Is Hydroxybenzyl Alcohol safe in cosmetics?
Hydroxybenzyl Alcohol has a safety rating of "GOOD" in our database. EU status: permitted. US status: permitted.
Good
Cosmetic Ingredient
Hydroxybenzyl Alcohol
Also known as: EINECS 210-768-0, UNII-1A3AH1FP1B, 4-(Hydroxymethyl)phenol (ACD/Name 4.0), B4-hydroxy-enzenemethanol, a-Hydroxy-p-cresol (+2 more)
INCI: HYDROXYBENZYL ALCOHOL
Hydroxybenzyl Alcohol (CAS 623-05-2) is a cosmetic cosmetic ingredient functioning as Skin conditioning agent; fragrance; antioxidant compound. 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 623-05-2 →
Auto-generated CPSR Part A draft with source citations
Function
Skin conditioning agent; fragrance; antioxidant compound
Safety Rating
GOOD
Chemistry & Identifiers
IUPAC Name
4-(hydroxymethyl)phenol
InChIKey
BVJSUAQZOZWCKN-UHFFFAOYSA-N
Regulatory Status
EU EU Status
permitted
US US Status
permitted
US Notes
Permitted — JECFA evaluated: no safety concern at current intake levels
For full compliance data across multiple jurisdictions, use the Substance Compliance tool.
Safety Data
Margin of Safety, dermal absorption, and sensitization profile summaries for Hydroxybenzyl Alcohol.
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 - 10 tonnes
Substance Type
SUBSTANCE
SVHC Candidate
No
Expanded Dermal Absorption Data
Cross-database dermal penetration: EPA Dryad physics-based, Roberts Mendeley permeation, and SCCS-aggregated measured values.
Roberts Skin Permeation (Mendeley 2022)
MW: 124.1
Log Kow: 0.32
Log Kp: -2.6989700043360187
Log Jmax: -6.749579997691106
Source: Roberts_Cheruvu_Mendeley_2022
PubChem Annotations
Safety and regulatory annotations from PubChem (NCBI) aggregated sources.
Regulatory (2)
JECFA Number
955
Source: Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA)
JECFA Evaluation
4-HYDROXYBENZYL ALCOHOL | 2001 | No safety concern at current levels of intake when used as a flavouring agent | TRS 909-JECFA 57/84 | FAS 48-JECFA 57/273
Source: Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA)
Function Categories & List Membership
Cosmetic/Chemical Function Categories
Flavouring and nutrient
Softener and conditioner
Regulatory List Membership (1)
FDA Substances Added to Food (EAFUS)
Expert Verdict
Expert safety assessment and concern-level summary for Hydroxybenzyl Alcohol.
Regulatory Flags
fragrance-component
fda_food_additive
Known Synonyms
EINECS 210-768-0
UNII-1A3AH1FP1B
4-(Hydroxymethyl)phenol (ACD/Name 4.0)
B4-hydroxy-enzenemethanol
a-Hydroxy-p-cresol
alpha-Hydroxy-p-cresol
p-Hydroxy-Benzyl alcohol
Chemical Function
Softener and conditioner
Flavouring and nutrient
Regulatory Lists
Europe
food_additive; Substances Added to Food (formerly EAFUS) (2/2019)
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
PARAHYDROXYBENZYL ALCOHOL
ChEMBL ID
CHEMBL202132
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Hydroxybenzyl Alcohol allowed in the EU?
Hydroxybenzyl Alcohol EU regulatory status: permitted. This is based on EU Regulation 1223/2009 and its amendments.
What does Hydroxybenzyl Alcohol do in cosmetics?
Hydroxybenzyl Alcohol functions as: Skin conditioning agent; fragrance; antioxidant compound. It is classified as a cosmetic ingredient in our database. CAS number: 623-05-2.
Is Hydroxybenzyl Alcohol used outside cosmetics?
Hydroxybenzyl Alcohol 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.
Compliance Tools
Check Hydroxybenzyl Alcohol 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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