Worth a closer look
Evidence key Strong Moderate Weak How we grade
Suspected endocrine disruptor Chemical of concern
- What it can be used for
- Kills or slows microbes, preserves the product and reduces or masks body odor (the functions the EU ingredient database, CosIng, lists for it; a product may use it for any of them)
- CAS number
- 3380-34-5
Why it’s flagged
Under EU evaluation as an endocrine disruptor, or identified as one by a national authority (ED Lists II and III).
- EU ED List II: under evaluation as an endocrine disruptor. Source: EU endocrine disruptor lists (edlists.org)
EU ED List II: under evaluation as an endocrine disruptor in an EU process. List III: identified as one by a national authority in the EU.
Listed as a chemical of concern by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.
- “Triclosan and triclocarban”. Source: Campaign for Safe Cosmetics
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is an advocacy group. Its profiles explain why it considers these ingredients a concern.
What the research says
- Triclosan and UVB/sunlight together caused significant DNA damage (comet assay, micronuclei, cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers) in human skin cells in the laboratory, while triclosan alone in the dark and UVB/sunlight alone caused none. Moderate evidence. Dubey 2019
- In a laboratory study, triclosan exposed to UVB at an intensity matched to real midday sunlight in a subtropical city generated damaging free radicals and killed human skin cells (HaCaT keratinocytes) in a dose-dependent way. Moderate evidence. Dubey 2019
- When 100 teenage girls swapped their usual personal care products for ones labeled free of phthalates, parabens, triclosan and oxybenzone for just 3 days, levels of these chemicals in their urine fell by 27-45%. Moderate evidence. Harley 2016
- The antibacterial triclosan, once in about 45% of US soaps, reacts to UVB at an intensity matched to real midday sunlight by generating free radicals that damaged human skin cells (HaCaT keratinocytes) in the laboratory, dose-dependently and only when triclosan and radiation were combined. Moderate evidence. Khalid & Abdollahi 2021
Each finding shows its evidence grade. See every graded fact or how we grade.
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.
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Flagged the same way
Official lists checked September 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.