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HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED™

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), Endocrine disruption (low), and Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (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-
● SALICYLIC ACID, BENZYL ESTER

Restricted

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

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 Reproductive Toxicity
  • MODERATE
    Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

  • CONCERNS
  • DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

Expand content Collapse content
shampoo276 products
conditioner220 products
hair treatment/serum210 products
fragrance for women193 products
foundation186 products
moisturizer153 products
hair styling aide129 products
body wash/cleanser99 products
facial moisturizer/treatment87 products
concealer80 products
styling gel/lotion60 products
lipstick59 products
hand cream56 products
mask53 products
body spray52 products
hair spray49 products
antiperspirant/deodorant49 products
exfoliant/scrub48 products
fragrance for men46 products
liquid hand soap45 products
serums & essences45 products
lip gloss30 products
hair color and bleaching29 products
bar soap29 products
facial cleanser29 products
body oil28 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)25 products
bath oil/salts/soak25 products
styling mousse/foam20 products
sunless tanning20 products
setting powder/spray18 products
body firming lotion17 products
daily use with SPF17 products
eye shadow15 products
lip balm14 products
detangler11 products
blush10 products
toners/astringents9 products
hand sanitizer9 products
beard care9 products
shaving cream8 products
around-eye cream8 products
anti-aging7 products
makeup primer7 products
foot moisturizer7 products
bronzer/highlighter7 products
lip plumper7 products
after shave6 products
nail treatment5 products
polish remover5 products
facial powder4 products
4 products
beard cleanser4 products
cuticle treatment3 products
depilatory3 products
after sun product3 products
bubble bath3 products
lip liner3 products
beard oil3 products
baby lotion2 products
glitter2 products
recreational sunscreen2 products
BB cream2 products
diaper cream1 products
body powder1 products
hair relaxer1 products
tanning oil1 products
nail polish1 products
hair-loss treatment1 products
damaged skin treatment1 products
muscle/joint soreness1 products
hair removal waxes1 products
foot odor control1 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
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - anyOpen scientific literature
Restricted in cosmetics - labeling requirement for allergensCosIng

Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
any irritation - weight of evidence unknown/unassessedOpen scientific literature

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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