EWG Skin Deep® | What is CITRONELLOL

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED™

Data: Fair

Citronellol

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)

SYNONYMS

3,7-DIMETHYL- 6-OCTEN-1-OL, 3,7-DIMETHYL-6-OCTEN-1-OL, 3,7-DIMETHYL-6-OCTEN-1-OL; 3,7-DIMETHYL-6-OCTEN-1-OL, 6-OCTEN-1-OL, 3,7-DIMETHYL-, CITRONELLOL, DL-CITRONELLOL, and L-CITRONELLOL

Restricted

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

Citronellol is a naturally ocurring scent ingredient derived from plants such as rose, geranium and lemongrass.

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	301 products
facial moisturizer/treatment	195 products
moisturizer	181 products
hair treatment/serum	180 products
conditioner	171 products
shampoo	157 products
fragrance for men	119 products
hair styling aide	109 products
body wash/cleanser	91 products
foundation	85 products
hand cream	77 products
antiperspirant/deodorant	76 products
body spray	75 products
serums & essences	74 products
mask	71 products
styling gel/lotion	64 products
lip balm	52 products
hair spray	49 products
facial cleanser	49 products
exfoliant/scrub	47 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)	41 products
liquid hand soap	40 products
bar soap	39 products
lipstick	38 products
toners/astringents	37 products
body oil	34 products
daily use with SPF	33 products
sunless tanning	28 products
hair color and bleaching	25 products
bath oil/salts/soak	24 products
lip balm with SPF	23 products
body firming lotion	22 products
after shave	20 products
anti-aging	18 products
makeup primer	18 products
lip gloss	15 products
styling mousse/foam	13 products
around-eye cream	13 products
blush	13 products
hand sanitizer	13 products
concealer	11 products
makeup remover	10 products
setting powder/spray	9 products
nail treatment	8 products
detangler	7 products
skin fading/lightener	7 products
	7 products
bronzer/highlighter	6 products
BB cream	6 products
shaving cream	5 products
recreational sunscreen	5 products
CC cream	5 products
beard oil	5 products
nail polish	4 products
facial powder	4 products
bubble bath	4 products
shaving cream (men's)	3 products
foot moisturizer	3 products
cuticle treatment	3 products
depilatory	3 products
lip plumper	3 products
baby lotion	3 products
eye shadow	3 products
baby soap	2 products
body powder	2 products
after sun product	2 products
mascara	2 products
hair-loss treatment	2 products
beard care	2 products
foot odor control	1 products
glitter	1 products
oil controller	1 products
muscle/joint soreness	1 products
eye liner	1 products
baby bubble bath	1 products
tanning oil	1 products
depilatory (men's)	1 products
brow liner	1 products
beard cleanser	1 products

Allergies/immunotoxicity

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Known human any toxicant or allergen	Open scientific literature
Possible human immune system toxicant or allergen	SCCPNFP Opinion on Fragrance Allergy
Human any toxicant or allergen - strong evidence	Open scientific literature
Limited evidence of any toxicity or allergies	Open scientific literature

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

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

Data gaps

CONCERN	REFERENCE
412 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

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.
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.

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