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HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED™

Data: Limited

Hydroxycitronellal

  • 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 (high)

SYNONYMS

● 1,7OCTANEDIOL, 3,7DIMETHYL
● 3,7-DIMETHYLOCTANE-1,7-DIOL
● 7-HYDROXY-3,7-DIMETHYL- OCTANOL
● 7-HYDROXY-3,7-DIMETHYLOCTANOL
● 7-HYDROXYCITRONELLAL
● HYDROXYCITRONELLAL
● OCTANAL, 7HYDROXY3,7DIMETHYL
● OCTANOL, 7-HYDROXY-3,7-DIMETHYL-

Restricted

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

Hydroxycitronellal is a common scent ingredient; produced synthetically from naturally occurring scent chemical citronellal.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

  • LOW
    Cancer
  • HIGH
    Allergies & Immunotoxicity
  • LOW
    Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity
  • HIGH
    Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

  • CONCERNS
  • DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

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fragrance for women211 products
shampoo114 products
hair treatment/serum101 products
moisturizer89 products
conditioner86 products
lipstick80 products
hair styling aide61 products
foundation58 products
hair spray47 products
styling gel/lotion46 products
concealer43 products
fragrance for men42 products
facial moisturizer/treatment40 products
body wash/cleanser39 products
body spray34 products
hand cream31 products
lip gloss25 products
antiperspirant/deodorant25 products
mask20 products
styling mousse/foam19 products
setting powder/spray16 products
eye shadow15 products
sunless tanning14 products
body firming lotion14 products
anti-aging10 products
liquid hand soap10 products
lip balm10 products
body oil9 products
exfoliant/scrub9 products
bath oil/salts/soak9 products
serums & essences9 products
shaving cream8 products
bronzer/highlighter8 products
facial cleanser8 products
hand sanitizer7 products
daily use with SPF7 products
lip plumper7 products
beard care7 products
makeup primer6 products
detangler6 products
bar soap5 products
after shave5 products
skin fading/lightener5 products
toners/astringents4 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)3 products
around-eye cream3 products
lip balm with SPF3 products
lip liner3 products
beard cleanser3 products
hair color and bleaching2 products
body powder2 products
polish remover2 products
after sun product1 products
toothpaste1 products
shaving cream (men's)1 products
nail treatment1 products
recreational sunscreen1 products
baby lotion1 products
1 products
baby soap1 products
beard oil1 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 (recommendations or requirements) - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - anyCosIng

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

Ecotoxicology

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Not 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

Data gaps

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CONCERN REFERENCE
59 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/ .
  • 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.

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?

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