Benzyl Alcohol (Ingredient Explained + Products)

You should know

What it is

Fragrance

Preservative

Alcohol

EU Allergen

Concerns

Dry Skin

Oily Skin

Irritation

Rosacea

Eczema

Explained

Benzyl Alcohol is most commonly used as a preservative. It also has a subtle, sweet smell. Small amounts of Benzyl Alcohol is not irritating and safe to use in skincare products. Most Benzyl Alcohol is derived from fruits such as apricots.

Benzyl Alcohol has both antibacterial and antioxidant properties. These properties help lengthen the shelf life of products. Benzyl Alcohol is a solvent and helps dissolve other ingredients. It can also improve the texture and spreadability.

Alcohol comes in many different forms. Different types of alcohol will have different effects on skin. This ingredient is an astringent alcohol.

Using high concentrations of these alcohols are drying on the skin. They may strip away your skin's natural oils and even damage your skin barrier. Astringent alcohols may also irritate skin.

Other types of astringent alcohols include:

Ethyl Alcohol or ethanol
Methanol
Isopropyl Alcohol
SD Alcohol

According to the National Rosacea Society based in the US, you should be mindful of products with these alcohols in the top half of ingredients.

Any type of sanitizing product will have high amounts of alcohol to help kill bacteria and viruses.

People also like: Water, Panthenol, Cocamidopropyl Betaine

People also dislike: Niacinamide, Parfum, Alcohol

Benzyl Alcohol is a somewhat common cosmetic ingredient, with about 8.4% of the products in our database containing it.

What it does:

Perfuming, Preservative, Solvent

All About Fragrance

Fragrance is one of those terms that either evokes joy or fear. Both reactions are justifiable depending on your skin type and ...

Updated 10 months ago

Community Stats

335 people from our community have liked or disliked this ingredient.

Users who dislike it 💔

Often have the following skin types:

Sensitive Dry

Usually have one or more of the following skin concerns:

Seborrheic Dermatitis • Sensitivity • Dryness • Redness

Where it's used

Benzyl Alcohol is most often found as ingredient number 19 within an ingredient list.

Of the 5 products in our database that have a known concentration of Benzyl Alcohol, we've seen concentrations from 0% to 6.3% specified within their ingredient lists.