Is Hexadecane safe in cosmetics?
Hexadecane has a safety rating of "EXCELLENT" in our database. EU status: permitted. US status: permitted.
Excellent
Cosmetic Ingredient
Hexadecane
Also known as: 4-01-00-00537, BRN 1736592, EINECS 208-878-9, UNII-F8Z00SHP6Q, CNS
INCI: HEXADECANE
Hexadecane (CAS 544-76-3) is a cosmetic cosmetic ingredient functioning as Emollient, solvent, viscosity controlling agent. EU Regulation 1223/2009 status: permitted. Industrial safety data is also available in the chemical safety database. Same-CAS public records also appear in industrial chemical safety and pharmaceutical data.
View industrial chemical safety profile for CAS 544-76-3 →
Auto-generated CPSR Part A draft with source citations
Cross-Vertical Regulatory Divergence
Hexadecane is classified GHS Danger (H304, H315) in the chemicals database but is allowed in EU cosmetics.
Source: Cosmetics: ingredients.eu_status; Chemicals: ghs_classifications.signal_word/hazard_statement_code
Function
Emollient, solvent, viscosity controlling agent
Safety Rating
EXCELLENT
Chemistry & Identifiers
IUPAC Name
hexadecane
InChIKey
DCAYPVUWAIABOU-UHFFFAOYSA-N
Regulatory Status
EU EU Status
permitted
US US Status
permitted
US Notes
Permitted — no specific CFR restriction; not on FDA prohibited list
For full compliance data across multiple jurisdictions, use the Substance Compliance tool.
Safety Data
Margin of Safety, dermal absorption, and sensitization profile summaries for Hexadecane.
Calculate MoS for your specific formulation with the MoS Calculator.
ECHA REACH Registration
European Chemicals Agency REACH dossier and Substances of Very High Concern listing.
Registration Type
Full
Tonnage Band
1,000 - 10,000 tonnes
Substance Type
SUBSTANCE
SVHC Candidate
No
PubChem Annotations
Safety and regulatory annotations from PubChem (NCBI) aggregated sources.
Safety (1)
Skin Eye Respiratory Irritation
Hexadecane is a mild eye and mucous membrane irritant /and/ primary skin irritant. | A severe human skin irritant.
Source: Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)
Function Categories & List Membership
Cosmetic/Chemical Function Categories
Flavouring and nutrient
Fragrance
No specific technical function
Solvent
Regulatory List Membership (2)
IFRA Fragrance Transparency List
Consumer Product Chemical
Expert Verdict
Expert safety assessment and concern-level summary for Hexadecane.
Regulatory Flags
ifra_fragrance
Known Synonyms
4-01-00-00537
BRN 1736592
EINECS 208-878-9
UNII-F8Z00SHP6Q
CNS
Chemical Function
Fragrance
Flavouring and nutrient
No specific technical function
Solvent
Regulatory Lists
detected; Other direct contact consumer goods; Other indirect contact consumer goods
air; Arts and crafts/Office supplies - children's art and toys - modeling clay; detected; emissions; Europe
air; emissions; Europe; nondetect; Other direct contact consumer goods
air; detected; emissions; Europe; Toys and children's products
IFRA Transparency
Europe
consumer_product
Australian Status
AICIS status: listed
Cross-Vertical Safety Context
Same-CAS public records found in pharmaceutical data.
SOURCE
ChEMBL / DrugCentral / FAERS
DB_PHARMA CAS match
Pharmaceutical Data
Same-CAS rows from the pharmaceutical spoke database.
Compound
HEXADECANE
ChEMBL ID
CHEMBL134994
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Hexadecane allowed in the EU?
Hexadecane EU regulatory status: permitted. This is based on EU Regulation 1223/2009 and its amendments.
What does Hexadecane do in cosmetics?
Hexadecane functions as: Emollient, solvent, viscosity controlling agent. It is classified as a cosmetic ingredient in our database. CAS number: 544-76-3.
Is Hexadecane used outside cosmetics?
Hexadecane also appears in industrial chemical safety and pharmaceutical data. The cross-vertical cards on this page render same-CAS public rows from the matched databases.
Does Hexadecane have different safety status in cosmetics vs industrial chemicals?
Hexadecane is classified GHS Danger (H304, H315) in the chemicals database but is allowed in EU cosmetics.
Compliance Tools
Check Hexadecane compliance across multiple jurisdictions:
Ingredient Decoder
Paste a full ingredient list for instant analysis
82 Allergen Checker
Check for EU declarable fragrance allergens
Substance Compliance
Check compliance across multiple jurisdictions
MoS Calculator
Calculate Margin of Safety using SCCS methodology
Heavy Metal Limits
Compare limits across jurisdictions
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