skincarecheck
INCI ingredient

Menthol

Also listed as: Natural Menthol, (Menthol), Menthol'

The cooling molecule from mint, used for its taste and fresh feel.

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

Menthol comes from peppermint oil or is made synthetically. Toothpaste, mouthwash, lip balms, shaving products and foot creams use it for its cold sensation and minty taste. CosIng lists it as flavouring, refreshing, soothing and denaturant.

It is not on the EU list of declared fragrance allergens, so on its own it does not decide the fragrance-free check. It affects none of the six checks.

Functions: flavouring, refreshing

Products with Menthol

in 578 products

Showing 24 of 578 products with this ingredient, most scanned first.

In the EU ingredient database

Functions listed by CosIng
  • denaturant
  • fragrance
  • refreshing
  • soothing
  • denaturant: Rendering cosmetics unpalatable. Mostly added to cosmetics containing ethyl alcohol to make it unsuitable for ingestion.
  • fragrance: Imparting an odour or taste. Creating a perceivable pleasant smell and/or masking a bad smell.
  • refreshing: Imparting a pleasant freshness to the skin.
  • soothing: Lightening discomfort of the skin or of the scalp.

CAS 1490-04-6 / 2216-51-5 / 89-78-1 / 15356-70-4 · EC 216-074-4 / 218-690-9 / 201-939-0 / 239-388-3

EU regulation

Listed in Annex III (ref. 338) of the EU Cosmetics Regulation. III/338

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