Worth a closer look
Evidence key Strong Moderate Weak How we grade
Labeled fragrance allergen (EU) Skin allergen Limited by IFRA
- What it can be used for
- Adds scent, dissolves other ingredients, preserves the product and thickens or thins (the functions the EU ingredient database, CosIng, lists for it; a product may use it for any of them)
- CAS number
- 100-51-6
Why it’s flagged
A fragrance allergen the EU requires companies to name on the label.
- Annex III entry 45. 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”.
Classified as a skin sensitizer (may cause an allergic skin reaction).
- Skin Sens. 1B (H317). Source: EU CLP Regulation, Annex VI harmonized classification
EU hazard statement H317: may cause an allergic skin reaction.
Use limited by the fragrance industry's own IFRA standard.
- IFRA standard “Benzyl alcohol”: use limited. Source: IFRA Standards Library
IFRA, the fragrance industry's own standards body, sets maximum amounts for this material in different kinds of products.
What the research says
- In 1997 the cosmetics industry's own safety panel (CIR) formally asked for inhalation-toxicity data on benzyl alcohol, benzoic acid and sodium benzoate, received none, and still published a 2001 "safe" conclusion that explicitly excludes any product where inhalation is a route of exposure (colognes, hairsprays, deodorants, aerosol fixatives). Strong evidence. Nair 2001 (CIR Expert Panel) Industry-funded
- About half of children's cosmetics in a Danish registry (634 of 1,179, 53.8%) listed perfume or a named fragrance allergen, and a US survey of 533 baby/child personal care products found a closely similar share (255/533, 47.8%; Bonchak 2018); in Danish baby-care products the commonest named allergens were linalool, limonene and benzyl alcohol (the US primary does not report limonene or linalool by name). Strong evidence. Sukakul 2024 Industry-funded
- Fragrance allergens turn up in "fragrance-free" moisturizers and personal-care products across at least four independent surveys: Scheinman named ten US "fragrance-free" products with fragrance ingredients in 1999 (benzyl alcohol in 5 of 10), dermatologists named nine more major-brand examples containing benzyl alcohol in 2007 (including a baby lotion) — two of Scheinman's own named products (Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream, Moisturel Therapeutic Lotion) reappear on this list — a 2016 survey of best-selling US body moisturizers found 18 of 40 labeled "fragrance free" (45%) listed at least one ingredient dermatologists flag for fragrance-allergic patients, and a 2015 survey of 187 US pediatric personal-care products found that of the 52 labeled "fragrance free," 42 (80.8%) contained at least one contact allergen from the standard NACDG screening tray (55.8% had >=2). Strong evidence. Jacob & Barron 2007
- When moisturizer goes on the face, the wearer breathes a short burst of its vapors (alcohol, fragrance terpenes, benzyl alcohol) that room-air monitoring does not capture; at a mannequin's nose, alcohols and terpenes took about 30 minutes to fade and some solvents up to 2.5 hours. Moderate evidence. Yeoman 2022
- In the US, "fragrance-free" means that no ingredient is used solely to give a smell. A fragrance chemical that also does another job, such as benzyl alcohol used as a preservative, can legally be in a "fragrance-free" product. Moderate evidence. Jacob & Barron 2007
- Benzyl alcohol, a fragrance allergen dubbed the "covert fragrance," was found in 32 of 533 US baby and children's personal care products (6%) with no "fragrance," "perfume," or "parfum" wording anywhere on the label. Moderate evidence. Bonchak 2018
- A 1991 US EPA survey of 31 fragrance products already found limonene, linalool, alpha-pinene, benzyl acetate, benzyl alcohol, camphor and acetone among the most common chemicals, the same compounds found in fragranced products tested in the 2010s. Moderate evidence. DONTSPRAYCALIFORNIA 2008 (DOJ ADA docket)
- Treat vague words like 'natural', 'green', 'eco-friendly' or 'for sensitive skin' as marketing, not evidence: read the ingredient list for parfum/aroma, essential oils and named fragrance allergens. Even 'fragrance-free' can allow essential oils and multifunctional allergens such as benzyl alcohol. Moderate evidence. Dahl 2010
About ingredients flagged like this one:
- In a survey of 187 US pediatric personal-care products, preservatives (57.8% of products) were a more common source of contact allergens than fragrance (29.4%), even though the products were being screened specifically for hypoallergenic/fragrance-related marketing claims. Moderate evidence. Hamann 2015
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
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Flagged the same way
Official lists checked September 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.