Caredermis

Propylene Glycol

Severity 3/10EditorialComedogenic 0/5

humectant · solvent

Is Propylene Glycol safe?

Propylene Glycol carries only minor concerns (allergy risk, irritation) at typical cosmetic levels.

In plain language

A workhorse humectant and penetration enhancer that is fine for most, but a recurring culprit in eczema patients' patch tests.

A Caredermis plain-language explanation to help you read the label — not a regulator statement. The sourced facts are the classifications and status shown on this page.

Documented concerns

Concerns marked Editorialare Caredermis' own dermatological review; the rest are drawn from official data — see the cited sources ↓

Allergy risk

Editorial3/10

American Contact Dermatitis Society Allergen of the Year 2018.

Irritation

Editorial3/10

Can irritate compromised skin at higher concentrations.

Official regulatory status

Pulled directly from official regulatory datasets and expert reviews — not our own judgement.

CIR: safe as used (with qualifications)

Guidance by skin profile

Caredermis editorial guidance based on the concerns above — checked against the official records on every build, but not itself a regulator statement.

  • Sensitive skinUse with caution
  • Oily & acne-proneNo specific concern
  • Dry skinNo specific concern
  • PregnancyNo specific concern
  • Babies & kidsNo specific concern
  • Eczema-proneHigh caution

Sources

Each authority below is shown only because our ingested copy of its data lists Propylene Glycol — not because we asserted it. Follow a link to verify the classification or regulation directly.

CIR conclusion from the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) Quick Reference Table — cir-safety.org (snapshot in data/sources/)(point-in-time snapshot; CIR's live record may have been updated since).

See our methodology for how these map to concern levels. Informational only — not medical advice.

Products in our library containing Propylene Glycol

Related ingredients

Ingredients with a similar role or shared type of concern — useful for comparing what's on your label.

Checking a specific product? Paste its full ingredient list and we'll analyze everything at once.