EWG Skin Deep® | What is FARNESOL

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED®

Data: Fair

Farnesol

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

● 2,6,10-DODECATRIEN-1-OL, 3,7,11-TRIMETHYL-

● 2,6,10DODECATRIEN1OL, 3,7,11TRIMETHYL

● 3,7,11-TRIMETHYL- 2,6,10-DODECATRIEN-1-OL

● FARNESOL

● TRIMETHYL DODECATRIENOL

Restricted

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

Farnesol is a flavor and perfume ingredient found in nature and also manufactured synthetically; 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	99 products
facial moisturizer/treatment	51 products
fragrance for men	44 products
moisturizer	35 products
serums & essences	25 products
foundation	21 products
hair treatment/serum	13 products
facial cleanser	11 products
antiperspirant/deodorant	10 products
mask	9 products
lip balm	9 products
body oil	8 products
mascara	7 products
around-eye cream	7 products
hand cream	6 products
conditioner	6 products
exfoliant/scrub	5 products
makeup primer	4 products
body spray	4 products
after shave	4 products
bar soap	4 products
hair styling aide	4 products
daily use with SPF	4 products
body wash/cleanser	3 products
hair spray	3 products
sunless tanning	3 products
shaving cream (men's)	3 products
liquid hand soap	2 products
bubble bath	2 products
	2 products
shampoo	2 products
lipstick	2 products
lip plumper	2 products
toners/astringents	2 products
baby lotion	1 products
body firming lotion	1 products
muscle/joint soreness	1 products
recreational sunscreen	1 products
hair removal waxes	1 products
beard oil	1 products
hand sanitizer	1 products
CC cream	1 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)	1 products
toothpaste	1 products
bath oil/salts/soak	1 products
styling gel/lotion	1 products
anti-aging	1 products
after sun product	1 products
makeup remover	1 products
concealer	1 products

Allergies/immunotoxicity

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

Multiple, additive exposure sources

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

Informational

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - any	Open scientific literature

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
1196 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical	NLM PubMed

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/ .
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.
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.

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