Is Testosterone safe in cosmetics?
Testosterone has a safety rating of "POOR" in our database. EU status: prohibited. US status: prohibited.
Poor
Cosmetic Ingredient
Testosterone
Also known as: (17β)-17-Hydroxyandrost-4-en-3-one, Nasobol, Oreton, Teslen, Testim (+15 more)
INCI: TESTOSTERONE
Testosterone (CAS 58-22-0) is a cosmetic cosmetic ingredient functioning as Historical: skin conditioning / anti-aging (now pharmaceutical). NOAEL 0.0166667 mg/kg bw/day (cross-referenced against ToxValDB ECHA IUCLID); EU Regulation 1223/2009 status: prohibited. Industrial safety data is also available in the chemical safety database. Same-CAS public records also appear in industrial chemical safety and pharmaceutical data.
View industrial chemical safety profile for CAS 58-22-0 →
Auto-generated CPSR Part A draft with source citations
Cross-Vertical Regulatory Divergence
Testosterone is prohibited in EU cosmetics but has active industrial GHS classifications (H302, H350, H351, H360, H361, H362, H372, H400).
Source: Cosmetics: ingredients.eu_status; Chemicals: ghs_classifications.signal_word/hazard_statement_code
Function
Historical: skin conditioning / anti-aging (now pharmaceutical)
Safety Rating
POOR
Chemistry & Identifiers
IUPAC Name
(8R,9S,10R,13S,14S,17S)-17-hydroxy-10,13-dimethyl-1,2,6,7,8,9,11,12,14,15,16,17-dodecahydrocyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-one
InChIKey
MUMGGOZAMZWBJJ-DYKIIFRCSA-N
Regulatory Status
EU EU Status
prohibited
US US Status
prohibited
US Notes
Prohibited in OTC cosmetics; classified as a prescription drug (Schedule III controlled substance); FDA does not permit hormones in cosmetic products
For full compliance data across multiple jurisdictions, use the Substance Compliance tool.
Safety Data
Margin of Safety, dermal absorption, and sensitization profile summaries for Testosterone.
Calculate MoS for your specific formulation with the MoS Calculator.
Pre-Calculated Safety Assessment
Pre-calculated NOAEL → SED → MoS audit trail for Testosterone across SCCS product categories, with measured dermal absorption where available.
HRIPT Human Patch Test Studies
1 human repeat insult patch test aggregated from dermatological literature.
| Test Type | N | Sensitized | Dose µg/cm² | NESIL µg/cm² | Potency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HMT | - | 0 | 15517.24 | - | - |
ECHA REACH Registration
European Chemicals Agency REACH dossier and Substances of Very High Concern listing.
Registration Type
Full
Tonnage Band
1 - 10 tonnes
Substance Type
SUBSTANCE
SVHC Candidate
No
Expanded Jurisdictional Detail
Additional regulatory detail beyond the 7-jurisdiction summary: Saudi SFDA, Korea MFDS, ASEAN ACD, Japan/Korea, Brazil/India, and cross-jurisdictional restriction entries.
Additional Jurisdictional Restrictions (2)
| Jurisdiction | Status | Max % | Product Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| CN | banned | - | - |
| GCC | banned | - | All cosmetics |
Expanded Dermal Absorption Data
Cross-database dermal penetration: EPA Dryad physics-based, Roberts Mendeley permeation, and SCCS-aggregated measured values.
EPA Dryad Skin Absorption (physics-based)
MW: 288.431
LogP: 3.31807
Kp epidermis: 0.0384 cm/h
% dose epidermis: 0.96%
% dose stratum corneum: 0.94%
% dose dermis: 0.93%
Source: EPA_Dryad_Skin_Absorption_2024
Roberts Skin Permeation (Mendeley 2022)
MW: 288.4
Log Kow: 3.48
Log Kp: -3.3979400086720375
Log Jmax: -10.46
Source: Roberts_Cheruvu_Mendeley_2022
PubChem Annotations
Safety and regulatory annotations from PubChem (NCBI) aggregated sources.
Safety (2)
Carcinogen Classification
No indication of carcinogenicity to humans (not listed by IARC).
Source: Toxin and Toxin Target Database (T3DB)
Endocrine Disruptors
Potential endocrine disrupting compound
Source: NORMAN Suspect List Exchange
Regulatory (1)
JECFA Evaluation
TESTOSTERONE | 2000 | 0-0.002 mg/kg bw | The Committee established an ADI of 0-2 µg/kg bw for testosterone on the basis of the NOEL of 100 mg/day (1.7 mg/kg bw/day) in the study of eunuchs and a safety factor of 1000. The large safety factor was used in order to protect sensitive populations and because of the small number of subjects in the study from which the NOEL was identified. Based on a cal
Source: Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA)
Function Categories & List Membership
Cosmetic/Chemical Function Categories
Pharmaceutical
Softener and conditioner
Regulatory List Membership (1)
California Proposition 65 (OEHHA)
Expert Verdict
Expert safety assessment and concern-level summary for Testosterone.
Regulatory Flags
prop65
NOAEL Studies Summary
View details ->Public NOAEL study rows linked to Testosterone by CAS number or substance name.
Studies
3
Lowest NOAEL
2 mg/kg bw/day
Highest NOAEL
2 mg/kg bw/day
ECHA_REACH_reach_study_results_dossiers_23-05-2023.zip
Known Synonyms
(17β)-17-Hydroxyandrost-4-en-3-one
Nasobol
Oreton
Teslen
Testim
Virormone
Androst-4-en-3-one, 17-hydroxy-, (17.beta.)-
Androst-4-en-3-one, 17-hydroxy-, (17beta)-
(8R,9S,10R,13S,14S,17S)-17-Hydroxy-10,13-dimethyl-6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17-dodecahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3(2H)-one
7β-Hydroxyandrost-4-en-3-one
Natesto
Noseafix
Testopatch
Testopel
EC No.: 200-370-5
Testosterone (medication)
Androst-4-en-17beta-ol-3-one
Androst-4-en-3-one, 17-beta-hydroxy-
Androst-4-en-3-one, 17beta-hydroxy-
Androst-4-en-3-one, 17-hydroxy-, (17-beta)-
Chemical Function
Softener and conditioner
Pharmaceutical
Regulatory Lists
pharmaceutical
pharmaceutical
pharmaceutical
pharmaceutical
pharmaceutical
pharmaceutical
pharmaceutical
pharmaceutical
pharmaceutical
pharmaceutical
pharmaceutical
pharmaceutical
pharmaceutical
pharmaceutical
pharmaceutical
pharmaceutical
pharmaceutical
pharmaceutical
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.
Compound
TESTOSTERONE
ChEMBL ID
CHEMBL386630
Max Phase
4
Adverse Event Associations
2892
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Testosterone allowed in the EU?
Testosterone EU regulatory status: prohibited. This is based on EU Regulation 1223/2009 and its amendments.
What does Testosterone do in cosmetics?
Testosterone functions as: Historical: skin conditioning / anti-aging (now pharmaceutical). It is classified as a cosmetic ingredient in our database. CAS number: 58-22-0.
Is Testosterone used outside cosmetics?
Testosterone also appears in industrial chemical safety and pharmaceutical data. The cross-vertical cards on this page render same-CAS public rows from the matched databases.
Does Testosterone have different safety status in cosmetics vs industrial chemicals?
Testosterone is prohibited in EU cosmetics but has active industrial GHS classifications (H302, H350, H351, H360, H361, H362, H372, H400).
Compliance Tools
Check Testosterone 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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