BENZYL ALCOHOL
External Analgesic; Fragrance Ingredient; Oral Health Care Drug; Preservative; Solvent;Viscosity Decreasing Agent; MASKING
Also listed as
BENZENEMETHANOL; BENZYLIC ALCOHOL; PHENYLCARBINOL; PHENYLMETHANOL; PHENYLMETHYL ALCOHOL; A-TOLUENOL; ALPHA-HYDROXYTOLUENE; ALPHA-TOLUENOL; BENZAL ALCOHOL; BENZENECARBINOL; BENZENEMETHANOL
Given the incomplete information made available by companies and the government, EWG provides additional information on personal care product ingredients from the published scientific literature. The chart below indicates that research studies have found that exposure to this ingredient -- not the products containing it -- caused the indicated health effect(s) in the studies reviewed by Skin Deep researchers. Actual health risks, if any, will vary based on the level of exposure to the ingredient and individual susceptibility -- information not available in Skin Deep.
| This ingredient: | |
 | Cancer |
| Developmental/reproductive toxicity |
 | Violations, restrictions & warnings |
| Allergies/immunotoxicity |
 | Contamination concerns |
 | Other strong concerns for this ingredient: Occupational hazards |
| Other moderate concerns for this ingredient: Neurotoxicity, Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive), Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) |
| Lesser or emerging concerns for this ingredient: Endocrine disruption, Data gaps |
|
See products containing BENZYL ALCOHOL | |
About BENZYL ALCOHOL: Benzyl Alcohol is an aromatic alcohol. In the United States, Benzyl Alcohol may be used as an active ingredient in OTC drug products. When used as an active drug ingredient, the established name is Benzyl Alcohol. See "Regulatoryand Ingredient Use Information," regarding the labeling names f or U.S. OTC Drug Ingredients in Volume 1, Introduction, Part A.
BENZYL ALCOHOL has reported used in the following product types: hair color and bleaching (527); moisturizer (293); facial moisturizer/treatment (291); conditioner (246); anti-aging (180); mascara (157); shampoo (150); fragrance for women (131); facial cleanser (121); body wash/cleanser (93)
Neurotoxicity
| type of concern | product conditions | reference |
| Strong evidence of human neurotoxicity | Chemicals known to be neurotoxic to humans | |
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Violations, restrictions & warnings
| type of concern | product conditions | reference |
| Recommended restricted in cosmetics - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - Product type restrictions or differences noted in safety assessment by industry panel | Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments | |
| Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - Safe for use in cosmetics with some qualifications | Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments |
Allergies/immunotoxicity
| type of concern | product conditions | reference |
| One or more human case studies show possible allergenic effects | Verecken, 1998 | |
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Occupational hazards
| type of concern | product conditions | reference |
| Allowed workplace exposures restricted to low doses | European Union - Classification & Labelling |
Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)
| type of concern | product conditions | reference |
| Classified as expected to be toxic or harmful | Environmental Canada Domestic Substance List | |
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Cancer
| type of concern | product conditions | reference |
| One or more in vitro tests on mammalian cells show positive mutation results | RTECS®- National Toxicology Program Technical Report Series 1989 | |
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Developmental/reproductive toxicity
| type of concern | product conditions | reference |
| One or more animal studies show reproductive effects at high doses | RTECS®- Teratogenesis, Carcinogenesis, and Mutagenesis 1987 |
Endocrine disruption
| type of concern | product conditions | reference |
| One or more animal studies show endocrine system disruption at high doses | RTECS®- National Toxicology Program Technical Report Series 1989 | |
