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Cosmetic ingredient dictionary

Limonene in cosmetics: what it is and what it does

Limonene is a cosmetic ingredient that dissolves other ingredients. The EU allows it only with limits or conditions. It is a fragrance allergen that EU labels must name above set levels. Open Beauty Facts finds it in 5,596 products, most often shampoos.

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What does Limonene do in a product?

In a cosmetic product, Limonene dissolves other ingredients, adds scent and reduces body odour. The EU’s CosIng database lists these jobs for it: solvent, perfuming and deodorant.

solventperfumingdeodorant

What other names and numbers does Limonene have?

CAS number
138-86-3
EC number
205-341-0, 931-893-3
CosIng reference
57187

Is Limonene restricted in the EU?

Yes, it has limits. The EU allows it only with limits or conditions of use, such as a maximum amount or a warning on the label (Annex III of Regulation 1223/2009, entries 88, 167 and 168).

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

Is Limonene a fragrance allergen?

Yes. Limonene is one of the fragrance allergens that EU rules make a label name when there is more than 0.001% of it in a product left on the skin, or more than 0.01% in one that is rinsed off. On a label it can appear on its own after “Parfum”, because it is part of the scent.

Who should look out for Limonene?

Fragrance-sensitive skinNot for youIt is a fragrance allergen EU rules name.

Read the fragrance (parfum) guide

Which products contain Limonene?

Open Beauty Facts finds Limonene in the ingredient lists of 5,596 of the 22,021 products it has a list for, most often shampoos, hair care and deodorants.

  • Shampoos359
  • Hair care348
  • Deodorants348

Products with it, by country of sale: France 2,109 · Germany 822 · United States 370 · Spain 294.

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

On these listsFragrance allergensRestricted in the EU

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)
  4. EU Regulation 2023/1545 (fragrance allergen labelling)

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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