Poor Cosmetic Ingredient

Phenethyl Isothiocyanate

INCI: PHENETHYL ISOTHIOCYANATE

CAS Number
2257-09-2
Function
Fragrance (perfuming agent)
Safety Rating
POOR

Regulatory Status

🇪🇺 EU Status permitted
🇺🇸 US Status restricted
US Notes Primarily studied as chemopreventive agent (PEITC); not specifically restricted by FDA for cosmetic use, but limited cosmetic precedent

For full compliance data across 55 jurisdictions, use the Substance Compliance tool.

Safety Data

Margin of Safety (MoS)
not established
Dermal Absorption
high
Sensitization
high

Calculate MoS for your specific formulation with the MoS Calculator.

Expert Verdict

Phenethyl isothiocyanate presents major safety concerns for cosmetic use due to acute hazards (H302 harmful if swallowed, H319 eye irritation), potent biological activity as ROS inducer, and isothiocyanate group reactivity as Michael acceptor causing sensitization risk; exclusion recommended unless full toxicological justification provided.

⚠️
Concern Level: High

Regulatory Flags

potential-allergen fragrance-component ifra_fragrance fda_food_additive jecfa_safe

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Phenethyl Isothiocyanate safe in cosmetics?

Phenethyl isothiocyanate presents major safety concerns for cosmetic use due to acute hazards (H302 harmful if swallowed, H319 eye irritation), potent biological activity as ROS inducer, and isothiocyanate group reactivity as Michael acceptor causing sensitization risk; exclusion recommended unless full toxicological justification provided. The EU classifies Phenethyl Isothiocyanate as "permitted". Safety rating: POOR.

Is Phenethyl Isothiocyanate allowed in the EU?

Phenethyl Isothiocyanate EU regulatory status: permitted. This is based on EU Regulation 1223/2009 and its amendments.

What does Phenethyl Isothiocyanate do in cosmetics?

Phenethyl Isothiocyanate functions as: Fragrance (perfuming agent). It is classified as a cosmetic ingredient in our database. CAS number: 2257-09-2.

What is the Margin of Safety for Phenethyl Isothiocyanate?

not established The Margin of Safety (MoS) is calculated using SCCS methodology. A MoS above 100 is generally considered safe. Use the MoS Calculator tool to calculate MoS for your specific formulation and product category.

Compliance Tools

Check Phenethyl Isothiocyanate 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 55 jurisdictions
 🧮
MoS Calculator
Calculate Margin of Safety using SCCS methodology
 ⚗️
Heavy Metal Limits
Compare limits across jurisdictions

Related Ingredients

2-Methyl-4-(2,6,6-Trimethyl-2-Cyclohexenyl)-3-Butenal
Moderate
Phenethyl Phenylacetate
Good
Thuja Occidentalis Leaf Extract
Moderate
Cistus Ladaniferus Leaf Oil
Moderate
cis-Methoxy-dimethyloctadiene
Good
Browse all 30,000+ ingredients →
📱

Is Phenethyl Isothiocyanate in Your Products?

Scan any product label with Piro — our free ingredient scanner. Point your camera at the ingredients list and get instant safety scores for every ingredient.

Try Piro Free →

Analyze Your Full Ingredient List

Paste any INCI list into the Decoder for instant safety analysis, or calculate the Margin of Safety for Phenethyl Isothiocyanate in your formulation.

Ingredient Decoder MoS Calculator