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Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)
| type of concern | product conditions | reference |
| One or more animal studies show skin irritation at low doses | RTECS®- Cosmetics and Toiletries 1979 | |
| show more | ||
Multiple, additive exposure sources
| type of concern | product conditions | reference |
| Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in food | FDA Everything Added to Food |
Data gaps
| type of concern | product conditions | reference |
| Safety unknown for products that may be inhaled | products that may be aerosolized (airborne) | Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments |
| 1,704 studies on toxicity in PubMed see search results -> | PubMed |
Government, industry, academic studies and classifications
| government/industry list/academic study | appears on list as | classification(s) |
| European Union - Classification & Labelling | BENZYL ALCOHOL | •Harmful •Harmful by inhalation and if swallowed |
| Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments | BENZYL ALCOHOL | •Safe for use in cosmetics with some qualifications •Determined safe for use in cosmetics up to a specified concentration limit •Product type restrictions or differences noted in safety assessment by industry panel •Insufficient data to determine safety of products where ingredients are likely to be inhaled • • |
| FDA Everything Added to Food | BENZYL ALCOHOL | • Fully up-to-date toxicology information has been sought. |
| Verecken, 1998 | BENZYL ALCOHOL | •Skin sensitizer - can instigate immune system response that can include itching, burning, scaling, hives, and blistering of skin |
| National Library of Medicine HazMap | BENZYL ALCOHOL | •Skin Sensitizer - An agent that can induce an allergic reaction in the skin or lungs: Yes; |
| Chemicals known to be neurotoxic to humans | BENZYL ALCOHOL | •Known to be neurotoxic to humans, suspected developmental neurotoxin |
| Environmental Canada Domestic Substance List | BENZENEMETHANOL | •This chemical was deemed a moderate human health priority and was flagged by CEPA for further attention. |
| IFRA Fragrance Ingredient List | BENZYL ALCOHOL | •The chemical has been reported as used in fragrance compounds by IFRA affiliated member companies in 2008. |
| International Fragrance Association Codes & Standards | BENZYL ALCOHOL | •Fragrance subject to restrictions: safe only within recommended use or concentration limits |
| RTECS®- Cosmetics and Toiletries 1979 | BENZYL ALCOHOL | • skin - Primary skin irritant (rabbit ) |
| RTECS®- Cosmetics and Toiletries 1979 | BENZYL ALCOHOL | • skin - Primary skin irritant (rabbit ) |
| RTECS®- Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis 1994 | BENZYL ALCOHOL | • mutagenic - Positive mutation assay: DNA Damage (rat lvr) |
| RTECS®- Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis 1994 | BENZYL ALCOHOL | • mutagenic - Positive mutation assay: DNA Damage (rat lvr) |
| RTECS®- Food and Chemical Toxicology 2008 | BENZYL ALCOHOL | • mutagenic - Positive mutation assay: other mutation test systems (Drosophila melanogaster orl) |
| RTECS®- Food and Cosmetics Toxicology 1973 | BENZYL ALCOHOL | • skin - Primary skin irritant (pig ) |
| RTECS®- Food and Cosmetics Toxicology 1964 | BENZYL ALCOHOL | • brain and nervous system - Coma (rat LD50) • brain and nervous system - Excitement (rat LD50) • brain and nervous system - Somnolence (general depressed activity) (rat LD50) |
| RTECS®- Gigiena i Sanitariya 1985 | BENZYL ALCOHOL | • endocrine system - Death in the "U" data type field (rat TDLo) • metabolic - Weight loss or decreased weight gain (rat TDLo) |
| RTECS®- National Toxicology Program Technical Report Series 1989 | BENZYL ALCOHOL | • endocrine system - Death in the "U" data type field (rat TDLo) • brain and nervous system - Other degenerative changes (rat TDLo) • mutagenic - Positive mutation assay: Mutation in Micro-organism (mouse lym) • mutagenic - Positive mutation assay: Cytogenetic Analysis (hamster ovr) |
| RTECS®- Osaka-shi Igakkai Zasshi 1985 | BENZYL ALCOHOL | • mutagenic - Positive mutation assay: DNA repair (Bacillus subtilis ) |
