Ingredients with a documented concern, from official datasets and our reviewed database.
Sensitive skin: High cautionDry skin: High cautionBabies & kids: Use with cautionEczema-prone: Best avoided
- Irritation:Drying and barrier-disrupting in high-alcohol formulas with regular use.
Denatured ethanol gives products a fast-drying, weightless feel, but as a leading ingredient it degrades the skin barrier with repeated use — a poor match for dry, sensitive or eczema-prone skin.
Oily & acne-prone: Best avoided
- Pore-clogging:One of the most consistently comedogenic emollients in rabbit-ear and human assays.
A silky-feel emollient that repeatedly tops comedogenicity rankings — acne-prone users should watch for it in face products.
Sensitive skin: Best avoidedPregnancy: Use with cautionBabies & kids: Best avoidedEczema-prone: Best avoided
- Allergy risk:Fragrance is the single most common cause of cosmetic contact allergy.
- Irritation:Frequent trigger of stinging and redness on reactive skin.
Caredermis curated dermatological review
An umbrella term that can hide dozens of undisclosed scent chemicals. Fragrance is the leading cause of allergic contact dermatitis from cosmetics, and dermatologists routinely advise fragrance-free products for eczema, babies and sensitive skin.
cooling agent · fragrance
Severity 4/10EditorialSensitive skin: High cautionBabies & kids: Use with cautionEczema-prone: High caution
- Irritation:Sensory irritant; the cooling feeling signals nerve stimulation, not soothing.
The cooling molecule from mint. Refreshing on healthy skin but a genuine irritant for reactive, broken or infant skin.
Sensitive skin: Use with cautionEczema-prone: High caution
- Allergy risk:EU-declarable allergen; oxidized linalool is a common patch-test positive.
A floral scent molecule found in lavender and many essential oils. It oxidizes on air exposure into strongly sensitizing compounds, which is why it must be declared on EU labels.
Sensitive skin: Use with cautionEczema-prone: High caution
- Allergy risk:EU-declarable allergen; oxidation products are potent sensitizers.
The citrus-peel scent molecule. Like linalool, it becomes allergenic mainly after oxidizing in opened products.
Babies & kids: Use with caution
- Irritation:Occasional stinging and irritation, mostly around eyes and on damaged skin.
Today's most common preservative, considered safe by the SCCS up to 1%. French authorities advise avoiding it in wipes and diaper-area products for children under 3 as a precaution.
- Environmental impact:Not biodegradable; accumulates in the environment via wash-off.
The workhorse silicone — inert and non-sensitizing on skin (even FDA-approved as a skin protectant), with persistence in the environment as its main criticism.
- Allergy risk:Rare hypersensitivity reactions, better documented in food than cosmetics.
Tartrazine yellow dye; approved for cosmetics with rare sensitivity reactions reported.
- Allergy risk:Rare reports of sensitivity.
A widely approved blue dye with a benign cosmetic safety record.