Phenoxyethanol

CAS Number: 122-99-6

SERIOUS
health hazard

MODERATE
health hazard

FEW OR NO
health hazards

0 79

80 89

90 100

Sources of exposure:

Personal care

Description:

Phenoxyethanol is an aromatic ether alcohol used as an antimicrobial preservative in personal care products and as a stabilizer in perfumes. It is considered a milder preservative than some older alternatives. Phenoxyethanol is an ethoxylated chemical that may be contaminated with 1,4-dioxane during manufacturing.

Health concerns:

Neurotoxicity

May impact brain function or development.

Respiratory Toxicity & Asthmagens

May damage the lungs or trigger asthma.

Irritant

May cause skin, eye, or respiratory irritation.

Contaminants:

1
4-dioxane

Banned/restricted lists:

European Commission Annex V Preservatives in Cosmetic Products.

References

HOW MILLION MARKER SCORES CHEMICALS

Million Marker's Ingredient Hazard Scoring uses multiple chemical databases and a science-backed scoring system to compute hazard scores for thousands of chemicals found in consumer products and listed on ingredient labels.

We identified key chemicals based on a database compiling dozens of authoritative sources, screening tools, and QSAR models.

Hazard scores within 11 different health categories (carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, reproductive toxicants, developmental toxicants, genotoxicity, neurotoxicity, organ system toxicity, immunotoxicity, respiratory toxicity, skin/eye/respiratory irritants, and ecotoxicity).

They are weighted based on several factors, including strength of evidence for adverse impacts in humans, severity, and potential contamination.