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INCI ingredient

Methylparaben

A paraben preservative, the most widely used member of the family.

What it triggers

  • Vegan originNot sureorigin not on file
  • FragranceNonot a perfume ingredient
  • ParabenYesa paraben preservative
  • SulfateNonot a sulfate surfactant
  • SiliconeNonot a silicone
  • AlcoholNonot a drying alcohol

If a product lists Methylparaben, its paraben-free answer is No. Nothing else changes.

What it does

Methylparaben protects water-based products from microbial growth and has been used for decades. On EU labels it can also appear as Methyl Parahydroxybenzoate.

It is a paraben, so a product that lists it is not paraben-free.

Functions: preservative

Products with Methylparaben

in 540 products

Showing 24 of 540 products with this ingredient, most scanned first.

In the EU ingredient database

Functions listed by CosIng
  • fragrance
  • preservative
  • 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.

CAS 99-76-3 · EC 202-785-7

EU regulation

Listed in Annex V (ref. 12) of the EU Cosmetics Regulation, maximum concentration 0,4% (as acid) for single ester 0,8% (as acid) for mixtures of esters. V/12

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

Paraben-free instead

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