What is phenoxyethanol? What EU, PubChem and PubMed sources say

How we wrote this page

We work from documents; we have not tested any products ourselves. Every statement about the ingredient below is quoted or closely attributed to one of the sources listed at the foot of the page, each retrieved through an official API or the publisher’s page on 2026-11-14 (the FDA page on 2026-11-11). Where we add our own view, we label it as ours.

What it is, according to PubChem

PubChem, the chemistry database of the US National Library of Medicine, records phenoxyethanol as compound 31236. It lists these names and synonyms: “2-PHENOXYETHANOL; Phenoxyethanol; 122-99-6; Ethylene glycol monophenyl ether; Phenyl cellosolve; Phenoxethol; Phenoxytol; Ethanol, 2-phenoxy-; 2-Phenoxyethan-1-Ol; Phenoxetol.” The record gives its CAS registry number as 122-99-6. It is not an INCI listing, and none of our sources gives the INCI name, so we do not state one.

PubChem describes it as “an aromatic ether that is phenol substituted on oxygen by a 2-hydroxyethyl group” and as “a colorless liquid with a pleasant odor.” It also says: “It is a glycol ether used as a perfume fixative, insect repellent, antiseptic, solvent, preservative, and also as an anesthetic in fish aquaculture.” Further, PubChem states that it is “both naturally found and manufactured synthetically,” and that it “occurs naturally in green tea.”

Its use as a preservative

PubChem’s text says phenoxyethanol “acts as an effective preservative in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and lubricants,” and calls it “the most commonly used globally-approved preservative in personal care formulations.” It also says that “according to the European Union Cosmetics Regulation (EC) n.1223/2009, phenoxyethanol is authorized as a preservative in cosmetic formulations at a maximum concentration of 1.0%” and that Health Canada has classified it “as an antimicrobial and preservative.” These are PubChem’s statements; we did not check them against the regulation or Health Canada.

What the EU scientific committee concluded

The European Commission’s Phenoxyethanol page publishes an opinion of the SCCS (Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety): “Opinion on Phenoxyethanol, 16 March 2016, final version of 6 October 2016, SCCS/1575/16.” Its conclusion reads: “The SCCS considers 2-phenoxyethanol safe for use as a preservative with a maximum concentration of 1.0%, taking into account the information provided.”

That is the committee’s statement, dated 2016, and we repeat it as theirs. The page also says the margin of safety of about 50 for children “also covers this specific age group who might be higher exposed to 2-phenoxyethanol than adults.” We do not interpret either statement further.

A separate PubMed abstract, a 2019 review in the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (PMID 31588615), says that “according to the European Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety, phenoxyethanol is safe for all consumers - including children of all ages - when used as a preservative in cosmetic products at a maximum concentration of 1%.” That is the review authors’ description of the committee’s view.

What the abstracts report about contact allergy

We read four PubMed abstracts. They differ in what they study, so here is each one separately.

• PMID 31588615 (JEADV, 2019). A safety review of phenoxyethanol as a cosmetic preservative. Its abstract says: “Despite its widespread use in cosmetic products, phenoxyethanol is a rare sensitizer.” It also reports that adverse systemic effects in animal studies were seen “only when the levels of exposure were many magnitudes higher (around 200-fold higher)” than consumer exposure.
• PMID 31792581 (Der Hautarzt, 2020). One study reports retrospective data from the Information Network of Departments of Dermatology (IVDK) for 2009 to 2018. It states that “allergic reactions to other preservatives occurred in less than 1% of the patients tested” (other than the two it singles out) and that “despite widespread use, phenoxyethanol, benzoates, benzyl alcohol, parabens and sorbates rarely cause allergic reactions.”
• PMID 36705648 (Dermatitis, 2023). A survey of 267 wound care products in 5 clinics, cross-referenced with a contact allergen series. It reports that 97 of the products contained at least one allergen, and that the most common allergens included “acrylates and propylene glycol, followed by parabens, cetyl stearyl alcohol, tocopherol, fragrance, and phenoxyethanol.” This reports presence of the ingredient in products, not how often it caused reactions.
• PMID 21504436 (Contact Dermatitis, 2011). A study of methylisothiazolinone (MI) allergy in 11 MI-allergic people. It reports that “Phenoxyethanol had no influence on the reactions to MI” in the patch test. It is mainly about a different preservative; see what is methylisothiazolinone.

These are abstracts only, and they report population-level findings. They cannot say whether a given person will or will not react.

The FDA text PubChem quotes

PubChem’s record also includes this passage: “The Food and Drug Administration has warned that the chemical is toxic to infants via ingestion, and can depress the central nervous system and may cause vomiting and diarrhea.” It continues that, combined with chlorphenesin, the two chemicals “can cause respiratory depression in infants,” and that “caution should be exercised.” We reproduce this because it sits in the same PubChem record as the other statements and leaving it out would be selective. We did not see the underlying FDA document, and the passage is about ingestion, so we do not read it further. A clinician can say what applies to a particular child.

Where it sits on this site

This part is our rule, not a regulator’s finding. Phenoxyethanol is not on this site’s fragrance flag list. Our fragrance-free check looks for fragrance, parfum, aroma, perfume, essential oils and fragrance chemicals in the listed ingredients, and we do not treat phenoxyethanol as one of those terms. Note that PubChem lists “perfume fixative” among its uses, so readers who want to avoid anything with a fragrance-related role may reach a different decision. Our rule is not a claim that the ingredient suits everyone.

For terms we do flag, see what is parfum, how to read an ingredient list for parfum and aroma and fragrance allergen names on ingredient labels. Related preservative explainers are parabens in skincare and formaldehyde releasers in skincare.

Why the label wording matters

The FDA’s Fragrances in Cosmetics page says that “under U.S. regulations, fragrance and flavor ingredients can be listed simply as ‘Fragrance’ or ‘Flavor.’” A preservative is a separate listed item. The same page notes that “even some products labeled ‘unscented’ may contain fragrance ingredients”; see fragrance-free versus unscented.

Preservatives and fragrance ingredients are not inherently harmful. The issue this site cares about is narrower: what a label tells people who react to products. For questions about your own reactions or a child’s, ask a clinician, or look at an allergy or dermatology society.

What we do not fully know

We did not find the ingredient’s INCI name in our sources, and we have not checked regulators beyond the EU opinion and what PubChem reports about Health Canada. The SCCS opinion is from 2016 and we did not check for later changes. The “unknowns” list above sets out these gaps.