Ingredient profile
PHEN OXYETHANOL
Raters disagreepreservativeantimicrobialCAS 122-99-6
At least one of our safety lists speaks to this ingredient.
Raters don't agree. Here's where each one stands
Safe
Greenlens Ingredient Scan
Independent
Greenlens Tolerance Screen
Independent
Caution
Greenlens Precautionary Screen
Independent
Concern
—
Where each list lands
Funding shown- Safe
Greenlens Ingredient Scan
Independent
Permitted preservative (EU Annex V, up to 1%); one of the most widely used and rated low-concern by CIR and EWG. A mild contact sensitizer for a small number of people — the precautionary lens notes that; the regulatory lens treats a compliant, permitted preservative as acceptable. (EU Cosmetics Regulation Annex V (preservative, with limits))
- Caution
Greenlens Precautionary Screen
Independent
A widely used, permitted preservative that is a mild contact sensitizer for a small number of people. Rated low-concern by CIR and EWG — kept visible here as a proportionate caution, not a strong-sensitizer red flag. (ChemSec SIN List (Substitute It Now))
Also screened — not on these lists
- Health Canada Ingredient Hotlist
- California Proposition 65
- US NTP Report on Carcinogens
- IARC Monographs
- ANSES Endocrine Disruptors
- EU Microplastics Restriction
- EU Harmonised Classification (CLP Annex VI)
Where regulators stand
Shown side by side, never combinedEach jurisdiction is reported on its own terms, from its own official lists. Where they disagree, that disagreement is the finding. Absence from a list is never a safety claim.
European Union
ListedAppears on an official list. A listing, not a use ban.
- European Commission · EU Cosmetics Regulation Annex V (preservative, with limits)Permitted preservative (EU Annex V, up to 1%); one of the most widely used and rated low-concern by CIR and EWG. A mild contact sensitizer for a small number of people — the precautionary lens notes that; the regulatory lens treats a compliant, permitted preservative as acceptable.
Canada
No listing foundNot on the lists we hold for this jurisdiction. That is an absence of a listing, not a safety finding.
Checked: Health Canada Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist.
California
No listing foundNot on the lists we hold for this jurisdiction. That is an absence of a listing, not a safety finding.
Notes
- Mild sensitizer for some
