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Ingredient on hair labels

Phenoxyethanol

TheWashDay editorial · Updated · From the EU ingredient register and the makers’ own labels · How we match names

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Phenoxyethanol is on 120 of the 177 hair-product labels we compare, from 26 makers. Its uses in the EU ingredient register are antimicrobial and preservative. 2 of these labels name it among the first five ingredients.

See it on each label Products without it

What it is

In the register’s words: “Phenoxyethanol is the aromatic ether alcohol.”

EU register name (INCI)
PHENOXYETHANOL
CAS number
122-99-6
EC number
204-589-7
Written on these labels as
Phenoxyethanol; Phenoxyethanol (Optiphen ND)

What the register lists it for

These are the uses the European Commission’s CosIng register lists for Phenoxyethanol in any cosmetic, hair roles first. They say why a maker might add it, not what it does in one formula, and they aren’t a safety rating.

Antimicrobial

Slows the growth of microbes, in the product or on the surface it touches. Some preservatives, extracts and essential oils carry this role.

Register definition: “Preventing and/or slowing down microbial growth.”

Preservative

Stops bacteria, mold and yeast growing in the bottle. EU law allows only the preservatives on its own list for this role.

Register definition: “Exclusively or mainly intended to inhibit the development of micro-organisms in the cosmetic product. All authorised preservatives are substances in the positive list of Annex V to the Cosmetics Regulation 1223/2009.”

Where it sits on each label

US labels list ingredients from most to least, except that those at 1% or less may follow in any order. A name near the top is a large part of the formula. A label doesn’t mark where the 1% point falls, so further down, the order says little about how much is in it.

Every label, product by product (120)

Each line runs from the first name on a label to the last; a dot is where this ingredient sits. Makers change formulas now and then; if the list on your bottle differs, go by your bottle.

Your next step

Find products without Phenoxyethanol Check every name on your own label All ingredients on the labels we compare

Other antimicrobial ingredients on these labels

Updated · The name, numbers and uses come from the European Commission’s CosIng entry (CC BY 4.0); we write the uses in US spelling and put the hair ones first. The labels are each maker’s own. The order rule is the FDA’s Cosmetics Labeling Guide. All our sources are on the Sources page.