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Data: Limited

Hydroxycitronellal

  • 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 (high)

SYNONYMS

● 1,7OCTANEDIOL, 3,7DIMETHYL
● 3,7-DIMETHYLOCTANE-1,7-DIOL
● 7-HYDROXY-3,7-DIMETHYL- OCTANOL
● 7-HYDROXY-3,7-DIMETHYLOCTANOL
● 7-HYDROXYCITRONELLAL
● HYDROXYCITRONELLAL
● OCTANAL, 7HYDROXY3,7DIMETHYL
● OCTANOL, 7-HYDROXY-3,7-DIMETHYL-

Restricted

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


Hydroxycitronellal is a common scent ingredient; produced synthetically from naturally occurring scent chemical citronellal.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

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

Ingredient concerns

  • CONCERNS
  • DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

Expand content Collapse content
fragrance for women222 products
hair treatment/serum131 products
shampoo123 products
moisturizer120 products
conditioner118 products
hair styling aide111 products
lipstick80 products
styling gel/lotion73 products
hair spray64 products
concealer46 products
fragrance for men45 products
body spray42 products
foundation42 products
facial moisturizer/treatment41 products
body wash/cleanser39 products
hand cream36 products
lip gloss32 products
antiperspirant/deodorant31 products
mask28 products
styling mousse/foam26 products
exfoliant/scrub22 products
setting powder/spray17 products
sunless tanning16 products
eye shadow15 products
body firming lotion13 products
liquid hand soap11 products
serums & essences11 products
bath oil/salts/soak10 products
body oil9 products
shaving cream9 products
detangler9 products
lip plumper9 products
bronzer/highlighter8 products
bar soap7 products
facial cleanser7 products
beard care7 products
daily use with SPF6 products
toners/astringents5 products
lip balm5 products
hair color and bleaching4 products
after shave4 products
body powder4 products
hand sanitizer4 products
recreational sunscreen4 products
makeup primer3 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)3 products
around-eye cream3 products
skin fading/lightener3 products
beard cleanser3 products
lip balm with SPF2 products
baby oil2 products
anti-aging1 products
polish remover1 products
shaving cream (men's)1 products
blush1 products
oil controller1 products
nail treatment1 products
baby shampoo1 products
baby lotion1 products
1 products
tanning oil1 products
baby soap1 products
beard oil1 products
baby powder1 products
nail glue1 products
body cleansing wipes1 products

Allergies/immunotoxicity

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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

Use restrictions

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Restricted in cosmetics (recommendations or requirements) - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - anyCosIng
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

Ecotoxicology

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be an environmental toxinEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

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

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

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
59 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed
  • 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
  • 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/ .
  • IFRA (International Fragrance Association). 2006. Codes and Standards.
  • 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.
  • 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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