EWG Skin Deep® | What is CITRAL

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED™

Data: Fair

Citral

Products with this ingredient are allowed for use in EWG VERIFIED but must meet use restrictions and warnings based on EWG review of company data.
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 Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (high)

SYNONYMS

2,6-OCTADIENAL, 3,7-DIMETHYL-, 2,6OCTADIENAL, 3,7DIMETHYL, 3,7-DIMETHYL- 2,6-OCTADIENAL, 3,7-DIMETHYL-2,6-OCTADIENAL, and CITRAL

Restricted

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

Citral is a naturally occurring scent ingredient; manufactured synthetically on a large scale; 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

fragrance for women	288 products
moisturizer	151 products
facial moisturizer/treatment	136 products
fragrance for men	124 products
lip balm	91 products
hair treatment/serum	89 products
serums & essences	75 products
conditioner	70 products
lipstick	63 products
hand cream	62 products
shampoo	61 products
hair styling aide	59 products
body spray	54 products
antiperspirant/deodorant	52 products
facial cleanser	50 products
body wash/cleanser	45 products
daily use with SPF	44 products
mask	41 products
exfoliant/scrub	41 products
liquid hand soap	40 products
lip balm with SPF	38 products
body oil	37 products
bar soap	36 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)	35 products
lip gloss	34 products
CC cream	30 products
styling gel/lotion	26 products
hair spray	20 products
sunless tanning	20 products
after shave	17 products
toners/astringents	16 products
body firming lotion	16 products
foundation	15 products
hand sanitizer	15 products
hair color and bleaching	14 products
blush	11 products
around-eye cream	10 products
shaving cream	10 products
bronzer/highlighter	10 products
makeup primer	10 products
foot moisturizer	9 products
styling mousse/foam	9 products
bath oil/salts/soak	8 products
recreational sunscreen	8 products
lip plumper	7 products
bubble bath	6 products
facial powder	6 products
nail treatment	5 products
makeup remover	5 products
after sun product	5 products
beard oil	5 products
beard care	5 products
cuticle treatment	4 products
detangler	3 products
muscle/joint soreness	3 products
	3 products
setting powder/spray	3 products
anti-aging	2 products
depilatory	2 products
hair relaxer	2 products
baby lotion	2 products
skin fading/lightener	2 products
foot odor control	1 products
tanning oil	1 products
shaving cream (men's)	1 products
oil controller	1 products
polish remover	1 products
eye makeup remover	1 products
BB cream	1 products
hair-loss treatment	1 products
concealer	1 products
toothpaste	1 products
body powder	1 products
mascara	1 products
beard cleanser	1 products

Allergies/immunotoxicity

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Known human immune system toxicant or allergen	SCCPNFP Opinion on Fragrance Allergy
Possible human any toxicant or allergen	Open scientific literature
Limited evidence of immune system toxicity or allergies	CPS&Q - Classification & Labelling

Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Classified as irritant	CPS&Q - Classification & Labelling

Use restrictions

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 allergens	CosIng

Data gaps

CONCERN	REFERENCE
740 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical	NLM PubMed

Multiple, additive exposure sources

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in food	FDA Everything Added to Food

Ecotoxicology

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

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmful	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Persistence and bioaccumulation

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Not suspected to be persistent	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List
Not suspected to be bioaccumulative	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

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
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/ .
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.
EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.

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.

Data availability

The Skin Deep data availability rating reflects the number of scientific studies about the product or ingredient in the published scientific literature.

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Low Availability

Moderate Availability

High Availability