skincarecheck
INCI ingredient

Benzoic Acid

Also listed as: Benzoic Acid. (, Benzoic Acid (

A preservative found in nature that stops mould and yeast in acidic products.

What it triggers

  • Vegan originYesno animal source
  • FragranceNonot a perfume ingredient
  • ParabenNonot a preservative of this family
  • SulfateNonot a sulfate surfactant
  • SiliconeNonot a silicone
  • AlcoholNonot a drying alcohol

What it does

Benzoic acid occurs in cranberries and in benzoin resin, though the cosmetic grade is synthetic. It works best at low pH, so it appears in acidic products such as toners, cleansers and fruit-scented shower gels, often next to its salt, sodium benzoate. CosIng lists it in Annex V as a preservative.

It affects none of the six checks.

Functions: preservative

Products with Benzoic Acid

in 689 products

Showing 24 of 689 products with this ingredient, most scanned first.

In the EU ingredient database

Functions listed by CosIng
  • fragrance
  • preservative
  • ph adjusters
  • fragrance: Imparting an odour or taste. Creating a perceivable pleasant smell and/or masking a bad smell.
  • preservative: Exclusively or mainly intended to inhibit the development of micro-organisms in the cosmetic product. All authorised preservatives are substances in the positive list of Annex V to the Cosmetics Regulation 1223/2009.
  • ph adjusters: Controlling the pH of cosmetic products.

CAS 65-85-0 · EC 200-618-2

EU regulation

Listed in Annex V (ref. 1) of the EU Cosmetics Regulation, maximum concentration a) 2.5% (acid) b) 1.7% (acid) c) 0.5% (acid). a) Rinse-off products, except oral care products b) Oral care products c) Leave-on products V/1

Source: CosIng, European Commission. Informative, no legal value; the regulation text is the reference.

Classification from the INCI name; product lists from Open Beauty Facts.Report a mistake