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Data: Limited

Benzyl Salicylate

  • †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) and Endocrine disruption (low)

SYNONYMS

2-HYDROXY- PHENYLMETHYL ESTER BENZOIC ACID, 2-HYDROXYBENZOIC ACID, BENZYL ESTER, BENZOIC ACID, 2-HYDROXY-, PHENYLMETHYL ESTER, BENZOIC ACID, 2HYDROXY, PHENYLMETHYL ESTER, BENZYL 2-HYDROXYBENZOATE, BENZYL ESTER 2-HYDROXYBENZOIC ACID, BENZYL ESTER SALICYLIC ACID, BENZYL O-HYDROXYBENZOATE, BENZYL SALICYLATE, PHENYLMETHYL 2-HYDROXYBENZOATE, PHENYLMETHYL ESTER BENZOIC ACID, 2-HYDROXY-, and SALICYLIC ACID, BENZYL ESTER

Benzyl Salicylate is an ester of benzyl alcohol and salicylic acid; this ingredient 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 Reingredientive Toxicity
  • MODERATE
    Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

  • CONCERNS
  • DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

Expand content Collapse content
shampoo217 products
hair treatment/serum184 products
conditioner178 products
fragrance for women164 products
moisturizer124 products
foundation115 products
body wash/cleanser85 products
hair styling aide76 products
facial moisturizer/treatment75 products
lipstick74 products
body spray54 products
concealer53 products
fragrance for men51 products
liquid hand soap51 products
mask46 products
hand cream44 products
styling gel/lotion43 products
serums & essences42 products
exfoliant/scrub41 products
antiperspirant/deodorant39 products
hair color and bleaching36 products
hair spray33 products
daily use with SPF29 products
bar soap27 products
facial cleanser27 products
bath oil/salts/soak24 products
body oil23 products
lip gloss20 products
body firming lotion18 products
sunless tanning17 products
lip balm17 products
setting powder/spray15 products
styling mousse/foam11 products
detangler11 products
toners/astringents10 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)9 products
blush9 products
hand sanitizer9 products
eye shadow9 products
shaving cream8 products
makeup primer8 products
anti-aging7 products
lip plumper7 products
around-eye cream5 products
foot moisturizer5 products
bubble bath5 products
lip liner5 products
bronzer/highlighter5 products
after shave4 products
4 products
cuticle treatment3 products
facial powder3 products
nail treatment3 products
BB cream3 products
hair-loss treatment3 products
beard care3 products
depilatory2 products
baby lotion2 products
glitter2 products
after sun product2 products
recreational sunscreen2 products
damaged skin treatment2 products
beard oil2 products
makeup remover1 products
diaper cream1 products
nail polish1 products
polish remover1 products
muscle/joint soreness1 products
foot odor control1 products
beard cleanser1 products
lip balm with SPF1 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
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

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Associated with endocrine disruptionOpen scientific literature

Ecotoxicology

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Suspected to be an environmental toxinEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

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

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

Data gaps

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CONCERN REFERENCE
49 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
  • 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.
  • 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
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.

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