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Cosmetic ingredient dictionary

Benzoic Acid in cosmetics: what it is and what it does

Benzoic Acid is a cosmetic ingredient that keeps the product from spoiling. The EU lists it as an allowed preservative, with a maximum amount. Open Beauty Facts finds it in 861 products, most often hair care.

By Bravoora teamUpdated Sources checked 3 sourcesHow we check

What does Benzoic Acid do in a product?

In a cosmetic product, Benzoic Acid keeps the product from spoiling, hides an unwanted smell or taste and adds volume to a powder. The EU’s CosIng database lists these jobs for it: preservative, masking and bulking.

preservativemaskingbulking

What other names and numbers does Benzoic Acid have?

CAS number
65-85-0
EC number
200-618-2
CosIng reference
32134

Is Benzoic Acid restricted in the EU?

It is allowed, on a list with limits. The EU lists it as an allowed preservative, with a maximum amount (Annex V of Regulation 1223/2009, entry 1).

The annex entry sets the exact limits, the products it may be used in and any warning the label must carry.

Which products contain Benzoic Acid?

Open Beauty Facts finds Benzoic Acid in the ingredient lists of 861 of the 22,021 products it has a list for, most often hair care, shampoos and shower gels.

  • Hair care79
  • Shampoos74
  • Shower gels43

Products with it, by country of sale: France 303 · Germany 130 · United States 88 · Spain 51.

Counted on 13 October 2026 from Open Beauty Facts, which volunteers fill from real packs: it shows where Benzoic Acid turns up, not how much of the market it is.

On these listsPreservatives

Bravoora reads this ingredient for everyone you shop for: an allergy or intolerance, a vegan or vegetarian diet, a calorie or protein goal, and the labels on supplements and skincare too. Build a profile · For dermatologists, dietitians and doctors

Sources

The job, the description and the EU annex entry are CosIng’s; the fragrance allergens are the EU Annex III names Bravoora’s label checker reads; the product counts are Open Beauty Facts’.

  1. European Commission: CosIng cosmetic ingredient database (functions, description, EU annex entry)
  2. Open Beauty Facts: product database, 77,506 products, read 13 October 2026, ODbL
  3. EU Regulation 1223/2009 on cosmetic products (the annexes)

Contains information from Open Beauty Facts, which is made available here under the Open Database License (ODbL). Read the licence · Download this dictionary’s data · How we check

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