| RTECS®- Osaka-shi Igakkai Zasshi 1985 | BENZYL ALCOHOL | • mutagenic - Positive mutation assay: DNA repair (Bacillus subtilis ) |
| RTECS®- Teratogenesis, Carcinogenesis, and Mutagenesis 1987 | BENZYL ALCOHOL | • reproductive - Growth statistics (mouse TDLo) |
references
| government/industry list/academic study | reference |
| European Union - Classification & Labelling | CPS&Q (Consumer Products Safety & Quality) formely known as ECB (European Chemicals Bureau). 2008. Classification and Labelling: Chemicals: Annex I of Directive 67/548/EEC through the 31st ATP. |
| Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments | CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review). 2006. CIR Compendium, containing abstracts, discussions, and conclusions of CIR cosmetic ingredient safety assessments. Washington DC. |
| FDA Everything Added to Food | 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. |
| EWG Assessment of Open Scientific Literature | Verecken, 1998 |
| National Library of Medicine HazMap | NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2006. HazMap — Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Agents. |
| Chemicals known to be neurotoxic to humans | Grandjean P and PJ Landrigan. 2006. Developmental neurotoxicity of industrial chemicals. Lancet. 2006 Dec 16;368(9553):2167-78. |
| Environmental Canada Domestic Substance List | EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry. |
| IFRA Fragrance Ingredient List | IFRA (International Fragrance Assocication). 2010. IFRA Fragrance Ingredient List based on 2008 Use Survey. Accessed online 01/04/2010: http://www.ifraorg.org/Home/News/Latest-News/page.aspx/66?xf_itemId=43&xf_selectionDatapartId=25 |
| International Fragrance Association Codes & Standards | IFRA (International Fragrance Association). 2006. Codes and Standards. |
| RTECS®- Cosmetics and Toiletries 1979 | RTECS®- Cosmetics and Toiletries. (Allured Pub. Corp., POB 318, Wheaton, IL 60189) V.91- 1976- 94(8),41,1979 |
| RTECS®- Cosmetics and Toiletries 1979 | RTECS®- Cosmetics and Toiletries. (Allured Pub. Corp., POB 318, Wheaton, IL 60189) V.91- 94(8),41,1979 |
| RTECS®- Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis 1994 | RTECS®- Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis. (Alan R. Liss, Inc., 41 E. 11th St., New York, NY 10003) V.10- 1987- 24,181,1994 |
| RTECS®- Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis 1994 | RTECS®- Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis. (Alan R. Liss, Inc., 41 E. 11th St., New York, NY 10003) V.10- 24,181,1994 |
| RTECS®- Food and Chemical Toxicology 2008 | RTECS®- Food and Chemical Toxicology. (Pergamon Press Inc., Maxwell House, Fairview Park, Elmsford, NY 10523) V.20- 46,1034,2008 |
| RTECS®- Food and Cosmetics Toxicology 1973 | RTECS®- Food and Cosmetics Toxicology. (London, UK) V.1-19, 1963-81. For publisher information, see FCTOD7. 11,1011,1973 |
| RTECS®- Food and Cosmetics Toxicology 1964 | RTECS®- Food and Cosmetics Toxicology. (London, UK) V.1-19, 1963-81. For publisher information, see FCTOD7. 2,327,1964 |
| RTECS®- Gigiena i Sanitariya 1985 | RTECS®- Gigiena i Sanitariya. For English translation, see HYSAAV. (V/O Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga, 113095 Moscow, USSR) V.1- 1936- 50(7),81,1985 |
| RTECS®- National Toxicology Program Technical Report Series 1989 | RTECS®- National Toxicology Program Technical Report Series. (Research Triangle Park, NC 27709) No.206- NTP-TR-343,1989 |
| RTECS®- Osaka-shi Igakkai Zasshi 1985 | RTECS®- Osaka-shi Igakkai Zasshi. Journal of Osaka City Medical Association. (Osaka-shi Igakkai, c/o Osaka-shiritsu Daigaku Igakubu, 1-4-54 Asahi-cho, Abeno-ku, Osaka, 545, Japan) V.24- 1975- 34,267,1985 |
| RTECS®- Osaka-shi Igakkai Zasshi 1985 | RTECS®- Osaka-shi Igakkai Zasshi. Journal of Osaka City Medical Association. (Osaka-shi Igakkai, c/o Osaka-shiritsu Daigaku Igakubu, 1-4-54 Asahi-cho, Abeno-ku, Osaka, 545, Japan) V.24- 34,267,1985 |
| RTECS®- Teratogenesis, Carcinogenesis, and Mutagenesis 1987 | RTECS®- Teratogenesis, Carcinogenesis, and Mutagenesis. (Alan R. Liss, Inc., 41 E. 11th St., New York, NY 10003) V.1- 1980- 7,29,1987 |
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