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INCI ingredient

Phenoxyethanol

Also listed as: Phenoxy - Ethanol, Phenoxy Ethanol, Phenoxyethanol), Phénoxyéthanol

The most common preservative in products that avoid parabens.

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

Phenoxyethanol stops bacteria and mould from growing in water-based products. EU rules cap it at 1 percent, which is why it sits near the end of most ingredient lists.

It is not a paraben and not a drying alcohol, so it does not affect any of the six checks.

Functions: preservative

Products with Phenoxyethanol

in 3,370 products

Showing 24 of 3,370 products with this ingredient, most scanned first.

In the EU ingredient database

Functions listed by CosIng
  • antimicrobial
  • preservative
  • antimicrobial: Preventing and/or slowing down microbial growth.
  • 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 122-99-6 · EC 204-589-7

EU regulation

Listed in Annex V (ref. 29) of the EU Cosmetics Regulation, maximum concentration 1.0%. V/29

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