BENZOPHENONE

Name / description

Benzophenone

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Function(s) of this ingredient in cosmetic products

FRAGRANCE

Enhances the smell of a product and / or perfumes the skin

LIGHT STABILIZER

Protecting the cosmetic product from deterioration effects of light

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Origin

synthetic

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Occurrence in cosmetics

Benzophenone is no longer used in cosmetic products. Use of this ingredient in cosmetics has been prohibited by EU Cosmetics Regulation

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Occurrence in other products

As a photo initiator in UV hardening applications (such as inks and coatings in the printing industry)

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Background information on use in cosmetics

Fragrances or mixtures of fragrances are often referred to in the cosmetics area as "perfuming agents" or "perfume oils" or "parfum oils". On the cosmetic products they are declared with the INCI name "PARFUM". These are undiluted individual substances or their mixtures which originate from natural raw materials or can be produced (semi-) synthetically. They are starting materials for the production of perfume, eau de parfum, eau de toilette, eau de cologne and other perfumed cosmetic products. The average content of fragrances amounts in perfume to 15-30 %, in eau de parfum to 10-14 %, in eau de toilette to 6-9 %, in eau de cologne to 3-5 % as well as in skin creams, shampoos, hair and deodorant sprays to approximately 0.2-1 % and approximately 1-3 in deodorant sticks. The perfume oils include essential oils, resinoids and absolutes. The sources are, amongst others, flowers, leaves and stems, fruits and fruit peels or roots of plants; woods, grasses or herbs, needles, resins and balsams. Moreover, only compounds isolated from natural products such as aldehydes, ketones, esters, alcohols etc. are used (geraniol, citronellal, citral, eugenol, menthol) as well as semi-synthetic (citronellol, geranyl acetate, jonone) and synthetic scents (eg phenylethyl alcohol and linalool) are used. Scents of animal origin such as musk and ambra are only rarely used.

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Why are we talking about it?

Benzophenone is considered a possible human carcinogen and suspected of being an endocrine disruptor (human health and environment). The facts: The possible carcinogenic potential of benzophenone has been studied by several agencies at European and national level (1) (2), and some studies do confirm this potential. Therefore, benzophenone has been classified as a possible human carcinogen. Benzophenone is rapidly degraded in the environment and thus only insignificant accumulation occurs in environmental compartments. It is therefore considered to be of little ecological concern. Key points to take away: Benzophenone is no longer used in cosmetic products. Additional data have been requested at European level due to its use in other sectors (flavouring), and benzophenone is considered to be carcinogenic on the basis of results in animals (oral route) but the suspected endocrine disrupting potential has not been demonstrated. European experts have decided to re-examine the potential endocrine activity of 28 substances suspected of being endocrine disruptors. Benzophenone has been included in this re-evaluation process. For these reasons, an explicit regulatory ban of the use of benzophenone in cosmetic products is expected. Sources: (1) French National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM/ex-AFSSAPS): “Evaluation du risque lié à l’utilisation des benzophénones dans les produits cosmétiques” / Risk assessment for the use of benzophenones in cosmetic products, Referral 2009BCT0054 (2) European Food Safety Authority [EFSA]: https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/5013

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Belongs to the following substance groups

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Regulating cosmetics

Cosmetics Ingredients are subject to regulation. Please note, different regulations may apply to cosmetic ingredients outside the EU.