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HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED®

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

SEARCH PRODUCTS

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

Expand content Collapse content
fragrance for women180 products
conditioner163 products
shampoo159 products
moisturizer148 products
hair treatment/serum147 products
hair styling aide141 products
lip gloss81 products
lipstick80 products
hair spray65 products
facial moisturizer/treatment54 products
styling gel/lotion52 products
mask48 products
exfoliant/scrub46 products
lip balm46 products
fragrance for men42 products
hair color and bleaching40 products
foundation40 products
lip plumper37 products
hand cream37 products
body wash/cleanser36 products
antiperspirant/deodorant25 products
facial cleanser25 products
serums & essences25 products
body spray24 products
body oil23 products
styling mousse/foam23 products
liquid hand soap23 products
setting powder/spray20 products
detangler18 products
bar soap17 products
bronzer/highlighter17 products
eye shadow16 products
sunless tanning15 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)11 products
bath oil/salts/soak10 products
beard care9 products
daily use with SPF8 products
blush7 products
after shave6 products
cuticle treatment6 products
makeup primer6 products
polish remover6 products
toners/astringents6 products
hand sanitizer6 products
body firming lotion5 products
bubble bath5 products
recreational sunscreen5 products
foot moisturizer4 products
around-eye cream4 products
shaving cream4 products
BB cream4 products
lip balm with SPF3 products
baby lotion3 products
nail treatment3 products
makeup remover3 products
brow liner3 products
3 products
beard cleanser3 products
hair removal waxes3 products
body powder2 products
after sun product2 products
hair relaxer2 products
lip liner2 products
anti-aging1 products
depilatory1 products
concealer1 products
nail polish1 products
baby oil1 products
hair-loss treatment1 products
damaged skin treatment1 products
tanning oil1 products
beard oil1 products
baby sunscreen1 products
glitter1 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

Endocrine disruption

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Associated with endocrine disruptionOpen scientific literature

Ecotoxicology

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Wildlife and environmental toxicityCPS&Q - Classification & Labelling
Not suspected to be an environmental toxinEnvironment 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

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)

Expand content Collapse content
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

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

Informational

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - anyCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
  • 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.
  • NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2012. PubMed online scientific bibliography data. http://www.pubmed.gov.
  • 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.

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
WEIGHT-OF-EVIDENCE APPROACH

A product’s hazard score is not an average of the ingredients’ hazard scores. It is calculated using a weight-of-evidence approach that factors in all of the hazards or health impacts associated with the ingredients.

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
NONE

Ingredients have not been assessed.

LIMITED-FAIR

There is only a modest volume of research.

GOOD-ROBUST

Ingredients have been studied extensively.

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

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September 23, 2023 | Los Angeles, CA

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