Ingredient file · Labelled

Is benzyl salicylate banned or restricted in cosmetics?

Q: What does EWG Skin Deep say about benzyl salicylate?

EWG Skin Deep scores benzyl salicylate 9 out of 10 with robust data, and lists use restrictions as none listed. Read 23 October 2026.

Neither banned nor capped, but labelled: the EU requires benzyl salicylate to be named in the ingredient list when its concentration exceeds 0.001% in leave-on products and 0.01% in rinse-off products (Annex III, entry 75). California, the EU and FDA's named list, read 23 October 2026, with EWG Skin Deep's score.

SlipperSkin finding

Read on 23 October 2026, benzyl salicylate is neither banned nor capped in the EU but named for labelling (Annex III); EWG Skin Deep scores it 9 out of 10.

From the California statute, the EU Cosmetics Regulation as consolidated on 1 May 2026, FDA’s page and EWG’s ingredient page, read 23 October 2026. We report what each says; we do not rate the ingredient.

Is benzyl salicylate banned in cosmetics?

Neither banned nor capped, but labelled: the EU requires benzyl salicylate to be named in the ingredient list when its concentration exceeds 0.001% in leave-on products and 0.01% in rinse-off products (Annex III, entry 75). California does not list it. FDA's named list does not include it. EWG Skin Deep scores it 9 out of 10 (data: robust).

Benzyl salicylate: where it standsread 23 October 2026

Filled red marks a ban, blue a restriction, pale an ingredient that list does not name. FDA's page names 11 entries and none is benzyl salicylate. The EWG row marks its score; a bar shows a range.

What does the EU require for benzyl salicylate?

The EU neither bans nor caps benzyl salicylate; Annex III requires it to be named in the ingredient list above the thresholds printed below, as consolidated on 1 May 2026.

Benzyl salicylate: EU capspercent; consolidated 1 May 2026

Each bar is one figure printed in an annex entry (#321 means entry 321); where an entry prints several, the table below shows which product type each applies to.

Benzyl salicylate in the EU Cosmetics Regulation, found by CAS number 118-58-1
Where	Annex	Cap, threshold and product type	Condition
Annex III, entry 75 as printed: Benzyl salicylate	Restricted substances	labelling thresholds, not a cap all products	The presence of the substance must be indicated in the list of ingredients referred to in Article 19(1)(g) when its concentration exceeds: - 0.001 % in leave-on products - 0.01 % in rinse-off products

Is benzyl salicylate on California's banned list?

No. It is on neither list (a), in force since 1 January 2025, nor list (b), in force from 1 January 2027, of California's Health and Safety Code section 108980.

What does EWG Skin Deep say about benzyl salicylate?

EWG’s page gives benzyl salicylate a hazard score of 9 out of 10 with robust data. Its concerns line reads, in part: Enhanced skin absorption, Endocrine disruption (moderate), Multiple, additive exposure sources (low_moderate), and Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (low_moderate). The use-restrictions concern is none listed. The score is a hazard score on EWG's own scale; it is not a regulatory status.

Where is this read from?

More ingredient files: Linalool · Limonene · Citral · all 66 ingredient files

Method: California's section 108980 and the EU's annexes were read in Chrome on 23 October 2026; EU lookups are by CAS number (118-58-1) across Annexes II, III, V and VI; EWG's page was kept only if its name matched exactly; the PubChem link is the compound the CAS number resolves to. Statutes change and EWG revises pages, nothing here is a safety verdict, and an ingredient that is not on a list is not endorsed.