EWG Skin Deep® | What is PHENETHYL ALCOHOL

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED®

Data: Fair

Phenethyl Alcohol

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Use restrictions (low)

SYNONYMS

● (2-HYDROXYETHYL)BENZENE

● 2-PHENYLETHANOL

● BENZENEETHANOL

● BENZYL CARBINOL

● BETA-PHENYLETHANOL

● PHENETHYL ALCOHOL

● PHENYL ETHYL ALCOHOL

Restricted

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

Phenethyl Alcohol is an aromatic alcohol.

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

foundation	119 products
facial moisturizer/treatment	57 products
concealer	55 products
serums & essences	51 products
facial cleanser	36 products
mask	36 products
moisturizer	34 products
shampoo	33 products
around-eye cream	32 products
eye shadow	32 products
brow liner	30 products
conditioner	29 products
recreational sunscreen	26 products
mascara	25 products
daily use with SPF	24 products
bronzer/highlighter	19 products
exfoliant/scrub	19 products
hair treatment/serum	17 products
body wash/cleanser	14 products
lipstick	12 products
styling gel/lotion	10 products
hand cream	10 products
CC cream	8 products
toners/astringents	8 products
baby sunscreen	8 products
antiperspirant/deodorant	6 products
hair styling aide	6 products
BB cream	6 products
fragrance for women	6 products
makeup primer	6 products
fragrance for men	6 products
setting powder/spray	5 products
bar soap	5 products
liquid hand soap	4 products
baby lotion	3 products
baby soap	3 products
lip balm	3 products
	3 products
baby shampoo	3 products
makeup remover	3 products
eye makeup remover	2 products
baby wipes	2 products
body oil	2 products
after sun product	2 products
anti-aging	2 products
hair spray	2 products
facial powder	2 products
eye liner	2 products
body firming lotion	2 products
pore strips	1 products
body spray	1 products
beard oil	1 products
blush	1 products
muscle/joint soreness	1 products
bath oil/salts/soak	1 products
baby bubble bath	1 products
detangler	1 products

Use restrictions

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - Safe for use in cosmetics with some qualifications	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Informational

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - Determined safe for use in cosmetics up to a specified concentration limit	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Data gaps

CONCERN	REFERENCE
11456 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

CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review). 2006. CIR Compendium, containing abstracts, discussions, and conclusions of CIR cosmetic ingredient safety assessments. Washington DC.
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.

NONE LIMITED FAIR GOOD ROBUST

Low Availability

Moderate Availability

High Availability