Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.
EWG Home EWG’s Guide to Healthy Cleaning EWG’s Food Scores Healthy Living App Open menu

EWG's Skin Deep®
Find products and ingredients Learn how Skin Deep® works Meet our experts Discover EWG VERIFIED®
GET UPDATES DONATE
Score legend
HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED®

Data: None

Menthyl Lactate

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

SEARCH PRODUCTS

Other Concerns

SYNONYMS

● 2-HYDROXY- 5-METHYL-2-(1-METHYLETHYL)CYCLOHEXYL ESTER PROPANOIC ACID
● 2-HYDROXYPROPANOIC ACID, 5-METHYL-2-(1-METHYLETHYL)CYCLOHEXYL ESTER
● 5-METHYL-2-(1-METHYLETHYL)CYCLOHEXYL ESTER 2-HYDROXYPROPANOIC ACID
● 5-METHYL-2-(1-METHYLETHYL)CYCLOHEXYL ESTER PROPANOIC ACID, 2-HYDROXY-
● L-MENTHYL LACTATE
● LACTIC ACID, P-MENTH-3-YL ESTER
● MENTHYL LACTATE
● P-MENTH-3-YL ESTER LACTIC ACID
● PROPANOIC ACID, 2HYDROXY, 5METHYL2(1METHYLETHYL)CYCLOHEXYL ESTER, [1R[1à(R*),2 ,5à]]
● [1R-[1ALPHA(R*),2BETA,5ALPHA]]-5-METHYL-2-(1-METHYLETHYL)CYCLOHEXYL LACTATE

This ingredient is not currently on EWG's Skin Deep Restricted or Unacceptable Lists.

Menthyl Lactate is an ester of menthol and lactic acid.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

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

Ingredient concerns

  • CONCERNS
  • DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

Expand content Collapse content
facial cleanser20 products
exfoliant/scrub18 products
lip gloss17 products
recreational sunscreen15 products
mask14 products
serums & essences11 products
shampoo10 products
lip balm10 products
lip plumper8 products
facial moisturizer/treatment8 products
moisturizer7 products
conditioner6 products
toners/astringents5 products
shaving cream (men's)5 products
shaving cream4 products
body wash/cleanser4 products
blush4 products
lipstick4 products
after shave4 products
around-eye cream3 products
body powder3 products
muscle/joint soreness3 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)3 products
hair treatment/serum3 products
daily use with SPF3 products
antiperspirant/deodorant2 products
detangler2 products
beard oil2 products
beard care2 products
after sun product2 products
makeup primer1 products
body firming lotion1 products
bar soap1 products
foot cleansing1 products
liquid hand soap1 products
makeup remover1 products
body spray1 products
beard cleanser1 products
hair-loss treatment1 products
hand cream1 products
body oil1 products
damaged skin treatment1 products

Ecotoxicology

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be an environmental toxinEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmfulEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Persistence and bioaccumulation

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be persistentEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Not suspected to be bioaccumulativeEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Data gaps

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
0 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed

Multiple, additive exposure sources

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in foodFDA Everything Added to Food
  • 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.

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.

BUILD YOUR OWN REPORT

News & updates

Big Market for Black Cosmetics, but Less-Hazardous Choices Limited
RESEARCH
Big Market for Black Cosmetics, but Less-Hazardous Choices Limited
K-Beauty Trends: Serums, Essences and EWG’s Best Bets
RESEARCH
K-Beauty Trends: Serums, Essences and EWG’s Best Bets
FDA Asks Women To Protect Themselves From Products The Agency Refused To Ban
NEWS RELEASE
FDA Asks Women To Protect Themselves From Products The Agency Refused To Ban
Study Highlights Importance of Cosmetics Ingredient Safety Tests
NEWS RELEASE
Study Highlights Importance of Cosmetics Ingredient Safety Tests
READ ALL ARTICLES
Skindeep Healthy Living App

Discover a curated selection of healthier beauty and personal care products. Donate today to get your EWG VERIFIED® holiday gift set!

GET IT NOW