Red flag
Evidence key Strong Moderate Weak How we grade
Banned by the fragrance industry itself Labeled fragrance allergen (EU) Scent ingredient Restricted in the EU
- What it can be used for
- Adds scent (the functions the EU ingredient database, CosIng, lists for it; a product may use it for any of them)
- CAS number
- 92-48-8
Why it’s flagged
Prohibited by the fragrance industry's own IFRA standard.
- IFRA standard “6-Methylcoumarin”: prohibited. Source: IFRA Standards Library
IFRA is the fragrance industry's own standards body. Its standards are voluntary; a prohibition means the IFRA standard says not to use the substance in fragrance.
A fragrance allergen the EU requires companies to name on the label.
- Annex III entry 46; on labels from 2026 to 2028 (Regulation 2023/1545). Source: EU Cosmetics Regulation, Annex III (restricted)
Must be named on EU labels above 0.001% in leave-on and 0.01% in rinse-off products. Elsewhere, including the US, it can hide inside “fragrance”.
Used to add scent: its official function is perfuming or fragrance.
- Listed functions: fragrance, perfuming. Source: EU CosIng ingredient database
The EU ingredient database (CosIng) lists this ingredient's function as perfuming or fragrance, so it may be there to add scent, even on a label that never says “fragrance.”
Allowed in EU cosmetics only with limits.
- Annex III entry 46; products: Oral products; max 0.003%; The presence of the substance shall be indicated in the list of ingredients referred to in Article 19(1), point (g), when its concentration exceeds:; — 0,001 %. Source: EU Cosmetics Regulation, Annex III (restricted)
Annex III (restricted substances) or Annex V (preservatives) of the EU Cosmetics Regulation sets maximum amounts, allowed product types or required warnings.
What the research says
We have no graded research on 6-Methyl Coumarin by name yet. About ingredients flagged like this one:
- The fragrance industry's safety system is self-run: by its own 2003 description, companies fund the Research Institute for Fragrance Materials through dues, its expert panel reviews ingredient safety, and conclusions go to the industry's trade body IFRA, which sets voluntary standards for those same companies. No regulator appears in the loop. Strong evidence. Bickers 2003 (RIFM Expert Panel) Industry-funded
Each finding shows its evidence grade. See every graded fact or how we grade.
Don’t want it on you or in your air? Look for “fragrance-free,” not “unscented.” An unscented product can still contain a masking fragrance. Why the words matter.
What this page can’t tell you
These lists describe what a substance can do, its hazard. The risk from one product depends on how much is in it and how you use it, and the label doesn’t say how much.
Not being on a list doesn’t make an ingredient safe. It may never have been assessed.
“Fragrance” or “parfum” on a label can hide this ingredient and many others. In the US, the individual chemicals in a fragrance are rarely named on the label.
Check your products
Check a whole labelProducts that list itEWG Skin DeepShop fragrance-free
“Products that list it” opens Open Beauty Facts, a free database anyone can edit.
Flagged the same way
Official lists checked September 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.