status List. Downloaded from http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/%7Edms/opa-appa.html, Oct 16, 2006.

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

Can’t find your product?

Enter the ingredients in EWG’s Build Your Own Report tool to get an approximate score for that product.

BUILD YOUR OWN REPORT
Skindeep Healthy Living App

EWG research
on the go

Find personal care, cleaning, and food products on the EWG Healthy Living app.

DOWNLOAD THE APP