Is Citronellal safe in cosmetics?
Citronellal has a safety rating of "MODERATE" in our database. EU status: restricted. US status: permitted.
MODERATE
Cosmetic Ingredient
Citronellal
INCI: CITRONELLAL
Citronellal (CAS 106-23-0) is a cosmetic cosmetic ingredient functioning as Fragrance ingredient. NOAEL 20 mg/kg bw/day (cross-referenced against ToxValDB ECHA IUCLID); EU Regulation 1223/2009 status: restricted. Industrial safety data is also available in the chemical safety database. Same-CAS public records also appear in pharmaceutical data.
Function
Fragrance ingredient
Editorial assessment
MODERATE
Preliminary editorial note — not a computed safety verdict.
Chemistry & Identifiers
IUPAC Name
3,7-dimethyloct-6-enal
InChIKey
NEHNMFOYXAPHSD-UHFFFAOYSA-N
Regulatory Status
EU EU Status
restricted
US US Status
permitted
US Notes
RIFM-evaluated; permitted in cosmetics; IFRA Standards apply
For full compliance data across multiple jurisdictions, use the Substance Compliance tool.
Safety Data
Margin of Safety, dermal absorption, and sensitization profile summaries for Citronellal.
Calculate MoS for your specific formulation with the MoS Calculator.
Pre-Calculated Safety Assessment
Pre-calculated NOAEL → SED → MoS audit trail for Citronellal across SCCS product categories, with measured dermal absorption where available.
Sensitization AOP Dashboard
Adverse Outcome Pathway data across 5 assays (DPRA, KeratinoSens, hCLAT, LLNA, NESIL) aggregated from public sources.
NESIL
2592 µg/cm²
GHS: 1B
Human: positive
Source: HPPT: [183] Kligman AM (1973): Report to RIFM, 31 October, unpublished.
HRIPT Human Patch Test Studies
3 human repeat insult patch tests aggregated from dermatological literature.
| Test Type | N | Sensitized | Dose µg/cm² | NESIL µg/cm² | Potency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HRIPT | 110 | 0 | 7086 | 7086 | non-sensitizer |
| HMT | - | 0 | 2592 | - | - |
| HRIPT | - | 0 | 6299.21 | - | - |
ECHA REACH Registration
European Chemicals Agency REACH dossier and Substances of Very High Concern listing.
Registration Type
Full
Tonnage Band
100 - 1,000 tonnes
Substance Type
SUBSTANCE
SVHC Candidate
No
IFRA Concentration Limits (12 Product Categories)
International Fragrance Association standards per product category. Restriction: Restriction. Effective: 2021-02-10.
| Category | Max % | Category | Max % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (Lip products) | 0.22% | 7a (Deodorant – not spray) | 0.43% |
| 2 (Body spray) | 0.066% | 7b (Deodorant spray) | 0.43% |
| 3 (Body cream) | 0.22% | 8 (Face cream) | 0.073% |
| 4 (Fine fragrance) | 0.87% | 9 (Soap) | 1.1% |
| 5a (Body lotion) | 0.22% | 10a (Household – non-spray) | 1.1% |
| 5b (Face cream leave-on) | 0.22% | 10b (Household – spray) | No Restriction% |
| 5c (Hand cream) | 0.22% | 11a (Intimate – leave-on) | 0.073% |
| 5d (Baby cream) | 0.073% | 11b (Intimate – rinse) | 0.073% |
| 6 (Mouthwash) | 0.22% | 12 (Not for consumer exposure) | No Restriction% |
PubChem Annotations
Safety and regulatory annotations from PubChem (NCBI) aggregated sources.
Safety (1)
Skin Eye Respiratory Irritation
Citronellal ... was moderately irritating /to skin/.
Source: Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)
Regulatory (5)
JECFA Number
1220
Source: WHO/JECFA
JECFA Evaluation
2,3-DIHYDROCITRAL | 2003 | No safety concern at current levels of intake when used as a flavouring agent | TRS 922-JECFA 61/75 | FAS 52-JECFA 61/289
Source: WHO/JECFA
JECFA Evaluation
CITRONELLAL | 2003 | No safety concern at current levels of intake when used as a flavouring agent | TRS 922-JECFA 61/75 | FAS 52-JECFA 61/289
Source: WHO/JECFA
JECFA Evaluation
3,7-DIMETHYL-6-OCTENAL | 2003 | No safety concern at current levels of intake when used as a flavouring agent | TRS 922-JECFA 61/75 | FAS 52-JECFA 61/289
Source: WHO/JECFA
JECFA Evaluation
RHODINAL | 2003 | No safety concern at current levels of intake when used as a flavouring agent | TRS 922-JECFA 61/75 | FAS 52-JECFA 61/289
Source: WHO/JECFA
Function Categories & List Membership
Cosmetic/Chemical Function Categories
Deodorizer
Flavouring and nutrient
Fragrance
Processing aids not otherwise specified
UV stabilizer
Regulatory List Membership (5)
EU Restricted for Children (Cosmetics)
IFRA Fragrance Transparency List
EPA Safer Chemical Ingredients List (SCIL)
FDA Substances Added to Food (EAFUS)
Consumer Product Chemical
Editorial summary
Preliminary editorial summary for Citronellal — not a computed safety verdict. See the sourced toxicological data above.
Regulatory Flags
potential-allergen
fragrance-component
eu_children_restricted
epa_safer_alternative
ifra_fragrance
fda_food_additive
jecfa_safe
Chemical Function
Fragrance
Deodorizer
Processing aids not otherwise specified
Flavouring and nutrient
Regulatory Lists
air; Cleaning products and household care - air freshener; detected; emissions; Europe
Cleaning products and household care - air freshener; Europe
air; detected; emissions; Personal care
air; Cleaning products and household care - air freshener; detected; emissions
inert_ingredient; non_food_use; Pesticides
active_ingredient; Europe; Pesticides
children; Europe; Personal care
children; Europe; Personal care - general moisturizing - hand/body lotion
children; Europe; Personal care
detected; Europe; Personal care - sexual wellness
detected; Europe; Personal care - sexual wellness
Europe; Personal care - sexual wellness
detected; Europe; Personal care - sexual wellness
IFRA Transparency
Europe
food_additive; Substances Added to Food (formerly EAFUS) (2/2019)
SCIL (9/2019)
consumer_product
Australian Status
AICIS status: listed
Cross-Vertical Safety Context
Same-CAS public records found in pharmaceutical data.
SOURCE
ChEMBL / DrugCentral / FAERS
DB_PHARMA CAS match
Pharmaceutical Data
Same-CAS rows from the pharmaceutical spoke database.
ChEMBL ID
CHEMBL447944
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Citronellal allowed in the EU?
Citronellal EU regulatory status: restricted. This is based on EU Regulation 1223/2009 and its amendments.
What does Citronellal do in cosmetics?
Citronellal functions as: Fragrance ingredient. It is classified as a cosmetic ingredient in our database. CAS number: 106-23-0.
Is Citronellal used outside cosmetics?
Citronellal also appears in pharmaceutical data. The cross-vertical cards on this page render same-CAS public rows from the matched databases.
Compliance Tools
Check Citronellal compliance across multiple jurisdictions:
Ingredient Decoder
Paste a full ingredient list for instant analysis
82 Allergen Checker
Check for EU declarable fragrance allergens
Substance Compliance
Check compliance across multiple jurisdictions
MoS Calculator
Calculate Margin of Safety using SCCS methodology
Heavy Metal Limits
Compare limits across jurisdictions
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